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Tips & Tricks for running Windows XP reliably
Tuesday, October 29, 2002 by Frogboy | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
Windows XP is the most stable version of Windows yet. But many users, particularly those coming from Windows 98 and ME aren't aware of many of the built in features that allow users to recover from almost any problem.
Here is a short sample:
Any time something hangs, you can hit Ctrl-Shift-Esc to bring up the task list. Often times, what is hung won't report itself as being hung. Here are common process names you can kill to get your desktop back to normal:
IEXPLORE.EXE (IE)
explorer.exe (Explorer)
msimn.exe (Outlook Express)
Pretty much these 3 are the ones that tend to cause problems.
Then there's the overall performance. Make sure nothing is eating up your CPU. If you're at 100% CPU (click on the performance tab) then find out what is doing that. Back at the processes tab you can sort by CPU usage by clickin gon the "CPU" header. Find out what's eating all your CPU and kill it.
Next comes general stability. There are 3 things that can cause Windows XP to get flakey:
1) Too much memory used will make the system sluggish
2) Too many GDI objects will eventually make the system very slow and cause buttons and such not to show up
3) Too many handles will do the same thing as #2.
But how to find this out? On the processes page go to the view menu item an choose "select columns". Look for GDI objects and handles. Then start sorting by them. Anything using more htan 1000 of these things is probably bad news. You may want to add user objects while you're at it and see if anything is sucking them up.
Look also at how much VM size things are using. For instance, as I type this Explorer is using 95 MEGABYTES of VM. Now if I wasn't using the Task manager I wouldn't think anything of it other than my system be slower than it should (in fairness, I run my system for weeks at a time so things build up). So I'll be killing explorer to refresh it back. Incidentally it was also using over 3000 GDI objects and 2500 user objects and 2000 handles. So it was definitely a drain on my system.
You can reload explorer by going to file New task and type in "explorer" and it will restart it. Now it's only using 11 megs of VM and 228 GDI objects and my system is fast again.
The key though is to use Ctrl-Shift-Esc rather than Ctrl-Alt-Del to get to the task list where you can perform recovery techniques to avoid having to logoff or reboot.
Feel free to add more tips here.
Here is a short sample:
Any time something hangs, you can hit Ctrl-Shift-Esc to bring up the task list. Often times, what is hung won't report itself as being hung. Here are common process names you can kill to get your desktop back to normal:
IEXPLORE.EXE (IE)
explorer.exe (Explorer)
msimn.exe (Outlook Express)
Pretty much these 3 are the ones that tend to cause problems.
Then there's the overall performance. Make sure nothing is eating up your CPU. If you're at 100% CPU (click on the performance tab) then find out what is doing that. Back at the processes tab you can sort by CPU usage by clickin gon the "CPU" header. Find out what's eating all your CPU and kill it.
Next comes general stability. There are 3 things that can cause Windows XP to get flakey:
1) Too much memory used will make the system sluggish
2) Too many GDI objects will eventually make the system very slow and cause buttons and such not to show up
3) Too many handles will do the same thing as #2.
But how to find this out? On the processes page go to the view menu item an choose "select columns". Look for GDI objects and handles. Then start sorting by them. Anything using more htan 1000 of these things is probably bad news. You may want to add user objects while you're at it and see if anything is sucking them up.
Look also at how much VM size things are using. For instance, as I type this Explorer is using 95 MEGABYTES of VM. Now if I wasn't using the Task manager I wouldn't think anything of it other than my system be slower than it should (in fairness, I run my system for weeks at a time so things build up). So I'll be killing explorer to refresh it back. Incidentally it was also using over 3000 GDI objects and 2500 user objects and 2000 handles. So it was definitely a drain on my system.
You can reload explorer by going to file New task and type in "explorer" and it will restart it. Now it's only using 11 megs of VM and 228 GDI objects and my system is fast again.
