Partition the Hard Disk
With hard disc's ever increasing in size above 1Gig, there is the temptation to install the Operating System (Windows 95/98), Program Software, Data Files and Cache Memory all on one disc. The down side to this is that if Windows trashes itself or a virus attacks it can leave the PC with no option other than to format the whole hard disc and reinstall everything.
A solution to this is to partition the hard disc into 3 or 4 partitions. This is best done before any operating system or software is installed.
For hard disc's above 2 Gig there are two options that we have found that work well.

Cache also includes the location of the Virtual Memory.

FAT32 partitions is one of the options available during the partitioning process.

Use separate partitions for Programs and Data Files
This leads on from the above, for setting up separate partitions. When Data Files are stored in their own partition the fragmentation of the other partitions is greatly reduced.

Setting up Virtual Memory
There has been much debate on this one but we have found it definitely works. And despite what Win95 thinks, it does not always know best!
There are a number of scenarios, but the one that we have found that works best is to set the Minimum and Maximum virtual memory to three times the system memory. This can vary a little, because it depends how much RAM your PC has to start with and the demands of your applications. It is also recommend to place the Virtual Memory on a Non-System drive, i.e. place it on to a Drive or Partition other than the one Windows itself was installed on to.

Set the Max. and Min. to tree times the size of your system RAM. This is done with PC's that have the right amount of RAM for the applications being used on it. So if the PC has 32Meg of RAM then the Max. and Min. are set to 96. One of the significant performance increases obtained by using this method is the Virtual Memory is not constantly being resized, which would normally consume both CPU and HardDisk time.




To adjust the Virtual Memory settings:
close all open applications, this is because the PC will need to be restarted after performing the changes to the Virtual Memory, then from the Windows Task Bar select
- Start
 - Control Panel
  - System
   - Performance
    - Virtual Memory
select Let me specify my own virtual memory settings
Hard disk : E:\ or your cache partition of your Hard Disk
Minimum : three times the system memory i.e. 32Meg sys mem = 96
Maximum : three times the system memory i.e. 32Meg sys mem = 96


If after adjusting these settings you receive "out of memory" errors from some applications, then you really should invest is some more RAM for your computer. It works out a lot cheaper than replacing a dead hard disc and reloading all the software. But in the mean time just increase the Maximum setting by increments of 16 until the "out of memory" errors stop. This will also give an indication of how much RAM the PC really requires.

If you don't limit Win95, it has been known to use up all the "free" space on a hard disc.

Disable the Windows 95 logo on startup.
This requires editing the MSDOS.SYS file in the root directory of C: drive or your boot drive/partition. First make a backup or copy of the file, and then use Notepad to edit it. Under [Options] add these lines if they are not already there:
BootGUI=1
Logo=0

Set the system BIOS boot sequence to C: then A:
There is nothing more annoying than receiving a call from someone who has just bought a new PC and after a day or two it wont boot up. The cause being that they have left a floppy disc in the A: drive.
It also reduces the probability of the system being booted from a virus infected system disc.
And if someone is at the point that the only option to booting the system is from a floppy disc and they don't know how to change it back to A: then C:, then it would be better if they got a little help from someone in the know!

Replacing the MS win95 startup and shut down screens
Select 3 of your favourite pictures, preferably 640 x 480 and squash them down to 320 x 400 and 256 colour.
Save the existing files called C:\LOGO.SYS, C:\WINDOWS\LOGOW.SYS and C:\WINDOWS\LOGOS.SYS under new names, the easiest way is to change the file extension to .OLD instead of .SYS .
Now save your new opening screen as C:\LOGO.SYS
the 'wait while shutting down' screen as C:\WINDOWS\LOGOW.SYS
and the 'safe to switch off' screen as C:\WINDOWS\LOGOS.SYS

Now just reboot your system to admire your handy work!

X-SETUP is a software package that can be found at http://www.kos.org/software/xset.htm that basically does all of the above without you needing to be a computer wiz. It is one of Tim's excellent discoveries.

Tweak UI
Microsoft have a utility called Tweak UI that can perform some of the above.

WinTach
WinTach is Windows 3.1 system speed test software by Texas Instruments, Inc. It is old, but very simple, easy to use and provides reliable results of the system performance. You might be surprised to find that changing the screen size or adding more memory can some times make your system go slower.

• WinTach V1.0 (97K)

WinTach 1.0 is Copyright 1992 Texas Instruments, Inc.
This program may be freely distributed in its original form,
with all files intact and unmodified.

Windows 95/98 does the plug and pray and install what it assumes are the correct drivers for video cards be is can get it wrong. One PC that ERAust tested had an overall result of 50, but when the correct driver was installed the overall result went up to 315. Yes, even the human could tell the difference on that occasion.

ERAust has found it a little gem on more than one occasion. It is small, but doesn't leave anything on the PC after its been used and fits on a floppy disc instead of requiring a whole CD like some. It is rather novel referencing a new PC to a 386-DX-20.