"Thanks for your interest in Tech Talk. It sounds like your computer is becoming overrun with too many concurrent processes. Normally a good course of action would be to increase the amount of RAM in your computer, but you appear to have the max that Windows 98 can recognize.
"I would check and see what you have running in the background and try to prune things from there. A good place to start looking is your system tray (the area next to your clock). Each one of those icons down there is a running program that is eating up RAM, processor time, and other system resources. Investigate each one and determine if you really need it running in the background all the time. Some of these programs will require going into the preferences for the program and disabling the 'tray icon,' 'starting up in the background,' or whatever other term the program creators came up with to call it.
"The next thing to do is go to Start -> Run... -> msconfig.exe and select the Startup tab. In here will be a list of all the programs that are set to run when your computer is started up. Uncheck any that you don't think you want running all the time. You can undo your actions at any time.
"It's possible that you also have some programs with corrupt files or they have big memory leaks. To fix these, you can reinstall the program and check the manufacturer's Web site for updates. Another thing you can do is to make sure you restart your machine a couple times a day. Windows 98 has been know to leak memory as time goes by.
"As far as your system restore not working, I can't say specifically why it is not working. Some restore disks rely on a second or hidden disk partition that contains all the backup information. If this gets erased, then your restore info is gone. I'd consult the manufacturer about the source of that problem.
"When you run your spyware scans, have you been finding anything? If spyware is on there frequently, that could be where the favorites are coming from. However, I can't say that with certainty.
"As for icons changing, it sounds like there's something wrong with how Windows is associating files with the programs that open them. Running Norton System Doctor and Speed Disk might help.
"An OS reinstall would be a definite end to most of your woes, but you'll need to talk to the computer manufacturer about the restore functionality before that can really be done.
"And now I'll leave you with (as requested) a little comparison between Windows, Mac, and Linux as if they were Airlines. :)
"MAC Airlines
All the stewards, stewardesses, captains, baggage handlers, and ticket agents look the same, talk the same, and act the same. Every time you ask questions about details, you are told you don't need to know, don't want to know, and everything will be done for you without you having to know.
"WIN 9x Airlines
The airport terminal is nice and colorful, with friendly stewards and stewardesses, easy access to the plane and an uneventful takeoff . . . then the plane blows up without any warning whatsoever.
"Linux Airlines
When you board the plane, you are given a seat, four bolts, a wrench, and a copy of the seat HOWTO.html.
"Thanks again for watching Tech Talk."