The key though is to use Ctrl-Shift-Esc rather than Ctrl-Alt-Del to get to the task list where you can perform recovery techniques to avoid having to logoff or reboot.
Feel free to add more tips here.
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Zertoc
Reply #42 Thursday, November 7, 2002 9:20 PM
Reply #42 Thursday, November 7, 2002 9:20 PM
Yeah, This is a home computer. I can do everything else. just cant get this to work. 
Jafo
Reply #43 Thursday, November 7, 2002 9:30 PM
Reply #43 Thursday, November 7, 2002 9:30 PM
If you have Windowblinds, I could suggest you exclude taskmgr.exe from being skinned....maybe that's causing it, or perhaps there's another proggy conflicting with it.
Can Ctrl Alt Del get you to it?
Can Ctrl Alt Del get you to it?
Zertoc
Reply #44 Thursday, November 7, 2002 9:43 PM
Reply #44 Thursday, November 7, 2002 9:43 PM
I have windowblinds but I'm not using right now. ctrl alt del won't get it to me either. It does the same thing. I window will com up but it's a tease.
Zertoc
Reply #45 Thursday, November 7, 2002 10:26 PM
Reply #45 Thursday, November 7, 2002 10:26 PM
It's amazing 
I can even right clickon the start bar to bring up task manager. Sometimes the window comes up, sometimes not. The green box is in the sys tray, and it will stay ther right up until the time I try to get my curser to it. I'm almost sick of this crap 
( i really just wanted to use that little pukin' face)
I can even right clickon the start bar to bring up task manager. Sometimes the window comes up, sometimes not. The green box is in the sys tray, and it will stay ther right up until the time I try to get my curser to it. I'm almost sick of this crap 
( i really just wanted to use that little pukin' face)
Jafo
Reply #46 Thursday, November 7, 2002 11:00 PM
Reply #46 Thursday, November 7, 2002 11:00 PM
Zertoc...sounds really like you have a conflict with another installed proggy.
You'll need to back-trace your steps to see where/when you first noticed you couldn't access the taskmanager...and be suspicious about any recently installed proggies.
Can you log in as another user and see if anything is different?
You'll need to back-trace your steps to see where/when you first noticed you couldn't access the taskmanager...and be suspicious about any recently installed proggies.
Can you log in as another user and see if anything is different?
Zertoc
Reply #47 Thursday, November 7, 2002 11:15 PM
Reply #47 Thursday, November 7, 2002 11:15 PM
Actually this is the first time I ever tried to use the task manager. I'm really not sure what could be causing this. It's about to drive me friggin crazy though. I'v been chasing this for 2HRS Holy cow.
Jafo
Reply #48 Thursday, November 7, 2002 11:27 PM
Reply #48 Thursday, November 7, 2002 11:27 PM
OK...normal procedure is to kill any antivirus proggy....any and all open windows...especially IE...kill any proggies that auto-load at boot....in other words...'get clean'...and have a go again.
Try a full system cold boot.
Try 'Safe mode'.
You 'may' need to do a system repair....via System Restore, or via setup.
I could imagine a shell extension having effects like this....something that mods your start/taskbar, stopping the window from showing, but giving you the icon in the tray...
Try a full system cold boot.
Try 'Safe mode'.
You 'may' need to do a system repair....via System Restore, or via setup.
I could imagine a shell extension having effects like this....something that mods your start/taskbar, stopping the window from showing, but giving you the icon in the tray...
JamMeister33
Reply #49 Thursday, November 7, 2002 11:36 PM
Reply #49 Thursday, November 7, 2002 11:36 PM
It always amazes as to how many people think that this is "microsoft.com" technical support area.... 
