TUNE  UP  YOUR  SYSTEM! Defrag Regularly Windows 98's new defrag program lets you break files into pieces and start apps more quickly.
Removing data from your system leaves empty spaces on your hard drive. When Windows saves new data, it fills in these cracks, often splitting up files and thus increasing the amount of time it takes to access that file. To help reorganize your hard drive into continuous chunks and consequently speed up system performance, Microsoft includes a defragmenting program in its OSs (and has since DOS 6.0).

The Windows 98 defrag utility is better than its predecessors. It records the way Windows accesses files when you run a program, then reorganizes those files to fit how Windows works. For example, it organizes files sequentially, in the order Windows reads them, and places your most frequently accessed programs on the fastest parts of your disk. The end result? A speed boost for all your programs, and a bigger boost for your favorites.

Get FAT
Compressing your data with the Windows DriveSpace utility is a really bad idea. It does save disk space, but it also slows down system performance. That's because compressing and expanding files hogs resources that could be used for running other programs. Even Microsoft agrees: since the release of Windows 98, the company has suggested converting your disk to FAT32 format instead of using DriveSpace.

Unfortunately, FAT32 format has its share of problems, too. In tests, FAT32 disks lagged a few percentage points behind disks formatted in the older FAT16 format. Most home users probably won't notice the difference, but if you really need the speediest performance you can get, stick with an uncompressed FAT16 drive and buy an extra hard disk.

Go Easy on Video You probably won't know the difference between 16- and 32-bit color, but your video card will.
If your screen redraws slowly or you experience other video glitches, your video card may be working too hard. Some video cards claim to offer screen resolutions and color depths they can't actually support. If you think your card might be maxed out, try bumping down the color depth or screen resolution a notch in the Display Control Panel (Start/Settings/Control Panel/Display), or right-click the desktop and choose Properties. Unless you're a graphic designer, you probably won't notice the difference between 32-bit true color and 16-bit high color, anyway.