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Windows 98 / ME: How to tame Windows ME

Computer users often face a problem: they want to use

The most modern software (there are more functions and bells and whistles),

Play the most modern games (they are more realistic), but by installing everything

This happiness on the computer, often do not experience the proper satisfaction, because

Really qualitatively new toys and new operating systems often

Require and new iron :( .

Windows ME, I probably do not refer to a particularly voracious, since fresh still in memory

Impressions of the work of Windoze 2k on 64 MB of RAM. No, this system in general is nothing:

Interface alaWin 2 k , MediaPlayer 7, InternetExplorer 5.5, etc. But there is also

Unpleasant moments: system restore, file protection - in general, everything that

Called PC Health.

Despite the fact that it is universally presented as the most advanced feature of the system

And that this is what distinguishes it qualitatively, I believe that it is nothing more than

Pampering. I removed from my system PC Health, I quite often download from

Internet'a and install various programs, sometimes completely useless, but

These are my problems. So there's nothing wrong with my computer does not happen,

As it did not happen and when I was 98th. If the system "lies down", then

This, as a rule, occurs or because of own curves of handles (you know "there is nothing

On a mirror to blame, if the face is crooked "?), Or because the term of freshness

System (typical for all systems 9x). In any case, an experienced user

Knows the only 100% medicine - guess yourself what :) .

So, before us the task is to get a modern system, but at the same time keep

Control over it and over its productivity. There are two possible options.

The first is that you install Windows 95 OSR2 (no, it's not

Typo, namely 95), then put Internet Explorer 5.0 on it (in addition to

A fairly powerful browser, you will find both Active Desktop and Quick Launch Panel)

And MediaPlayer 6.4. I'm not kidding - you really get a fast modern

Operating system.

The second case is suitable for those who, like me, managed to put on their own

A computer masterpiece by a programmer of thought called Windows Millennium Edition.

  This article is just for you.

The first thing to do after installing Windows ME is to right-click

Click on Mycomputer , select Properties \ Performance \ File

System \ Troubleshooting and tick the DisableSystemRestore . At the same time

In the same place, click on the Floppy Disk tab and uncheck Search for new

Floppydiskdriveseachtimeyourcomputerstarts , so that when loading Windows,

I was looking for new disk drives, thus slowing down the whole process.

Then click OK everywhere, the system prompts you to reboot, with which

It is necessary to agree.

Having disabled System Restore, we only broke the ice, but before the jubilation of more

long away. The fact that the PC Health system for its operation should

Constantly collect information about the state of the system.

She collects it every 24 hours or every 10 hours of continuous work,

Whichever comes first. But if the spirit of experimentation is alive in us and we decided

Abandon PC Health, then it would be logical to disable this collection of information. In-

First, we go to Control Panel \ Scheduled Tasks, there are already registered two

tasks. We will be interested in the one that contains the words PC Health. Click on it

Right-click, select Properties and uncheck the first tab

With Enabled ( scheduledtaskrunsatspecifiedtime ). You can do even easier:

Instead of Properties , select Delete :) .

Secondly, open Regedit.exe and go along the following path:

HKLM \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run. There will be

Parameter PC Health, the value of which will be "C: \ WINDOWS \ PCHealth \ Support \

PCHSchd.exe -s "(I assume that you have the Windows installed in the directory

C: \ Windows, if not, then the path will be different). We right click on this

Parameter and select Delete. Further we go to HKLM \

Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ RunServices , there we subject the execution

At least two parameters: * StateMgr «C: \ WINDOWS \ System \ Restore \

StateMgr . Exe "and LoadPowerProfile " Rundll 32. exepowrprof . Dll ,

LoadCurrentPwrScheme. " The last parameter, I must say, has nothing to do with PC

Health, but a similar entry is already available at

HKLM \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run , so why twice?

To load the same? If you do not use the Scheduler, also delete

SchedulingAgent.

Everything, we close Regedit and reboot the computer. I can congratulate you: you only

That they were done with System Restore! We move on to the next component of the PC system

Health - SystemFileProtection ( SFP ). If you still tend to keep SFP, then

You can skip a few paragraphs of this article and continue reading from that

A place where it will go about reviving Real DOS Mode. The only thing I tell you is

I recommend that you turn SFP towards yourself, and towards the forest ...

