Conor McNessa wrote:

> The operating system I'm using is Windows 98, and I'm running Internet
> Explorer 5 or 5.1 (I downloaded and installed 5.1, but it's still calling
> itself 5.0 on the About IE tab in IE Help); Outlook Express; Eudora;
> Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and Powerpoint; Conseal; PGP; Netscape
> Communicator; Winamp; RealPlayer; Norton AntiVirus; Opera; mIRC; Easy CD
> Creator; Adobe Acrobat; Audio Catalyst; Iomegaware; Winzip; Microsoft
> MapPoint, and The Sims.
> When I start up the computer things go fine. I log on and get my email,
> browse some webpages (I use the web in my work and well as play), mooching
> back and forth between IE and Eudora, sending and receiving mail and looking
> at webpages opened from Eudora or through the address bar of the browser.
>
> Then the computer starts slowing disastrously. When I type each letter takes
> a fraction longer to arrive; when i mouse the cursor moves slowly and
> jerkily. When I alt-tab back and forth between programs or ctrl+F6 between
> windows there's a perceptible pause between act and response.

> It's as if there's something massive eating up the memory - though with
> 256MB I should have plenty.

This dosen't look like memory problem to me.

>
>
> I'm wondering if it could be some setting in Norton AntiVirus or Conseal or
> Internet Explorer - IE seems to be the program that is open when this
> happens, and the one that slows the computer most noticeably.

IE doesn't do it either. Norton could do some major slow-down if you enable
Auto-protect, it is worth to look at what's in Norton setting. But there is
possibility of heat problem. When your computer starts slow-down, can you feel
the air (blow out from case) hot? How about the video card, is it hot (if the
video is hot, everything you can see on screen will slow down a lot)?

>
>
> The computer also loses exactly an hour sometimes when this happens. I look
> at the clock and am surprised that it's so early, and go and check another
> clock and find it is an hour later.

lost time usually caused by bettery out-of-power, but your case is not.

>
>
> I have looked at the obvious things: FindFast isn't turned on; I've
> defragged and done a Thorough Scandisk.

Try disable Norton, see if any better.

>
>
> I can't find the resource monitor that should be in System Tools, so I can't
> track what's happening. (Incidentally, I can't find Task Manager either - I
> thought it operated from the taskbar, but it's not there).

You can install it from win98 cd (add/remove program).

Jun Qian

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