Member Avatar for bluedos82

Well, that is what the teacher told me. This is an old computer running Win98 and it keeps freezing. She tells me that it freezes when she submits her attendence (the program here is called Winschool) or when she checks her e-mail (Outlook) or does anything. If she has more than one program/window open, then it freezes. I have already been in the computer to boost the RAM (I only added 32, that was all I had at the time) It made some improvements. SO far I have it stable enough to send out this plea for help. Anyone?

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Good thread — useful pointers from , and . Before buying a replacement, run a few targeted checks to pin down whether this is memory pressure, a failing component, or a single app (Winschool / Outlook) misbehaving.

  • Safe‑mode test: boot the machine into Safe Mode and use it for a while. If it stays stable, the cause is very likely a driver or third‑party program. If it still freezes, suspect hardware.
  • Memory check: run a bootable memory tester (memtest86 or similar) for several passes; any errors point to bad RAM modules. Try reseating sticks and testing one module at a time.
  • Disk health: run ScanDisk/CHKDSK with thorough checks and then defragment. If the drive shows lots of errors or long surface scan times, the HDD may be failing. If available, check SMART with a utility from another machine.
  • Swap file fragmentation: on Win9x the system swap (win386.swp) can become fragmented — delete it from a DOS prompt (with backups in place) and reboot so Windows recreates a contiguous file.
  • Application data: large or corrupt Outlook PST files and school database files often hang old clients. Compact or archive mail, export a fresh profile, or copy the Winschool DB and test it on another PC. Reinstalling/updating the app is a good quick test.
  • Basic hardware housekeeping: open the case, remove dust, verify fans spin, and make sure expansion cards are seated. Intermittent PSU or motherboard faults commonly cause freezes under even modest load.

If diagnostics show hardware errors, back up the teacher’s files (export mail, copy Winschool data) before doing anything else. Given the age of Win98 machines, replacement is often the most reliable long‑term solution — but these checks will tell you whether a small fix (bad RAM, HDD) will buy more life.

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Member Avatar for Zachery

sounds like she needs a new computer.... or a massive upgrade

Member Avatar for borumas

Right click on "My Computer" then select performance- see how many resources are available, it is best to have it over 80% if you can and when it is 50% or less it will run like a dog. Go to Start/Run and type "msconfig", click on "Startup" then uncheck any uneeded apps from hoggin RAM at the startup of the pc- some easy ones to take out are MS Office, Corel, AIM, AOL, MSN, etc... these can be run whenever she wants but they do not need to take up resources by running in the background.

Member Avatar for Monte

Yeah im with Faranth, it's time for an upgrade ;)

Member Avatar for bluedos82

Okay, upgrade it is. I just got in a shipment of new computers and will give one to the teacher. Thanx guys

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