Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!ysub!psuvm!cunyvm!ndsuvm1!nu055554 Organization: North Dakota Higher Education Computer Network Date: Sunday, 2 Jun 1991 13:31:08 CDT From: Message-ID: <91153.133108NU055554@NDSUVM1.BITNET> Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms Subject: Re: Windows 3.0 on a 286 References: <32974@usc> <1991May22.220842.10896@arcturus.uucp> This may be an late to followup on this line but I have been running Win3 on a 286 for around a year and can relate some experiences. It is easy to say go out an buy a 386, it is nice if one has the money, or the firm does not care about depreciation and getting the whole useful life out of its products. Since most do we learn how to make do. So for the ones who have the 286 how do we make the best use out of it for new purchases I do reccommend more power if you plan on multitasking Dos or need better memory management. The first point is the faster the 286 the better, I use 16mhz mode and like it. Below 10 mhz does requires patients, but value time vs money the time to stretch during a redraw may be nice. The second point is memory add memory to at least 2 meg. This will work nicely with standard mode, 4 to 6 is better. The next concerns video drives, use the fastest ones you can find and ignore the 256 color modes they slow the program down. Pc mag did a nice job on what to do with video a while back, check that out. Read the optimizing Windows information in the manual, it helps. Use at least a 28 ms hard drive and keep it defragmented. Limit the use of backgrounds and all of the nice things that windows can do like that require processor time. I found that using windows specific program helps greatly. They work together very well and limit the problems most people have with multitasking DOS programs. The new windows 3 specific programs are even better. Even though many of these tips cost as much as a 386, it is usually much easier to get most of these through the money people as an upgrade than replacing an old machine with new one. These upgrades have allowed me to function at a level I am very satisfied with and it suprised me when I switched to a 386 running in enhanced mode for a short time I was waiting for the 386. I had become accustomed to faster response from my updated 286 than I was getting. I timed some operations as 2-5 seconds faster on the 286. I points out that optimizing the machine helps as I am sure if had optimized the 386 like I had the 286 it would have run faster than the 286, but for one months use I did not want to put the effort in to that project. The 286 has life left in it and the above hints can help you get that remaining life out of yours. I have found it word well and frequently run Pagemaker 4, Excel 3, and Corel 2 at the same time without any problems. In the future I will update to a higher level machine, but I have found a way to survive and not waste my machine. Mark Hanson Industrial Engineering NDSU Fargo, ND