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The Windows Disk Cleanup tool that is built into Windows can help you free up space. Disk Cleanup starts automatically under certain conditions--for example, if you copy a file to a hard disk with less than 3% free space, say, 30MB on a 1GB hard disk. However, it's a good idea to use the program regularly, so you don't reach that 3% threshold in the first place. More info Click Here

ScanDisk: Run occasionally . Disable your Screensaver, disable any Scheduled Events, and close all programs (including virus software). Run ScanDisk, and take a long tea-break.

• ALWAYS use Scandisk immediately after an 'event'
  
• ALWAYS reboot and use Scandisk after a crash.
  
• Otherwise use Scandisk about once a month, or as needed.

Yes. We all know it's a chore. It is also necessary to prevent a problem arising. In honesty, that does not occur too frequently. If it does happen often, then you are into immediate, and substantial troubleshooting, if not a complete reinstallation of Windows 98 plus all your updates and 32-bit software (and some 16-bit).

Scandisk is Windows 98's disk error detection/repair tool. It will clean up many errors, such as corrupt or damaged files or lost clusters. It will help you get rid of things like cross-linked files which results in system slowdown - and helps to reduce the risk of a logical hard drive crashes.

The Surface Scan checks the disk for physical errors. It marks any damaged clusters as 'bad' - now Windows 95/98 will not write to that marked area. Otherwise the bad cluster will be written to and that data will not be retrievable with possible serious consequences.

In addition to defragging, the Windows Disk Defragmenter can place the files for your most frequently used programs at the front of the disk for faster access. It manages this trick by keeping a log file to identify which applications you use the most. If the list has changed since the last time you defragmented, reordering the files may slow down the process.

Drivers & Updates: Check for new drivers and software updates about every three months, especially Video drivers and Windows updates/fixes. Never use a .0 version

Run Virus Scanner: make sure there are no viruses on your computer (recommended to run 2 times a month) Check your virus definition date to be sure your software is up to date. Remember your virus software subscription must be renewed yearly!

Check Surge Protector: Most surge suppressors have an indicator light which will go out if your protection is compromised by a powerful surge. Units that are not equipped with an indicator light will stop working altogether if unit is damaged by a surge

Power surges are an increase in the voltage that powers your electrical equipment.

Surges often go unnoticed, often lasting only 1/120th of a second, but they are much more common and destructive than you might think. According to recent studies, your electrical equipment is constantly experiencing surges of varying power. Some of them can be absorbed by your power supply while others can only be handled by a quality surge suppressor. The most destructive power surges will wipe out anything that gets in their way

Some surge protectors include RJ11 modem/fax line surge suppression to protect the modem/phone from a power surge.

Error Messages

(be sure to write down error message and details) Then call a tech to resolve the problem

Invalid Page Fault When an application causes an invalid page fault in a module, it means that it tried to load a page into an address space that was occupied by the module, which should run in a protected memory space anyway. If the module belongs to the Windows Kernel, it is likely that not just the application, but the operating system will crash. The real question is: How and why does the application cause the invalid page fault? It could be a bug, or just a badly written application, or even a corrupted Vmm32.vxd. Anyhow it should be clear that is it necessarily not the module itself. (click on details. Then write down the entire error message above registers )

Fatal exceptions occur when invalid code, invalid data or an illegal instruction is accessed by an application, or when an operation is executed, or tried to be executed, on a wrong level. The exception is generated by the processor and returned to the operating system which will react with a message on a blue screen.

General protection fault (GPF) occurs when Windows attempts to access a memory space previously allocated to another program. Any code present in the memory space at the time of the illegal access risks data corruption. Generally, only data held temporarily in memory at the time of the attempted access becomes corrupted, but program files can become permanently damaged as well. (click on details. Then write down the entire error message above registers )

Windows Protection Error means that an error occurred loading a virtual device driver (VxD) before the desktop is loaded. In many cases you can tell from the error message which VxD did not load, but in other cases you may not be able to determine which VxD caused the problem.