I´ve tried almost everything...

Z

ZF_Dude_58

New Member
Dear members!

First of all I would like to say thank´s a LOT in advance for the time that YOU will put in to post any thoughts on this problem to help me! :D
To the issue:
Hardware:
Siemens Scaleo 1 Ghz CPU socket 370 (biostar-usa.com => 1 GHz = OK!);
3 x 256 MB Kingston RAM;
MAXTOR DiamondMAX 20 GB HDD (~ 75% free space), 5400 rpm.
128 MB ATI graphics card;
Mobo BioStar M6VCG manufactured in 2000 week 39;

OS: W ME

The problems are:
Despite all the RAM according to AMS Fast Defrag 2 Pro after a while show 1 (!!!) MB left;
The monitor sometimes show me a webpage that - in lack of a better word -
is completed horizontally step by step like the Venetian blind and the picture also jumps back and forth horizontally before it stops in the correct position;
Google may take almost 5-20 sec to load completely no matter what time or day it is (I can only choose the swedish one-not the american/english one that I prefer);
To move a large folder to a backup HDD, say some 1,5 GB will take hours (!);
According to my ISP I´m connected to a 24 Mbit line but I´ve never been over 6,75 Mbit, even in the middle of a late night during a weekend to compare this time with a ordinary mid-week afternoon;

This is what I´ve done so far:
The ATX PSU has been replaced by 2 other units for a test of the original one - same result;
The CPU works as the former 700 MHz did - I mean no noticible extra errors or any increased speed;
The graphics card has not been replaced with another one yet due to lack of a newer/more powerful one;
The case and all it´s components are almost 100% clean since a month after
a total cleanup with compressed air-in a very gentle but careful way;
According to NOD32 Antivirus there are no problems;
Ad-Aware - same result;

I´ve been in to computers for the last 10 years but now I´m stuck here.
I´m waiting for a server mobo to be my newer computer BUT I really want to solve this issue just to increase my knowledge further! ;)

I look forward to hear from all of you guys out there with more experience then I have achieved, thank you!
Finally I hope that I´ve make myself understood. :o
Kindest regards
Tony
Gothenburg
SWE
 
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Welcome to CF, Tony!

There are two causes for the slowness: software or hardware. Normally it's easy to track down a specific cause, but with the age of your hardware/OS, it may be tricky, as by today's standards, all of it is out-dated. From what you described already, it seems it may just be a software issue, but because of the hardware age, it could be either.

Before we delve into it, some questions...

How old is the system? With those hardware specs, I'm going to say +/-8 years?
Is this the original install of WinME?
Likewise, is that the original Hard Drive?
When did the slowness start? Did it happen suddenly, or gradually? Did everything happen at once?
 
Great!

Hi there Imsati!
Thank´s for your reply! Much appreciated!
As a technician in another industry field I decided to open up the case to look for the exact manufacturing dates of each components for you: ;)

Mobo: as mentioned when I started the thread, a BioStar M6VCG, dated 2000 week 38/39, rev. 1.2
Graphics card by ATI, Rage 128 Pro, manufactured in the year 2000 week 24;
HDD by Maxtor, also mentioned above, dated back to the very same year, november the 3rd;
OS: yes this is the swedish version of the Win ME and to 100% fully original with the
sticker on the case!; ;)
About your question about the HDD to be the original one or not:
as I´m not the first owner of the computer, I´m not sure, but based upon all the manufacturing dates that I´ve been presented above in this reply, I would "like" to think that this might be the case, don´t you too?
=====
The slowness became (become?) more obvious about 2 months ago. The problem is that I´ve not been able to recall any incident at that time to draw a paralell to.
I would also like to add the following:
The system is kept in a good status = defragmentation is run mostly every weekend;
Scandisk has never mentioned one single cluster to be "bad", nor have I ever seen any reports of a cluster to not been able to read from/written to;
The IDE is set to DMA since I laid my hands on the machine in the middle of september in 2007.
What makes me really wonder is WHY the system does not have been any remarkable faster even after the by BioStar accepted upgrade from 700 MHz to 1 GHz CPU (socket 370 and Intel) and from the original 128 Mb RAM to 768 MB Kingston (in all the 3 of the banks)!?
Is it possible that the speed of the HDD, 5400 rpm, and a buffer size not to be mentioned at the same time as one talk about the very latest HDDs that can offer at least 8 MB can be a part of the issue?
(I have also checked and replaced one of the IDE cables.)
Thank´s to all who will take part in this problem of mine! :)

Kindest regards
Tony
 
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Well your system is alittle on the small side to start with and it has Windows ME, one of the buggiest OS microsoft ever made. If the OS has been installed (along) time it could just need a fresh install( clutter thats accumulated over the years). If you still have your ME cd find all your drivers first, and then do a clean install of ME or better if you have windows 98 cd even though neither is supported by microsoft anymore 98 was more stable than ME.
 