The matter is that in System File Protection for Windows ME by default it is disconnected

The notification mode that SFP is restoring files. In order to

To enable this mode, go to the registry at HKLM \ SOFTWARE \

Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ SystemFileProtection , there will be

Parameter ShowPopups of type dword . Assign it a value of 1, close Regedit and

Restart the computer.

Well, those who, like me, believe that SFP is needed by a competent user, like

Hare brake light, open your favorite Regedit and sent to the address

HKEY _ LOCAL _ MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ VxD \ VxDMon . What are we there for?

Watch? The SystemRestore parameter is set to N (No). Of course, we are

He himself was cut down at the very beginning.

But the parameter SystemFileProtection is still set to Y (Yes). what

Well, we will correct the injustice: click on SystemFileProtection twice and enter

N. Next, as always, close Regedit and reboot the computer.

Now we can say that we have disabled most of the PC Health system. AT

This condition was my system about a few months from the day

Installation. But one day I needed to change (I do not even remember

Why) the size of the Swap file.

After rebooting the system, I was surprised to find that the disk

The volume of free space has dramatically decreased.

It turned out that Windows, in addition to creating a new Swap file, saved the old one

Folder _ Restore \ Temp ! What are the reasons for such a "smart" act of the system,

It's hard to say, but the problem is further aggravated by the fact that you delete this file from under

Windows is not possible, and it's easy to reboot in the MS-DOS emulation mode (like this

Was in the 98th), to clean the directory _Restore \ Temp, is also difficult.

  So I had to go into the BIOS, boot from a floppy, fix a misunderstanding

Windows, then again climb into the BIOS, again put the Boot Sequence = C only ... In

In general, it was decided to permanently uninstall PC Health.

It is quite easy to do this. First go to Regedit and delete this key:

HKEY_ LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ VxD \ VxDMon, after

Reboot the machine . Then select Run from the Start menu, enter

Rundll . Exesetupx . Dll , InstallHinfSectionUninstall 132 C : \ WINDOWS \

INF \ PCHealth.inf (I assume that you have Windows installed in the folder C: \ Windows)

And press enter. The system will rumble a couple of seconds hard drive, they say Updating

System Configuration - and everything PC Health for you history :) .

It remains only to clean the registry a little. In particular, delete such keys:

HKEY_ CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ PCHealth, HKEY_CURRENT_USER \

Software \ Microsoft \ Active Setup \ Installed Components \ PerUser_ PCHealth,

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Active Setup \ Installed

Components \ PerUser_PCHealth. Also, search the registry for all references to StateMgr.exe

(Most likely you will not find anything, but it is advisable to look for prevention) and

Delete them.

Now finally you can do what you (I'm sure) dreamed about for a long time,

But were afraid to admit it - to remove to such and such mother the folder _Restore from all

Their disks. Windoze will not let you from now on.

But the uninstallation of PC Health does not pass without a trace. There are two consequences, with

Which, however, it is easy to cope with. First, you can no longer call

Vindolius Help by selecting the appropriate item in the main menu that opens when

Press the Start button. The problem is that in Millennium the help system is cramped

Integrated into the PC Health system, which we just ourselves ... But

Upset there is no reason! After all, the Help has not gone anywhere, it still lies in the

C : \ Windows \ Help . That is, in any program you can select the menu item Help

(Or press F1) and access the help system. In principle, they do

All normal people, and tell me, do you use the menu item Start \ Help?

  So I suggest that you get rid of it so that your eyes do not callose. To do this again

Will have to be linked to the registry: at HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \

Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer create a new parameter

(Binary Value) NoSMHelp and assign it the value hex: 01,00,00,00.

After that, restart the computer.

The second consequence - together with a cumbersome help system, you can no longer

Select the menu item Start \ Programs \ Accessories \ SystemTools \ SystemInformation

In order to get acquainted with the information about the system. And again

There is absolutely no reason to be upset.

