I just finished replacing my old 3.2 with a Maxtor 30G hard drive. It initially appeared to open and navigate programs faster but has slowed noticeably, but not to the point of regretting the swap. Internet Explorer is also crawling initially and eventually speeds up upon opening. I read somewhere about a "burn in peroid". Am I experiencing THAT or what exactly is the "burn in period"? I ran the accompanying software and BIOS settings all agreed with the new HD.

American Megatrends MoBo
Cyrix 233 MMX Pentium II
128 MB Memory
Win 98
Maxtor 30G (New Install)

Hi Swat,

As far as I know, a burn in period is done at the factory. They take a certain number of units and run them for a period of time to see if any of the components fail. Saves their butts on returns and reputation.

I noticed a similar thing when I went from a 3gig hdd to a 20gig. After running all the usual utilities (defrag, registry optimization, etc.) the "problem" so to speak, was gone. Then again, maybe I just got used to it. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

Of course, you might want to run a scandisk and a virus scan just to make sure no such problems are slowing you down. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

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Peace and Love, brothers and sisters. Peace and Love

First, you'd have seen more of a speed increase replacing your CPU. I'm almost positive there's no such thing as a Cyrix Pentium. Pentium is a trademark of Intel. Cyrix used to be owned by IBM (I think), and is now owned by the chipset manufacturer Via. Cyrix has never made the best chips...

Also, having a bigger hard drive doesn't necessarily mean faster routine operation. Although I'm sure your new drive is no slower than the old...

Looking at the rest of your specs, this is my suggestion. Start | Run - type "sysedit" and click "OK." Look for the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI window. Add the following line in the [386Enh] section:

ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1

Save and exit.

Next, right-click on "My Computer" and choose "Properties." Under "Device Manager" find your hard drive (under "Disk drives") and click "Properties." Under the "Settings" tab, make sure DMA is enabled (if you don't do anything else, do this - it's a dramatic performance booster).

Then go to "Performance" and, while were here, click "File System." Set "Typical role of this computer" to "Network Server" and click OK. (There's some other optimizations to be made there as well...)

Click "Virtual Memory." Choose "Let me specify my own settings" and choose to disable virtual memory. Click OK, confirm that's what you really want to do, and click OK again. You'll be prompted to reboot. Do so.

As you reboot, use F5 or F8 to get into safe mode. Defrag your hard drive. When that's done, still in safe mode, go back into the Virtual Memory settings. Unclick "Disable virtual memory" and set both the minimum and maximum to maybe 256 or 384, depending on how memory-intensive the applications you run are. Heck, you've got drive space to burn, so maybe more, especially if you're running AutoCAD or something crazy like that. Click OK and reboot.

After doing this, you will have pretty much optimized the extra speed you're going to get from your new drive.

Next, look into upgrading your processor.

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I been doing it since I was a young kid
I come out grinnin'
I fight authority,
Authority always wins

When virtual memory is enabled, Windows uses hard disk space to create a dynamically-sized swap file (called Win386.swp). Items from RAM are exchanged out to the swap file for active applications or processes. Windows lets you control three things about virtual memory: the hard disk on which the swap file resides, the minimum size, and the maximum size. To see how virtual memory is configured on your computer:
1. Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel.

2. Double-click System, then click the Performance tab in the System Properties dialog box.

3. Click Virtual Memory.

Problems with virtual memory may occur because of insufficient space on the hard disk where the swap file resides, or a maximum setting that is too low for the amount of swapping necessary to complete a task. To make sure your hard disk has sufficient space for the swap file, delete unneeded files to make more space available.
A damaged swap file may also cause system errors. You can ensure the swap file is not damaged by re-creating it. To re-create the swap file:
1. Exit from all applications.

2. Create a Windows startup disk by choosing Start > Settings > Control Panel, double-clicking Add/Remove Programs, clicking the Startup Disk tab, and following the on-screen instructions. (After changing system settings, such as virtual memory, Windows may be unable to start, so you may need a startup disk.)

3. Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel, double-click System, click the Performance tab, and then click Virtual Memory.

4. Select the option labeled, “Let Me Specify My Own Virtual Memory Settings.”

5. From the Hard Disk pop-up menu, choose a hard disk that has at least twice the amount of your computer’s installed RAM. For example, if your computer has 24 MB of RAM, choose a hard disk that has at least 48 MB of free space.

6. In both the Minimum and Maximum text boxes, enter a value equal to double the amount of your computer’s installed RAM.

7. Click OK to close the Virtual Memory dialog box.

8. When the message, “You have chosen not to let Windows manage virtual memory automatically. . .” appears in the Confirm Virtual Memory Setting dialog box, click Yes.

9. Click OK in the System Properties dialog box.

10. Restart Windows by clicking Yes in the System Settings Change dialog box. If Windows doesn’t restart, insert the startup disk you created in step 1, and then restart Windows.
There are a few other things you can do to resolve problems with virtual memory.
• Let Windows manage virtual memory.
Note: Microsoft strongly recommends using Windows’ default settings for virtual memory. By default, Windows selects the startup drive for the swap file. If the startup drive that is too full or fragmented, however, letting Windows manage virtual memory won’t solve the system problem.

• If you are managing the virtual memory settings, select a hard disk for the swap file that is uncompressed and has ample free space.

• Optimize and defragment the hard disk. For instructions, refer to your Windows documentation, or the documentation included with your disk defragmenting utility.

• Increase the Maximum size value for the swap file, making sure that you don’t exceed the amount of free space on the hard disk.



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YODA74@windows-sucks.com
CCMR (http://www.dreamwater.net/tech/yoda74/index.html)

PUSH TO TEST. RELEASE TO DETONATE.
[Closed captioned for the thinking impaired.]

Hello swat253,

Maxtor does have a utility, namely POWERMAX (http://www.maxtor.com/products/DiamondMax/techsupport/TechnicalProcedures/20014.htm) which they do recommend be run on any new Maxtor HDD.

As far as "Burn In," I'm not sure if the HDD is included. I think it involves a RAM diagnostic program that continuously runs varying memory loads checking for RAM faults.

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May all your dealings in life be win/win!


Whyzman
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Reserved for Punishing Humor...A Pessimist's blood is always B-negative!

Thanks for the reply. I ran ScanDisk and defrag and all is running well now. Sometimes the simple things are just TOO obviuos
Thanks!


Originally posted by Steve:
Hi Swat,

As far as I know, a burn in period is done at the factory. They take a certain number of units and run them for a period of time to see if any of the components fail. Saves their butts on returns and reputation.

I noticed a similar thing when I went from a 3gig hdd to a 20gig. After running all the usual utilities (defrag, registry optimization, etc.) the "problem" so to speak, was gone. Then again, maybe I just got used to it. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

Of course, you might want to run a scandisk and a virus scan just to make sure no such problems are slowing you down. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

LMAO!

Too true, swat253. After those long posts by me and YODA74, it's almost refreshing to hear that the simple solution worked effectively. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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I fight authority,
Authority always wins

Good job guys, glad it's working right...but one comment.

Don't advise people to disable virtual memory, it can cause windows to be unable to boot. In some cases, virtual memory can be disabled without problems, but it's very risky. I won't do it...

Also I found another method of setting virtual memory recently that I'm going to test and will post some info on it once I know it works.

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You're built upside down!
Note: Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.dreamwater.com/paleopete/computer.htm) has been moved, please update your bookmarks.

I've found it to be the best way to defrag the swapfile. Going immediately into safe mode afterwards, I've done this on three completely different setups running 98 - one a Gateway Celeron with 32 MB RAM - and never had a problem.

Having said that, I understand that there's a big difference between three machines and every possibility. I'll heed your advice, Pete.

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I fight authority,
Authority always wins