hi Jeffrey from vpineomatrix, the real issue with your laptop is Win98.. You need WinNT or Win2000. The memory management of win98 is killing your system. 256 MB should never allow you to die. until you install your new software, maybe it does take a lot of resources. Not all software is made equal. For instance, yahoo messenger is a memory hog for its functionnality. that's why I do not always have it on. with win98, you may use http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/system/maxmem.htm it automatically defragment your memory [not harddisk] and helps all programs running. it can also show you when the situation is getting bad [there is a little icon on the taskbar]. But the best improvement will come from WinNT 4 or Win2000 [both are WinNT by the way, Win2000 is WinNT 5]. It's pricey and less easy to install on laptops than desktops usually. That's why, try out the maxmem from analogx [it's free] you probably see improvements. if they convince you, please consider win2000. by the way win2000 can be installed along win98 so you can use either on the same machine. important to avoid loosing trading days.
Another utility fully automatic which improves the performance of Win98 http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/system/cb.htm this tool lets you select your machine profile. For Trading I use 'Gaming' profile.. the profile reduce the disk cache and leaves this memory for your trading applications while keeping enough to access big historical files etc... Enjoy
In response to Warlad you should be able to use 4 or more monitors in Win98/2K by using more video cards, or by using a single card solution such as the Matrox G100 Quad (ebay). I have a question about Win2K upgrades off of ebay. Is there any reason to purchase the full version or can I simply purchase the upgrade and obtain all the benefits. Of course I already have legal copies of Win 98.
I am running Win ME on a 1200 mhz Athon running two monitors and IB and Watley and Netscape (sometimes 2 versions) and Excel and Eudora, etc. You get the idea. I have no problems at all. I leave it on all day with no reboots. But I also have 756Mb RAM.
Thanks Squirrel, MJT, NEO, for your input. I will be try to get the current win98 running more effecient, until I receive Win2k. Jeffrey
Thanks guys for the advise. Bro59, u mentioned that I can do it by plugging in extra video card. Do I need any software to bundle all the video cards to behave like one or all the video cards must be the same brand. Can u provide some details on how to do it. Thanks a million !
There is an article titled Building Your Own Multiple-Monitor Trading Station by Mark Ingebretsen posted on thestreet.com. Here is the URL: http://www.thestreet.com/funds/toolsofthetrade/1404870.html I am planning to buy a new trading computer some time this year so I would appreciate any comments by people on this thread about the information in this article. I have read all the posted messages in this thread and want to say thanks to everyone who has taken time to post. I am eager to get information from real daytraders. Ingebretsen also has posted a series of articles on "choosing a streaming quote service" on thestreet.com. I have no connection to thesteet.com or Ingebretsen. Just thought I would make people on this site aware of this resource. Good trading. Fast
An Ultra DMA 100 IDE hard drive 7200 rpm could be a less expensive alternative to the SCSI. IBM makes excellent ones. A CDRW is a must for data backup. Check http://www.tomshardware.com for Tom's latest review on dual monitor cards. He rated two other AGP cards higher that the Matrox the last time I checked. Tom's reviews are very well respected in the industry.