Have you ever run System Information in the Millennium Edition? Greater

Stagnation and sluggishness and can not be imagined! We do not need such a System

Information, that's whether it was in the 98th ...

Hmm, the solution came by itself: why not use System Information from

Windows 98 in Millennium ? Find some distribution of Windows 98, and

It does not matter in which language - I have Windows ME English, and all the distributions of the 98th,

That he could find on the compacts - Russian. We are interested in two files: msinfo32.chm and

Msinfo32.exe.

In different versions of the distribution they can be in different archives (in my

Case msinfo32.chm was in win98_27.cab, and msinfo32.exe was in win98_40.cab), so

That use some sort of file search that can dig inside

Archives, for example, built-in Search in Windows Commander. Next, rewrite

File msinfo32.chm in the directory C: \ Windows \ Help, and the msinfo32.exe file in C: \ Program

Files \ CommonFiles \ MicrosoftShared \ MSInfo . Then create a shortcut to

Msinfo32.exe and enjoy life.

Once I put Windows ME on one computer on which the old one was running

(DOSO more) editor / compiler assembler. Assembler that was under one

Specific processor, and the version of the editor under Windows simply did not exist.

  Unexpectedly, a problem arose: the editor flatly refused to dial Russian

Font comments on the procedures. The only thing that could solve the problem -

Keyrus (remember this? :) ). And how do you order

Download a resident of Dosov in Millennium? Any intervention in autoexec.bat

Or config.sys in this operating system will be ignored, and

The corresponding files are fixed. Well, there are no desperate situations, and this

The problem also found a solution. All statements about the fact that in Millennium

Finally over with real MS-DOS mode, not entirely correct. Actually

Real DOS in this operating system is (and how could it be otherwise, the roots of something

9x), simply by default it is well hidden. And since it arose in it

Need, then try to return it.

First, go here - http://www.geocities.com/mfd4life_2000/ . Download

A small archive containing the necessary patch. Next, create somewhere on the

Drive directory, say, backup, where to copy the following files: c: \ io.sys,

C : \ windows \ command . Com and c : \ windows \ system \ regenv 32. exe . Keep these files in

Dry and warm place in case you want to return to the original

Windows configuration. Create another directory, for example, temp, where

Copy the above three files, as well as the downloaded patch (winmedos.com).

Run winmedos.com, then copy the "patched" files accordingly:

Io.sys - in c: \, with mmand.com - in c: \ and in c: \ windows, regenv32.exe - in the

C: \ windows \ system. Add the following line to the config.sys file:

DEVICE = C: \ WINDOWS \ IFSHLP.SYS, autoexec.bat - C: \ WINDOWS \ WIN.COM.

  Reboot. From now on, you can use autoexec.bat and config.sys, as in

Good old times, and also when you start Windows, press F8 and select the mode

Emulation of MS-DOS :) .

I just want to add that if you do not have a really good reason to return

To real DOS mode, it's just that, for interest, it's still not worth it.

Still there is such a thing in the new operating system, like Automatic Update: this is when you

Connect with the provider, Windoze will be independently connected to

Microsoft'ovskim site and can even download upgrades. You, I hope, on the Internet

Do not go out to upgrade Windows? If u really do

Standing lotion, then here it is purposeful and you can swing, and so ... You, I

I think, have already understood the hint: Control Panel \ Automatic Updates, there put a tick

Opposite Turnoffautomaticupgrading and click OK .

The next thing I want to talk about is "this should

Know / do everyone who cares about the performance of their system. " AT

Windows 98 SE by default was enabled mode, forcing the operating system

Immediately unload unused procedure libraries from memory after closing

Program, these libraries loaded. The advantages of this approach were me

Are described in the article "Managing computer memory" (one of the December numbers

KG). I suggest that you enable this mode in Millennium. For this purpose, the

Address HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \

Create a String parameter of AlwaysUnloadDLL and set it to 1.

  By the way, create another string parameter in the same place Max Cached Icons

(Note the blanks) and give it a value, say, 2000. This

Will allow Windows to create a larger cache of icons (ShellIconCache file in the directory

C: \ Windows), which in combination with the previous parameter can significantly

Increase the speed of the GUI.

