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Disclaimer: This is an older article and may contain outdated information or bad links.
A regression took place during the upgrade between Windows 95 and Windows 98. The Windows 98 shell is arguably much less stable than its older, yet still fully featured brother. While the actual kernel of Windows was improved, the shell became even more unstable than the original Windows 3.1 shell. Random crashes are common, to the point where Windows 98 has to be reinstalled nearly twice as often as Windows 95. In some common configurations, the Windows 98 shell will even continuously crash itself! In this article, I will discuss the variety of ways you can stabilize the Windows 98 shell, and for Windows 95 users - or those that remain unsatisfied with the stability and speed of their system - other shell alternatives will also be discussed.
Stabilizing the Windows 98 Shell
This is the easiest way to improve the stability of Windows 98. Begin with installing IE 5.0. This version of Internet Explorer is much more stable and also easier to separate from Windows 98 - not to mention it has a lot of really cool new features. Installing IE 5.0 on top of the Windows 95 shell should not be a problem, but it is better to be safe rather than sorry.
I used to tell you how to do this operation manually, but Shane Brooks has improved his programs so much since the first article that I now find the exercise pointless. This program is called 98Lite and it can be found at 98Lite.net. I personally recommend the PRO version - it only costs 25 dollars and adds a huge number of functions to the already excellent [free] 98Lite software. This program now optimizes and automates EVERY conceivable way of stabilizing the Windows 98 shell, and the PRO version allows the users to even determine which, if any, features from the Windows 98 shell they want to keep!
Here's a list of the things that 98Lite will let you do:
Remove IE from your system
Separate IE from your OS
Change standard Windows features into options you can remove *
Remove the MS HTML engine from Windows 98 entirely (less than 70 Mb. Total) *
Choose which parts of the new Windows 98 shell to keep and which to ditch *
Lay the Win95 shell on Win98 for maximum stability and performance
Install Windows 98 or Win98 SE without IE ever hitting your hard drive *
* - Available only and/or expanded in the PRO version
Impressive huh? The entire program is automated and very easy to use - so I won't go into any further details (unless I get enough requests, anyway). One thing I'd like to mention, however. If you have your autoexec.bat file set to delete your temp directory on reboot, REM out the line before you proceed with using 98Lite.
Exactly what do you get for your trouble?
You might be asking yourself, is it really worth all of this trouble? I mean, hell, if anything goes wrong with this configuration, you may not have a support base any longer (however, Microsoft will continue to support 98Lite installations unless you overlay the Win95 shell over Win98) and you could very well introduce new bugs into Windows 98 using this method. And I'll be honest with you, I ran some 3D and business benchmarks, and there was no substantial performance increase. So what gives? Well, about 2 MB of free RAM space gives. I tested the free memory at bootup for both shells and found that I gained about a 2% increase (+/- 0.5%). On a 96 Mb. RAM system, that equates to just about 2 MB. Not bad. 2 MB is that many fewer disk swapping interruptions while deathmatching, and that many fewer slowdowns when you are running multiple applications at once. And although it didn't dramatically increase performance on a system with a large amount of RAM, on a system with less RAM the speed difference could be dramatic.
Not Satisfied with the Windows 95 shell?
This section is for Windows 95 users and Windows 98 users that either don't want to violate the licensing agreement they have with Microsoft or just aren't satisfied with the Windows 95 shell. Most of these setups will require two different programs: A shell replacement and a window replacement. The shell replacement is what actually replaces the taskbar, while the window replacement replaces IE when viewing folders. A great source for information on new shell and window replacements is http://www.betanews.com.
The Litestep Alternative
A great shell replacement is Litestep, a Windows 9x shell replacement that models itself after the AfterStep shell for the WindowsX GUI (for UNIX and Linux). It is an impressive little piece of creative programming, giving the user full control over the look and feel of the OS. There are a few problems with Litestep, however. The first is its high learning curve. They packed everything into this shell, including some of the cryptic coding of its UNIX/Linux background. Setting up and configuring this jewel will easily take a few hours, and if you decide that you want to change your Desktop theme, expect at least another hour of work. Litestep lacks an automated way to set itself up, so everything needs to be set up by doing some manual coding within its text configuration files. Floach's website has info about the alternative shell scene in general and stuff on specific shells (including but not limited to Litestep).
Don't expect Litestep to be bug free. While it is better than the Windows 98 shell, it still isn't perfect. Getting a development build [Litestep Dev] may solve some of your problems, but there is no guarantee that it will work either. I must give its creators credit, however, because of the way it gracefully recovers from crashes. It doesn't even close any of your open windows during a shell crash. It is kind of nice, and if you can get it working, it works the way YOU want it, rather than the way our near holy friend Bill wants it to work.
Other Shell Replacements
There are tens of other Windows shell replacements in various stages of development. Some are easier to use, some are more stable, some are more customizable, etc. There is no way I could possibly provide a link to every single shell replacement available - but I most certainly will try. If you know of another shell replacement that should be included, gimme a hollar and I'll do what I can. And the list (in no particular order) is:
Litestep
Dimension
EVWM
E-Sence
GeOShell
OpenView
Reveal
Center
Europa
Gnome
Outsider 99
Sharp OS
Also, believe it or not, if you are a serious "hard core" tweaker that doesn't want anything except a graphical file loader (GUIDOS... oh great), you can use taskman as your Windows shell. What's taskman? It's a little program that pops up (sometimes) if explorer.exe doesn't start up properly which will allow you to load files (and usually try to restart explorer). To switch your shell to taskman, go to your run dialogue box and type in sysedit. Go to the system.ini file and search for the line that says shell= under the [boot] section and change it to read shell=taskman.exe.
But I like the new Windows 98 shell! Is there any hope for me?
My son [or daughter for that matter], there is always hope for ye misguided souls who insist on being different by agreeing with Bill. First, start by downloading IE 5.0. Its got some really great features (I love the new Outlook Express), and reports are pouring in (from our very own Tweaky Monkey, Dan Kennedy) that it is infinitely more stable than its younger brethren (and even better yet, it also appears to be smaller and thus faster). Next, install the Windows 98 version of TweakUI off of the Windows 98 CD and use it to turn off Window Animation, Smooth Scrolling, Menu Animation, Combo Box Animation, and List Box Animation (actually, this will work for you guys using alternative shells [including the Win95 shell] as well), for even more speed.
After you have done all that, head on over to Magellass.com and download a copy of WinBoost 2000. This program will allow you to turn on and off a large number of features that I have found nowhere else. Some of them will increase speed, some usability, and some are just plain shitty... but it's nice to have the option.
Conclusion
Well, there you have it. This one is a little shorter than the original, I know, but it packs more of a punch - trust me. Enjoy!
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