One of the most frustrating situations is operating a software program that doesn't run as fast as you'd like. Anyone who's ever had to wait five seconds for a line they've typed to appear, or for a field they've dragged with the mouse to move on screen knows how uncomfortable a slow computer feels. Aside from adding more memory (RAM) to your computer, there are many ways to increase the speed of Windows that are both easier and cheaper than adding RAM. Some of these are well known, some more obscure, but if you're struggling with a pokey computer, all of them are worth a try.
1. Remove EMM386.EXE from your Config.SYS
While Windows does require Extended Memory in order to run, it does not use Expanded Memory or EMS. If most of your applications are in Windows, you can speed them up considerably by removing the EMM386 driver that provides Expanded Memory to DOS applications. This is done by removing the following line from your Config.SYS file:
DEVICE=C:\\DOS\\EMM386.EXE NOEMS
You must exit Windows and restart your computer for this change to take effect.
Of course, EMM386 may be running from a directory other than DOS, and you may have other settings after the EMM386.EXE name. However, removing EMM386.EXE presents two problems: first, you won't be able to load any DOS-level drivers high, which may cause Out of Memory errors in Windows if you don't have enough conventional memory. Second, memory management should then be done in the system.ini to accomodate network cards, etc. that load into the UMB area.
If you must run EMM386.EXE to load DOS drivers high, than you want to make sure the NOEMS setting is used. If the word RAM is there instead, a section of memory that could be used by Windows programs is taken away to provide Expanded Memory. If not enough RAM memory is available for a Windows program, Windows will provide disk space as something called Virtual Memory to make up the shortage. This will cause a tremendous slowdown of your Windows program's performance.
2. Use a Standard VGA Display Driver
While many applications require a high resolution display with thousands of colors, most people find that a standardVGA driver provides adequate display and gains speed. If you are using an 800 X 600 or 1024 X 768 driver, you may find that switching to a 640 X 480, 16-color driver will dramatically speed up your work. If you absolutely must run at higher resolutions, switching to a driver that has less colors will certainly speed things up.
To change drivers, open the Windows Setup program (usually located in the Main Window). Select Change System Settings from the Options menu, and pull down the Display list. Select the driver that says just "VGA" from the list and click on the OK button. If you already have the VGA driver on the system, click on the Current button when it appears. You must then restart Windows for the change to take effect.
3. Make Sure Windows is in Enhanced Mode
Basically, Windows 3.1 on a 386 or better machine can run in two modes; Standard and 386 Enhanced. To find out which one you are running in, select Help from the Program Manager menu and choose About Program Manager. If you see that you are in Standard Mode, click OK, exit Windows, and at the DOS prompt type reopen Windows by typing
WIN /3 <Enter>.
This will put you in Windows' 386 Enhanced Mode. If you are running Windows for Workgroups 3.11, you are already in 386 Enhanced Mode because Standard Mode was removed in that version of Windows.
4. The Windows Swap File
Windows running in 386 Enhanced Mode frees up memory by building a temporary swap file on the hard disk. Setting up a permanent swap file can greatly improve speed by preventing the constant fragmentation created by a temporary file.
To create a permanent swap file, select the Control Panel's 386 Enhanced button. Click the Virtual Memory button, then select Change. Choose the hard drive from the Drive list, then select Permanent from the Type list. Depending on the size of your hard drive, you can accept the recommended size or enter a new size. If you see the Use 32-Bit Disk Access box, make sure it's checked. Click OK, then click Restart to restart Windows.
5. Check your Load Line
The Load line in the Win.INI file automatically launches applications in Windows to run as icons. This means you may actually be loading applications that are eating up memory without knowing it.
To check this, open the WIN.INI file in the Notepad. Check the [Windows] section for a line that reads "Load =", and delete anything after the "=" that you do not need to load. Save the file and restart Windows.