Windows 95 provides a much more stable and faster operating environment than its predecessor, Windows 3.1. To get the most performance out of Windows 95, there are a few things to keep in mind whether you’re tuning your current computer or thinking about a new one in the future.
Since Windows 95 is almost entirely made of 32-bit code, your computer will benefit more from a 486 or Pentium Processor than a 386 processor. Even if a 386 and a 486 have the same clock speed, a 486 will always outperform the other computer, because the 486 is better optimized for 32-bit code.
Depending on the amount of memory you have, you will notice that your hard drive runs even if the computer itself is idle. To support many applications running at once, applications are paged out to an area on the hard drive when there is more demand for memory than what is actually available. Thus, Windows 95 performance can be greatly enhanced by installing a faster hard drive. In addition to this, adding more memory (like a total of 16 or 32 megabytes) will reduce this caching and provide better performance for your PC.
Check your hard drive to see how much space you have left. If you have less that 20 megabytes remaining, check and clean out any unneeded and temporary files. If your hard drive becomes too full, applications that need more memory will not be able to have other applications “page out” to the hard drive. The result is lockups or out of memory errors.
FAST FACT
Did you know in Windows 95 you can select more than one filename inside Explorer or “My Computer” by holding down the Control key and clicking the mouse button on each one you want selected?