"check your resources" ..ya know, I have read my Norton utilities explanation of 'resources' 27 times, (along with all the other little pages about the various forms of memory...and a lot of it just leads in circles! I get the general idea, but like most people, I don't have the concepts of how all this is related worked out.

It's like my car...I can change the oil and check for leaks and have basic tools to tighten loose parts..etc., but I don't know the physics of octane ratings or motor oil viscosity and can't trace electrical circuit eccentricities to make my stupid cigarette ligher work again!

In my PC there seem to be 4 or 5 types of 'memory', and VERY few people who do understand it seem to be able to do a decent job of explaining it! What I am good at it is inductive reasoning...that is, finding things that work, and building up a set of 'rules' and procedures that describe the situation and how to deal with it. But in a computer, there are a VERY large number of those, and I ain't there yet!

The ONLY thing Norton, and most others I have found, seem to 'explain' about resources is "if you use too many, try to close some stuff and see if that helps"...pooh! I need a manual that says clearly

...."go here to read the graphs and usage...go here2 to see the components...go here3 to see what is 'normal' range in THIS machine"...then give me a list of ways to re-arrange, re-boot, re-align, and re-stock the various memory components for optimum usage!

I know the 'more RAM' helps some things...(got 128megs)...I know a larger HD helps...(got 10 gigs with only 3.8 used)...I know Windoze is famous for 'leaking' memory under certain conditions...but I do NOT know exactly why, even with most extraneous programs closed, and my browser clearing it's cache automatically, and WIN98 supposedly managing it's swap file automatically, that I keep getting a build-up of sludge in my memory/resources and getting warnings that resources are low!.....eventually, re-booting is all that will help, and I really don't know WHY that helped, and more important, I don't know why I can't do whatever re-booting does BEFORE needing to re-boot!

....Sure, I can occasionally delay a crash by closing some things, but...I wanted them open...and I know 'some' folks run with more stuff open than I do...how do they do it? What are MY limits, and why can't some sensor tell me when I am in the danger zone and suggest WHAT will help?

and by the way...after installing and tweaking 200+ programs...WHY won't PalTalk work,,*grin*...I have edited the registry and re-installed...and all I get is the ambiguous message in a PalTalk 'help' page..."well, if 'x' doesn't work you may not be able to run it from that computer & location"....WHY NOT????

nice way to start the day, hmmm? *grin*