Windows 3.1 and 3.11 still
get the job done for many of us. But when your Windows
resources become intolerably low, the only sure way
of recovering those resources is to exit Windows and
restart. To keep your version of the operating system
in top shape, make sure you're using these tried-and-true
memory management techniques.
1. Cache in. Running Windows without a cache
is like trying to run a race while holding your breath.
A disk cache is an area of memory that stores recently
used data from your hard disk, so your computer doesn't
have to take the comparatively slow route of looking
on the drive for everything it needs.
Fortunately, Windows 3.x installs and uses a cache
of its own--SmartDrive. To make sure SmartDrive is in
use, look for a line containing 'smartdrv.exe' in config.sys
or autoexec.bat. (If you don't see it, ask the person
who configured your computer whether a third-party cache
program has been installed.) If you're using Windows
for Workgroups 3.11, open the Control Panel, double-click
the 386 Enhanced icon, click Virtual Memory, click Change,
and make sure Use 32-Bit Disk Access is checked. The
cache size (both in this Control Panel dialog box and
in your smartdrv command line) should be big enough
to boost your speed but small enough to keep it from
taking too much memory away from applications. If you
don't have time to experiment with different cache sizes,
just accept the default values.
2. Buff it down. DOS has a kind of built-in
disk cache that you control with the 'buffers=' line
in your config.sys file. But if you're using SmartDrive,
a larger DOS buffer setting can actually hurt efficiency.
Open config.sys (it's in the root of your start-up drive)
using a text editor such as Notepad, and try a setting
like buffers=15. If you're not using SmartDrive, use
the setting buffers=30, or whatever your caching software
recommends.
3. Tune it up. Run an optimizing utility once
a week to defragment your hard disk. This procedure
is especially important if you are using a temporary
swap file (yech--see tip 4), but defragging also improves
SmartDrive's performance. If you can't afford a third-party
tool such as SpeedDisk--part of the venerable Norton
Utilities--use the Scandisk and Defrag utilities that
come with DOS 6 (you'll need to exit Windows to use
these tools). If you're using disk compression other
than DoubleSpace or DriveSpace, stick with the defragmenting
utility that came with your compression software.
4. Swap till you drop. When you run out of
memory, Windows uses free hard disk space, or virtual
memory, as a temporary swap file. But you'll get much
better performance if your computer uses a permanent
swap file--a dedicated portion of your hard drive that
Windows can use only for this purpose. Some applications,
in fact, won't even start unless you have a permanent
swap file.
To make sure you've got one, open up the Control
Panel, double-click the 386 Enhanced icon, and click
Virtual Memory. The Swapfile Settings list at the top
of the Virtual Memory dialog box (see FIGURE 3)
tell the story: If you see 'Type: Permanent', you're
in good shape.
If that isn't what you see, exit Windows and defragment
your hard disk(s) as described in tip 3. Then return
to the Virtual Memory dialog box and click Change to
get to a dialog box with a New Swapfile Settings section.
Select a fast hard disk with lots of free space (but
don't choose a compressed drive, a network drive, or
a RAM drive), and enter a virtual memory size in the
New Size box. If you have oodles of hard disk space,
you needn't use the entire amount that Windows recommends
for virtual memory. As a rule of thumb, set a swap-file
size that is double the amount of your total RAM (or
a little less if you have 16MB or more). Depending on
the apps you use and your disk space requirements, you
can come back and change this size later. Click OK and
follow the prompts to restart Windows.
5. Access with 32 bits. While you're in the
Virtual Memory dialog box (see tip 4), notice whether
the 'Use 32-Bit Disk Access' box in the bottom left
of the dialog box is checked. (If you don't see the
check box, click Change to expand the dialog box.) Checking
this box lets Windows use a special device driver for
faster disk access. To take advantage of this feature,
you must be using a Western Digital WD-1003 (or compatible)
hard disk controller. How do you know what you've got?
Make sure the box is checked, then click OK and follow
the prompts to restart Windows. If Windows won't restart,
you probably don't have a compatible system. In that
case, type win /d:f at the DOS prompt to start Windows
without this feature; then return to the Virtual Memory
dialog box and uncheck the box.
6. Deny DOS. If you never use DOS applications,
eke out a bit more memory by removing from your config.sys
file the line that loads emm386.exe. Delete the line
that begins with the command 'Device=c:\emm386.exe'.
7. Try a paler shade of light. A more austere
display can also save memory. Lower the number of colors
your monitor uses. Your video system should have a Windows
utility to do this.
8. Pattern it. Another way to conserve resources
is to turn off Windows' wallpaper. Open the Control
Panel, double-click the Desktop icon, and select (None)
from the Wallpaper File drop-down list. If your desktop
now seems too dull, choose a design from the Pattern
drop-down list at the top of the Desktop dialog box--or
click the Edit Pattern button to create your own. Click
OK when you're finished.
9. Tune out, turn off. Fancy commercial screen
savers slow things down and eat up system resources.
To save resources , use Windows' built-in screen savers,
which make fewer demands on the system. To remedy both
problems, skip the screen saver altogether and just
turn your monitor off when you're not using it.
10. Simplify, simplify, simplify. Each on-screen
item creates a small drain on system resources. To maximize
resources, reduce the number of icons and groups in
Program Manager, and open only the windows, toolbars,
menus, and icon displays you need for your applications.
Find files from this article at http://www.pcworld.com/software_lib/.
Windows Tips welcomes your questions and tips and pays
$50 for published items. Contributing Editor Scott Dunn
is a principal author of The PC Bible, second edition
(Peachpit Press, 1995, 800/283-9444). See page 14 for
contact information.
Virtual Memory is an area of disk space that Windows
uses to supplement the real memory in your PC.
To increase the amount of virtual memory that Windows
will try to create, select 386 Enhanced in the
Control Panel in the Main window. You have the
choice of creating a temporary virtual memory
file on your H:\ drive or, if you have a hard disk,
a permanent virtual memory file on your hard
disk (typically C:\ drive). Windows requires that you
have twice as much free disk as you request for virtual
memory. You will probably only be able to create the
large amount of virtual memory required by Mosaic 2
by using a hard disk.
If you create a virtual memory file on your hard
disk and then log in to your account from a diskless
PC, you will not be able to run Windows at all. If this
happens, you will need to delete the file H:\WIN\SYSTEM.INI
before running Windows.
Note that whilst you are running Windows, the virtual
memory file can use diskspace up to the maximum size
that you specified. This reduces the amount of diskspace
available to other applications.
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