THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF AVOIDING WINDOWS CRASHES

FIRST ANTICRASH COMMANDMENT

Do not run long sessions of Win95/98.

"Session" is the period of time between a start up and an exit of Windows.

"Long" means more than 2 hours of uninterrupted human activities operating several different applications.
For Example:
For a single application like MS Word, the session may be extended much longer than 2 hours, if only text is being typed.
However, if editing many images in several documents totalling a large number of pages, 2 hours may be too long.
For several different applications such as MS Word, MS Excel etc. operated at the same time, a 2 plus hour session without a crash may be a lucky one depending upon other factors explained below.

COOL-BOOT

To minimize often crushes, just "Cool-Boot" frequently and quickly by way of the undocumented tip as explained below.
The system will unload Win95/98 and immediately reload it. A new fresh session starts, thoroughly restoring all Win95/98 performance capabilities:

1. Save your work and close all applications.
2. Click Start button as if to shut off Win95/98.
3. Click the radio button "Restart the computer".
4. Press and keep pressed the Shift key.
5. Click the button Yes and continue holding down the Shift key until a blank screen appears and it says 'Windows is Restarting' in the upper left corner.

If a particular Windows section is too messed up it may happen that the computer will restart from the beginning, as usual, or even, though rarely, lock up. Permanent crashes on account of the cool boot command may be a sign that Windows is not properly installed and/or not adequately configured.

Cool-Boot always after you finish a long job (whatever its complexity) or after a brief but complex job (Too many applications opened and / or a bulky application with large user-made workfiles).

Always perform a Cool-Boot before you log on any network including your Internet provider.

One who goes through this process several times a day is not free of the system locking up because of badly behaving programs, but one will have many fewer system crashes caused by lack of system resources by not doing so.

MISBEHAVING PROGRAMS
If a programmer had not complied with the programming rules, his(her) program may behave in a way not quite understood by the system, often causing crashes.
But not always. It may give signs of slowing the system performance, or the mouse assumes unaccounted screen pointer aspects or there are other abormal screen symptoms while running, and even after the misconducting program was somehow closed.
When this happens, save your work, close all applications and cool-boot as explained above. Then resume your work.

IF THE SYSTEM CRASHES
In Win95/98, if a bad program or lack of resources, or whatever, crashes the system, press Ctrl Alt Del simultaneously.
A window should pop up (not always) with a list of programs loaded at that moment. Check which programs have between parethesis the following comment: "... is not respondig".
You are expected to select each of these programs, press the "End Task" button, and wait (often a long time) for a second confirmation window, you should confirm.

Thenceforth, even though the system may seem to be OK with the other open applications, it is HIGHLY recommended that you save whatever is possible, (log off if you were linked to a network) and cool-boot, before resuming your work.

If there is not a full reboot after pressing Ctrl Alt Del several times, the only solution is pressing the Reset buttom or, in the absence of this button, shutting off the power, waiting a few seconds, and turning it on again.

SYSTEM RESOURCES RATES
When Win95/98 comes back, after a cool-boot all its system resources usual initial rates are restored.
These rates vary from session to session, from equipment to equipment and with the number of applications launched when Win95/98 is open. A great number of icons on the Task Bar Tray (right end of the Task Bar), when Win95/98 is open, drastically reduces these initial rates,
(Each icon is an open program in the memory).

Optimal rates would be:

User Resources
(Mouse, keyboard, antivirus etc.)..............From 90 to 95%

Kernel Resources
(Innards of Win95/98 engine)....................From 90 to 95%

GDI Resources
(Graphics Display Interface)........................From 95 to 98%

The complement to 100% is used by Win95/98 and loaded programs at start up.

The option Control Panel / System / Performance will show as "System Resources" the lowest of these values at any given moment for Win95/98 sessions.
In Win95/98 a small tool may be inserted in the Task Bar Tray, for continuous monitoring of the separate system resources status, by executing Start / Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Resources Meter.
Although the Resources Meter uses some resource itself, the continuous monitoring of the system resources during Win95/98 sessions, turns it worthwhile.
For Win3.xx users the lowest "System Resources" rate is displayed by clicking on either Program Manager or File Manager menu ? (Help) / About.

As a rule of the thumb: cool-boot, after saving your work and closing all applications, whenever any value displayed approaches 30% for Win95/98 and 35% for Win3.xx. Then resume your work.

Win 3.xx has no cool-boot. You have to save your work, close all applications, exit Win3.xx normally (File / Exit). Return to it by typing WIN at the DOS command line and pressing Enter.
When exiting Win3.xx neither use the icon "Go to DOS" nor press Ctrl Alt Del.

SYSTEM RESOURCES AND PHYSICAL MEMORY
System resources have nothing to do with the amount of physical memory installed, though the lack of resources may eventually restrict the use of some areas of physical memory, producing "Lack of memory" messages eventually in computers with insufficient memory.
"SYSTEM RESOURCES" are specific tiny areas of memory (Only 64 Kb for Win3.1x and 128 Kb for Win95/98) that are critical to Windows operation. Don't take it for 'SYSTEM USAGE" related to components and peripherals (printer, modem and so on) that are being used at a given instant.

Windows does not efficiently restore the amount of resources it has used for running programs once these are closed (unloaded from the memory).
Part of them remain unavailable for the rest of the session. If you go on working in the same session, after some time you will have run out of these minimum resources and so the system crashes; no matter how large the physical memory installed or the disk free space or any other available means.

SYSTEM RESOURCES CRITICAL RATES
If all loaded programs are behaving well, Win95/98 does not crash only when the resources are thoroughly depleted. It is already prone to lock up whenever the availability of:

User Resources lowers to the 30% rate or

Kernel Resources lowers to the 30% rate or

GDI lowers to the 15% rate.