If you have less than 256 MB of memory, then you just can not turn a blind eye to

Disk system settings. First, make sure that your hard drive is running in

UDMA mode, if it is, of course, not very ancient. Secondly, adjust the dimensions

Swap file and Hard disk cache using the information presented in Table 1.

  Swap file is being set up here - Control Panel \ System \ Performance \ Virtual

Memory. Do not forget only the main principle that ensures maximum

Performance, - the swap-file must be constant (minimal and

The maximum size must match) and unfragmented (defragment it

With Norton Speed ​​Disk, where tick Optimize Swap-file).

Table 1. Swap file and disk cache settings

Size MinFile Cache MaxFile Cache Swap File Size

16 MB :) 1024 4096 40 MB

32 MB 2048 8192 128 MB

64 MB - 16,384 160 MB

96 MB - 32768 140-150 MB

128 MB - - 128 MB

160 MB - - ~ 100 MB

192 MB - 64 MB

256 MB - - Disconnect!

 

 

The minimum cache size for the disk is set as follows: open the file system.ini

And in the vcache section, specify MinFileCache = x (where x is the number

Kilobyte).

To configure the maximum cache size, write the parameter

MaxFileCache = x. Do not forget to restart your computer.

A few comments to table 1. A dash denotes those cases where nothing

Do not need to configure. So, in most cases it makes no sense to prescribe

The MinFileCache = x parameter in the system.ini file.

If you have 128 MB of memory or more, then you generally do not need to configure

Vcache parameters. With this amount of memory, Windows ME (and also 98) is quite

It is able to independently manage the size of the cache, providing the largest

performance.

What, do not believe me? Well, then go here: http: // www .

  Rojakpot.com/Speed_Demonz/Disk_ Cache_Optimization / Disk_Cache_

Optimization_01.htm. Here the author of the site conducts a series of tests with various

Settings Vcache on 128 MB of RAM (Disk WinMark, Business Winstone, Turok, Half-

Life, 3D Mark 99) and eventually comes to the conclusion that with this amount of RAM

Configure yourself Vcache does not make sense.

You can often find tips on setting up Chunksize - block size (in bytes),

To which Disk Cache is partitioned (everything is configured in the same vcache section

File system.ini). Yes, indeed, this parameter affects

Performance, although very little.

All the salt is that the default value is 512 bytes - it's already

In many cases optimal, so that nothing to edit is not necessary. For details

Go to http: // www . Rojakpot.com/

Speed_Demonz / Chunksize_Optimization / Chunksize_Optimization_01.htm.

In Windows, you can also configure the number of files (referring to file names)

And directories that will be cached.

In this regard, many advise to expose Typical Role of the computer as Network

Server. Well, the thought is sound, only in this case will only be cached 2729

Files and 64 directories, which will be allocated only 40 kilobytes of RAM. But we

Anybody and nothing prevents to increase productivity of the disk system even more

And set the size of the cache for file names and directories, say, 3 times more,

That is, 150 kilobytes. This will cause Windows to cache already

Simultaneously 6144 files and 200 directories! We open Regedit, we go in

HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ FS Templates \.

There will already be 3 keys responsible for the 3 main roles of your computer -

Desktop, Server, Mobile. Create a new key by analogy, say, New cache,

Assign it a name (double click on the word Default and type, for example, My

Cool cache).

Then in our key create two parameters (Binary) - NameCache and PathCache.

  We assign the value Name: hex: 00,18,00,00, and the parameter PathCache

- hex: c8.00,00,00. Next, go to Control Panel \ System \ Performance \ File

System \ Hard Disk and select the drop-down list Typical role of this computer

Our "My cool cache".

You can experiment with other sizes of the cache. As far as I am concerned

It is known, the maximum possible value for NameCache is hex:

00, ff, 00,00 (65280 files), and for PathCache - hex: ff, 00,00,00 (255 directories).

  But note that in the latter case Windows will have to allocate 2.1 MB for the cache, so

That set such large values ​​only if you have at least 128 MB

Memory.

Perhaps this is the main thing that every user should do to get

The pleasure of working in the new OS from Microsoft.

And therefore, allow me to bow out.