question: Win98SE and WindowBlinds

from WinCustomize Forums
hi,
i tried WindowBlinds in the past and it was really a mess on my computer, using a huge amount of resources and making my whole system unstable (was pretty buggy also when switching themes).

i think what the software does is great and i heard that the latest version should be much lighter on resources now. i would like to try it again, but i doubt that it really improved under Win98SE.

so before i install new software on my system i would like to hear if anybody uses WindowBlinds under Win98SE and to get some opinions. is it really resource friendlier, faster and does it run without problems?
3,934 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I have Win98SE on my work pc. I use Windowblinds, Object Bar and Icon Packager without incident. You should really check out your graphics card though. Most problems with Windowblinds can be traced to inadequate graphics card and/or drivers. Rarely is it a problem with the O/S.

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Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
how about speed and resources? are there significant changes to WindowBlinds 2?
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Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I've got an old version of Windowblinds running on a 200Mhz machine with 128Mb of RAM and it runs fine, no resource problems at all. I also have the newest version (it's now 3 btw) running on two other machines, a 450PII and a 1.1GbPIII notebook. I have absolutely no problems with resources or speed.

I'm not sure where the problems with speed that people talk about comes from. I suspect there are some apps that don't behave well and need to be excluded or set with a per-app UIS1 skin, and maybe some memory leaks in programs (like the fax printer in Win2K) are aggravated by the skinning method.

Overall, the new version of WB is way faster and more stable than any previous version. Not only do I think you should give it a try, I can't imagine how you could stand living without it...
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I've used WindowBlinds for about 3 years on a Windows98se system with little to no problems. I've found if I'm having a issue it was with the skin not the program.
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I too have been enjoying WB for around three years on a Pentium 233, 128Meg RAM with Windows 98SE. I now have WB 3.3. According to my "Resourses" I usually lose around six percent after launching WindowBlinds, but this doesn't seem to affect my day all that much!
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
moshi: If you have concerns about speed or stability I would recommend you try using some UIS1 skins. These are designed to be as fast and compatible as possible. You can search for them on WinCustomize by checking the "UIS1Plus Support" option on the WB library search page. Some of the skins that come with the default install are also UIS1, or have UIS1 subskins. You can check in the WB preview in Display Properties - if there are three windows, it is a UIS1 skin, if two, UIS2.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I started with WB on a P100 with 8 meg of ram running Win95a....I think it was pre version 1 even.
Now, it's a P111/500 1 gig ram XP Pro...version I'm running is 3.0....and everything has been fine.
Back in the early days you'd get all sorts of 'odd' things happening...[but some of that I put down to primitive LiteSTEP, too]..
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
thanks for all your info. i just downloaded the latest trial version and i have to say that there are significant changes for me here. the program really has improved on speed and resources. there is a little bug with transparency after switching skins but that is really a minor problem. so i try it now, looks like i will by satisfied. thanks for the improvements Stardock (did not think i would ever say this )