JamMeister33
Reply #50 Thursday, November 7, 2002 11:37 PM
Reply #50 Thursday, November 7, 2002 11:37 PM
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to help you fix the problem...
feline
Reply #51 Friday, November 8, 2002 12:20 PM
Reply #51 Friday, November 8, 2002 12:20 PM
feline can tell this isnt a normal support site
you get better help here
you get better help here
Kinrik
Reply #52 Friday, November 8, 2002 3:50 PM
Reply #52 Friday, November 8, 2002 3:50 PM
yeah, much more personable responses, especially if you are polite when you ask, and respond...
speaking of which, i am debating on switching from the ASP i have been learning, to PHP. does anyone know good newbie sites to learn the lingo and what is required to set a site up?
speaking of which, i am debating on switching from the ASP i have been learning, to PHP. does anyone know good newbie sites to learn the lingo and what is required to set a site up?
bankjobmaniac
Reply #53 Sunday, November 24, 2002 11:24 PM
Reply #53 Sunday, November 24, 2002 11:24 PM
In re Fast User Switching: I seem to remember that the Object Desktop suite does not like "fast user switching," and recommends that you disable it. Is this correct? I don't know why it would "disable" itself, though . . . I assume you are logged on with Owner and/or Administrator privileges?
I have Fast Switching enabled, so I'm not getting the "box won't stay unchecked" problem. However, Object Desktop seems to be most unhappy with my attempts to create new users. I tried to make a "fresh start" with a new user to practice different Objectbar and DX "works in progress." This is sometimes called "the Poor Man's Virtual Desktops," but I've given up; clicking on the newly created User more often than not results in a complete lock-up, no BSOD, no mouse or keyboard functionality, nothing to do but admit defeat and force physical shutdown from the Powerstip (insert appropriate e-moticon face here) . . . oh, one dislikes when that happens!
I'm not sure what the problem is, because of the peculiar way my system is set up. Why, oh why doesn't WindowsXP Home allow "Roaming User Profiles"? Two Home PC's same new HP WinXP mega-giga-drives out of the box, P to P networked. I installed all my ODNT on a Virtual Shared Network Drive, and then held my breath. I have a "user" on each PC, and "he" can access *mostly* *all* my can't-live-without-it desktop mods. But enabling even Windowblinds for another user is iffy -- I'm seeing the evil MS Startbutton logo as I type this.
Someone mentioned on-line that I could have just done two separate OD installations with my one ODNT license -- but I would want to be transferring all my settings and everything anyway . . . so . . .
Is it normally possible to run different configurations of Stardock software with different users on the same computer? (Nevermind trying to run the SAME configuration on DIFFERENT computers, that's my own can of worms for now.)
Thanks for listening, Om Shalom.
I have Fast Switching enabled, so I'm not getting the "box won't stay unchecked" problem. However, Object Desktop seems to be most unhappy with my attempts to create new users. I tried to make a "fresh start" with a new user to practice different Objectbar and DX "works in progress." This is sometimes called "the Poor Man's Virtual Desktops," but I've given up; clicking on the newly created User more often than not results in a complete lock-up, no BSOD, no mouse or keyboard functionality, nothing to do but admit defeat and force physical shutdown from the Powerstip (insert appropriate e-moticon face here) . . . oh, one dislikes when that happens!
I'm not sure what the problem is, because of the peculiar way my system is set up. Why, oh why doesn't WindowsXP Home allow "Roaming User Profiles"? Two Home PC's same new HP WinXP mega-giga-drives out of the box, P to P networked. I installed all my ODNT on a Virtual Shared Network Drive, and then held my breath. I have a "user" on each PC, and "he" can access *mostly* *all* my can't-live-without-it desktop mods. But enabling even Windowblinds for another user is iffy -- I'm seeing the evil MS Startbutton logo as I type this.
Someone mentioned on-line that I could have just done two separate OD installations with my one ODNT license -- but I would want to be transferring all my settings and everything anyway . . . so . . .
Is it normally possible to run different configurations of Stardock software with different users on the same computer? (Nevermind trying to run the SAME configuration on DIFFERENT computers, that's my own can of worms for now.)
Thanks for listening, Om Shalom.
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Reply #41 Thursday, November 7, 2002 9:08 PM