Greetings
----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Buraczewski <[log in to unmask]>

> Hello to all
>
> A customer has given me a machine to attempt to find a hardware
problem with
> it, and I am at a loss.
>
> The machine is a custom built box with an Intel TC430HX
motherboard, 32 mb
> of ram, Maxtor 2GB HDD, and Win 95a, IE 5.  I checked this
machine for
> viruses.
>
> The problem as defined by the customer is this:  When using MS
Office
> products, especially Word, when he selects File/Print it takes
as much as 2
> minutes for the print dialog box to appear on the screen.
After the print
> dialog has appeared for the first time, the next time he
attempts to print
> the dialog box pops up instantly.  This is a recent change
identifed during
> the last 6 wks or so.  He worked with MS for a couple of days,
trying to
> make adjustments to the Win.ini file and other solutions.
Ultimately, MS
> threw up their hands and said "Hardware!"  Now it is my
problem.
>
> I tested this and found that all of the common dialog boxes are
slow, but
> especially the print dialog and not only in MS Office products,
but also in
> WordPad.  If I run in Safe Mode the dialog box pops up
instantly.  If I
> delete the Win.ini file, the machine works well until I install
any printer
> drivers, then it gets flakey again.
>
> At times, this machine overall moves like molassas.  The mouse
is extremely
> slow, and the HDD hammers like crazy.  At other times, it seems
to work okay
> except for the dialog box problems.
>
> If I move the HDD to another machine it has the same problem.
If I put
> another HDD on the customers box, it performs perfectly.  This
would seem to
> narrow it down to the HDD.  I have tested the HDD with simple
read/write
> testing software and got not errors over a 12 hour period.
Scan disk shows
> no errors.
>
> I have removed IE5 [identified as loaded about 6 wks ago], but
have no
> changes.
>
> Can anyone suggest where to go next?  The customer is willing
to simply
> format the drive or replace it which we will do.  I on the
other hand have
> become intrigued and am looking for an answer in addition to
the HDD
> replacement.
>
> Any help is appreciated.
>
Given the above symptoms, have you checked to see whether MS
Office's FindFast file indexing tool runs from the startup group?
If so (and if you can do without it--most folks can), remove it
from your startup folder.

The rest of the machine's slowness--particularly in view of the
good performance with a different hard disk drive--could be due
to a buildup of Temporary Internet Files and .tmp files.
Right-click the IE5 icon and choose properties.  In the Temporary
Internet Files section of the General tab click on the Delete
Files button and confirm the deletion (most people don't check
the subsequent delete subscription content box). Also, click on
the Settings button to see how much of your hard disk is
dedicated to caching Internet pages.  Your setting choice may be
too high for your available disk space.  If this is the case,
lower the percentage of your drive devoted to caching pages.
Then, in the History section, click the Clear History button and
confirm the action. You may also want to reduce the number of
days pages are kept in History.

These are some operations that may speed up your disk's
performance.  If it has become too full, you will experience the
symptoms you've described.

HTH,

Paul A. Shippert        Library/Media Specialist
"There is no dark side of the moon really . . .
  matter of fact, it's all dark."  Pink Floyd
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