Whichever is reached first may cause a system crash due to lack of resources.

These are approximate values gathered by experience with Win95/98 to date by the author.

In Win95/98, if somehow, you manage to get lower rates, while many applications are open, you may (or may not) receive a message advising you to close some application for lack of system resources, otherwise you crash.
However it doesn't work reliably and more than often Windows crashes before the warning message has a chance to be displayed.

Values for Win3.xx are: User=35% and GDI= 20%. (Win3.xx has no Kernel Resources).

Note that the higher the above minimum rates, the worse the situation, therefore User or Kernel Resources are the most critical ones. The User and Graphics Resources may be economized by following these commandments, but the Kernel Resources depend entirely on the internal controls of the Windows software engine.

SECOND ANTICRASH COMMANDMENT

Run Defrag Utility as often as possible

Fragmented files all over a hard disk slow its access rate. This situation may corrupt either the fragmented files or any other file and eventually contribute to system crashes.
If done daily, in full compression mode, it takes just a couple of minutes each day. (Norton Speed Disk is better). It is recommended to be run at least once a week for computers that are turned on for a minimum of a 2 hour operation everyday and twice a week for those who connect to the Internet regularly, for best performance of the hard disk.

When using Defrag or Norton Speed Disk be aware they perform a previous scan for minor and commom file system flaws and warn you to run Scandisk (or Norton Disk Doctor) whenever they are found.
However neither Defrag nor Speed Disk look for disk surface physical damages as Scandisk and Norton Disk Doctor do.

Therefore always run Scandisk (or Norton Disk Doctor) whenever it is recommended by the Defrag (or the Norton Speed Disk) and at least once every 2 months to check for flaws in the magnetic surface, that should be marked as "bad" for avoiding future use, in every hard disk of the computer.

NOTE: The occurrence of bad clusters in either diskette or hard disk is a serious omen of imminent disaster. Sooner than later, copy all undamaged files from an affected diskette to a new one. As to the hard disk, do not wait too long to have it replaced by a new one.

The Defrag and Scandisk utilities may be run from Start / Programs / Accessories / System Tools in Win95/98.

THIRD ANTICRASH COMMANDMENT

Always work with the minimum number of open applications and windows.

Also, inside each application keep open only the windows for the documents, spreadsheets, images etc. you are really working on.

Each application consumes an average 3% of resources when opened, depending on its type, and requires more according to the kind of operation being done.
Therefore with a dozen loaded applications the user didn't close, (while working on only one), the system is unnecessarily consuming about 30% of scarce resources.

Remember that wallpapers, screensavers, clocks, alarms, background sound and similar user facilities (or system difficulties) count as open applications.

FOURTH ANTICRASH COMMANDMENT

Minimize all the applications you are not
currently working on but need them open.

Maximized (or restore-sized) windows demand more resources than minimized ones. If open applications are minimized, a greater number of applications may be kept open without a crash.

FIFTH ANTICRASH COMMANDMENT

Do not use Alt-Tab to shift among open applications.
Keep applications minimized and then use Alt-Tab, if you are used to it but, remember to minimize them when finished instead of using Alt-Tab again.
Unrestricted use of Alt-Tab will un-minimize open minimized applications what is not compliant with the Fourth Commandament above.

It is rather preferable not to use Alt-Tab at all. Try to get yourself used to minimizing an application and looking for the next you need on the Task Bar of Win95/98. This bar was designed for a safer mode of operation allowing open applications to be checked, (including the minimized ones).

In Win3.xx, always leave an narrow horizontal area under the applications window (Including the Program Manager window), so that you may see which applications are minimized on the desktop.
As in Win95/98, minimize an application and look for the next you need on this area instead of using Alt-Tab.

SIXTH ANTICRASH COMMANDMENT

Use the mouse slowly mainly when drag-dropping objects.

Get yourself used to move your mouse slowly through the screen, allow more time between action clicks, drag objects carefully and don't click anything when you see the hardisk is engaged in an long activity of its own.

SEVENTH ANTICRASH COMMANDMENT

Avoid all screen toys like wallpaper,
patterns, animated mouse icons and the like.

Nice background color and light (Windows default) screensavers are OK, but heavy and unusually fancy ones should be banned.

EIGHTH ANTICRASH COMMANDMENT

Do not leave open bulky applications for further use

Bulky agendas, CAD applications and similar software are voracious system resources eaters.
Open them only when needed, and close them before opening other applications.

NINETH ANTICRASH COMMANDMENT

Avoid software that runs in background .

Task Bar Tray clock is OK on Win95/98 but not alarms and schedulers in background. In Win3.xx avoid screen clocks and alarms.

Scheduling software that runs in background to launch applications at certain preset times or poping up warnings and annoucements may do so during an unlucky CPU activity and lock up your system.

Another nuisance for the system resources are the "Post-it type" software that allows On-Top notes on the screen.

TENTH ANTICRASH COMMANDMENT

Use a traditional antivirus.

Never try a new brand of antivirus software without proper advice.
Resident antivirus software has to be a very good quality one in order to spare resources and be compatible with system requirements otherwise they are often responsible for crashes.

Never use more than a resident (Active in memory and not only stored in the hard disk) antivirus software at a time. Always uninstall one resident antivirus software before installing a new one to avoid false alarms due to mutual interference.

If you find a virus active in memory, turn the system off, stop operating it and call for help in case you are not familiarized with virus removing operation and diskette virus cleaning.

Never go on working with an infected micro because, besides causing system crashes, sooner or later they will end up messing your files in the hard disk beyond repair and infect your backup files in diskettes.

See also " THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF ANTIVIRUS SECURITY"

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