Windows 98 SE slows when Multitasking \ VOGONS

Windows 98 SE slows when Multitasking

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First post, by King_Corduroy

Posted on 2013-12-15, 19:08

King_Corduroy Offline

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Hello all, I was hoping you guys could figure out if this is normal or what but I am running windows 98 SE on a Sony Viao PCX-RX550.
Specs :
CPU : Intel Pentium 4 1.6 ghz
RAM : 512 mb
Sound : PCI Soundblaster Live! SB0200
Graphics : PCI Nvidia Geforce TNT2

When I use it normally to do things like run games or MS Office 97 it works perfectly, it boots quickly and shuts down even faster.
However when I run two things simultaneously it slows to a crawl. This can be anything, unzipping files and having Excel 97 open even.
Also my sound stutters a bit when the computer starts up, any advice?

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Reply 1 of 5, by F2bnp

Posted on 2013-12-15, 19:25

F2bnp Offline

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See if your HDD has DMA enabled.
Google it and it should be pretty easy to find instructions on how to do so!

Reply 2 of 5, by Jorpho

Posted on 2013-12-16, 01:05

Jorpho Offline

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Do you have the swap file enabled? I'm not sure why it would be disabled, but that would definitely slow Windows down during multitasking. (Even with 512 MB, I think Windows might still try to use the swap file.)

Also, have you installed any patches or unofficial service packs?

Reply 3 of 5, by King_Corduroy

Posted on 2013-12-16, 17:04

King_Corduroy Offline

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Actually I think it was what the first guy said. I checked the DMA on the HDD and it was disabled so I enabled it and restarted the computer and no sound stuttering. So far multitasking seems to be normal now. So problem fixed I think.
As to the service packs I think I applied the official one but that was it. Also if I were to check the swap file how would I go about that?

Check me out at Transcendental Airwaves on Youtube! Fast-food sucks!

Reply 4 of 5, by Jorpho

Posted on 2013-12-16, 20:00

Jorpho Offline

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King_Corduroy wrote:
As to the service packs I think I applied the official one but that was it.

There is no official service pack for Windows 98 SE.

Also if I were to check the swap file how would I go about that?

It's in the System control panel somewhere, probably under a Virtual Memory setting. (Opinions seem to differ as to how large it should be, but on a Pentium 4 with 512 MB of RAM, I don't think the specifics will make much of a difference.)

Reply 5 of 5, by King_Corduroy

Posted on 2013-12-16, 20:31

King_Corduroy Offline

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Cool. Sorry I couldn't remember if I had updated so I guess that means I have not then. 🤣
Thanks for the info I'll take a gander at it but everything seems fine now so no worries. 😁

Check me out at Transcendental Airwaves on Youtube! Fast-food sucks!

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