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Mobo: as mentioned when I started the thread, a BioStar M6VCG, dated 2000 week 38/39, rev. 1.2
Graphics card by ATI, Rage 128 Pro, manufactured in the year 2000 week 24;
HDD by Maxtor, also mentioned above, dated back to the very same year, november the 3rd;
OS: yes this is the swedish version of the Win ME and to 100% fully original with the
sticker on the case!;
About your question about the HDD to be the original one or not:
as I´m not the first owner of the computer, I´m not sure, but based upon all the manufacturing dates that I´ve been presented above in this reply, I would "like" to think that this might be the case, don´t you too?
Click to expand...

Well, those are 7+ year old components, so depending on conditions before you came into possession of the system, it's very possible one of them is failing. I'm willing to bet that with those parts dates that the system itself was sold around January 2001.

As far as the software goes, defragmenting is good, but it only helps to a certain degree. Depending on your use, once a week is a bit overkill. Typically, I see the best (and this is from my experience, your mileage may vary) is to do it 3 times in a row every other month or so. This ensures that the drive is packed as tightly as possible, as some files will not defrag on the first pass.

About WinME; it was a...unique...Windows OS, to say the least. Frankly, it probably shouldn't have been shipped - lots of half-done stuff and was rushed out so MS could make money before XP debuted. When I mentioned the original install, I meant to ask if it had ever been formatted a few years back and reinstalled? Reason being, all Windows (from 3.1 to at least XP - Vista, too, probably) inherently run slower with time. This is due in part to a few things, mainly the way the file systems are designed and how the software handles extended use/data. Have you ever left your system on for 2+ weeks at a time and noticed it getting slower until you reboot? It speeds up afterwards because the RAM is wiped clean with the reboot - very similar situation.

As far as being faster after the CPU upgrade, you need to look at the rest of the system as a whole, which we'll get to in a moment. Also, a 300mhz increase, while modest for the era, was only an increase to 1 Ghz total - quick by 2001 standards, but after seeing dual-cores in use daily nowadays. 1 Ghz total (even upped from 700mhz) seems like a Sunday stroll.

Regarding the other components, yes, the speed of the HDD plays a huge factor. For as much as I'm an advocate of 'if it still suits your needs, use it!', you may want to consider upgrading to a new(er) system. If that's not feasible, I'd recommend either making a backup of your personal files, formatting the HDD, then reinstalling ME fresh (you'd most likely see a noticeable speed increase), or getting a 7200 RPM HDD, install ME on it, and use the 5400 RPM one as a Slave so you keep everything on it intact.

So, you obtained the system in September of 2007, and it slowed down around November of 2007? Did I read that right? Ever download stuff from unknown sources? Visit crazy websites? Connect to the internet without a Router/Firewall? Open .exe files you didn't know what they were?
 
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Great reading!

Dear Imsati and StrangleHold!

Well, the both of you are quite right about the OS and especially you Imsati is right on about the age of the system and the technology it´s based upon.
+++++
When the "new" motherboard - a former server one with dual CPUs and 3 GB RAM arrive the next week after all the holidays, I will do a major upgrade, even for the OS; I´ve decided to go from W98SE/ME to 2003 Advanced Server as I plan to set up a smaller LAN.
+++++
As you´ve understand I´ve no clue for how long my ME has been running since the last COMPLETE install.
Once I read (experts-exchange ?) that one is recommended to totally reinstall most of the OSs by Microsoft by every six months (!) based on what you Imsati say:
the OS get cluttered with leftovers from prevoius installs - and a registry messed up and extremely out of date.

About the speed of the HDD:
What would you, Imsati, say would be an estimated increase of "speed" regarding writing and reading to, when going from this old HDD with 5400 rpm to a newer one with, lets say 7200 rpm and a buffer of 8 MB..?
I do have a complete set from Promise so I can put a quite larger one = more modern HDD to my original mobo.
=====
Yes, you did understood me right about when the computer started to slow down! ;)
and yes.... I´ve been a little naughty = yes to the last quickies from you on where I´ve been and what I´ve been doing = open up files and "seen" some bad sites!
=====
To split the ASDL signal for me and our daughter I will use a D-Link router later on. For now I don´t have a firewall of any kind, nor a hard- or a software one.

I say THANK`S a LOT to both of you for the time of yours and all the thoughts!
Kindest regards
Tony
SWE
 
Depending how long till you get your new board a Fresh install of the OS and drivers would would help it. And yes a newer 7200rpm 8mb cache drive would have quicker access times and quicker read and right times but just get a 16mb cache, the cache doesnt make that much of a difference but why not. Jetico still makes a free firewall for 98-ME
http://www.jetico.com/jpfirewall.htm
 
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