4). Free Up Disk
Space
By freeing disk
space, you can improve the performance of your computer. The
Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk.
The utility identifies files that you can safely delete, and
then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or
all of the identified files.
Use Disk Cleanup
to:
|
|
Remove temporary Internet
files. |
|
|
Remove downloaded program
files (such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java
applets). |
|
|
Empty the Recycle Bin. |
|
|
Remove Windows temporary
files. |
|
|
Remove optional Windows
components that you don't use. |
|
|
Remove installed programs that
you no longer use. |
|
OPTIONAL:
HistoryKill: The #1 Windows Privacy Tool |
Tip:
Typically, temporary Internet files take the most amount of
space because the browser caches each page you visit for
faster access later.
To use Disk
Cleanup
|
1. |
Click Start,
point to All Programs, point to Accessories,
point to System Tools, and then click Disk
Cleanup. If several drives are available, you might be
prompted to specify which drive you want to clean.
Disk Cleanup calculates the
amount of space you will be able to free.
|
|
2. |
In the Disk
Cleanup for dialog box, scroll through the content of
the Files to delete list.
Choose the files that you
want to delete.
|
|
3. |
Clear the check
boxes for files that you don't want to delete, and then
click OK. |
|
4. |
When prompted to
confirm that you want to delete the specified files, click
Yes. |
After a few minutes,
the process completes and the Disk Cleanup dialog box closes,
leaving your computer cleaner and performing better.
5). Speed Up Access
to Data
Disk fragmentation
slows the overall performance of your system. When files are
fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk when the
file is opened to piece it back together. The response time
can be significantly longer.
Disk Defragmenter is
a Windows utility that consolidates fragmented files and
folders on your computer's hard disk so that each occupies a
single space on the disk. With your files stored neatly
end-to-end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the
disk speeds up.
When to Run Disk
Defragmenter
In addition to
running Disk Defragmenter at regular intervals, optimally
monthly, certain events warrant running the utility outside of
the monthly rule of thumb.
You should run Disk
Defragmenter under the following circumstances:
|
|
You add a large number of
files. |
|
|
Your free disk space nears 15
percent. |
|
|
You install new programs or a
new version of Windows. |
To use Disk
Defragmenter:
|
1. |
Click Start,
point to All Programs, point to Accessories,
point to System Tools, and then click Disk
Defragmenter.
Click Analyze to start the
Disk Defragmenter.
|
|
2. |
In the Disk
Defragmenter dialog box, click the drives that you
want to defragment, and then click the Analyze
button.
After the disk is
analyzed, a dialog box appears, letting you know whether
you should defragment the analyzed drives.
Tip: You
should analyze a volume before defragmenting it to get an
estimate of how long the defragmentation process will
take. |
|
3. |
To defragment
the selected drive or drives, click the Defragment
button.
After the
defragmentation is complete, Disk Defragmenter displays
the results. |
|
4. |
To display
detailed information about the defragmented disk or
partition, click View Report. |
|
5. |
To close the
View Report dialog box, click Close. |
|
6. |
To close the
Disk Defragmenter utility, click the Close button
on the title bar of the window. |
6). Detect and
Repair Disk Errors
In addition to
running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the
performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of
the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error
Checking utility.
As you use your hard
drive, it can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard
disk performance and sometimes make data writing (such as file
saving) difficult, or even impossible. The Error Checking
utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors, and scans for
file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are
misplaced.
If you use your
computer daily, you should try to run this utility weekly to
help prevent data loss.
To run the Error
Checking utility:
Important: Be
sure to close all files before running the Error-Checking
utility.
|
1. |
Click Start,
and then click My Computer. |
|
2. |
In the My
Computer window, right-click the hard disk you want to
search for bad sectors, and then click Properties. |
|
3. |
In the
Properties dialog box, click the Tools tab. |
|
4. |
Click the
Check Now button. |
|
5. |
In the Check
Disk dialog box, select the Scan for and attempt
recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click
Start.
In most circumstances,
select Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
|
|
6. |
If bad sectors
are found, choose to fix them. |
Tip: Only
select the Automatically fix file system errors check box if
you think that your disk contains bad sectors. |
