> Even though I am using a pentium computer most of the time, I still like using my old IBM 486SX for I still like Windows 3.1 as much as ever. But in May of this year, the old 486 starting slowing to a crawl when loading web pages. So I went in and deleted the cache files and ran defrag thinking I could somehow speed it up to the original speed I was accustomed to with my 33.6 modem. Someone at work told me that something changed on the net to prevent us from using Windows 3.1 any more. What if anything can I do to bring my favorite machine back up to speed? Any help is truly appreciated.
>
> Calvin Lane


Well, the last time i heard, there is no anti-Win3.1 conspiracy on the net ;)

Some things to check:

Check that ram. The 486 used non-parity ram, which means if one SIMM fails, the computer will still run on the other one. Watch the startup screen. If it only detects half as much ram, that's what happened. Halving the ram means that much more the computer has to rely on virtual memory, which is MUCH slower than ram.

check your comm settings. Soemthing may have changed, such as connect speed, that's making your modem connect slower than it should.

check your phone line. There may be static on it for some reason.

Check the phone cable. if it was pinched or chewed on by a pet (or a kid ;) it could have a slower signal throughput.