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Note: Many of the instructions at this site are
for Windows 98, but they are similar to what
you would use for Windows XP. These tasks
work much better in Windows XP and the instructions
are much better too. Just click Start >
Help and Support, and then search for the
topic when these instructions don't seem
to fit XP.
Click Start > point to Programs > point
to Accessories > point to System Tools
> and then click Disk Cleanup. When it opens, there are several options
that you can use to remove unused files from
your hard drive. Try Start > Help >
Index > and type disk to get more information.
ScanDisk -- scan your hard drive for errors
It's a good idea to use ScanDisk about once
a month to check your hard drive to keep
your system running well. ScanDisk can find
and fix errors in the file allocation table,
the file system structure (lost clusters,
crosslinked files) and the directory tree
structure. It can also detect and isolate
sectors that have gone bad because of damage
to the surface of your disk.
Before you start, select "none"
for your screensaver, and if you have a virus
program, turn off "auto-protect"
or close the program. Otherwise they can
interfere with ScanDisk.
To scan your hard drive, click Start >
point to Programs > point to Accessories
> point to System Tools > and click
ScanDisk. Every six months or so, pick the "Thorough"
option when you run ScanDisk. If you begin
to see defective sectors in the report, especially
a growing number, you may want to replace
your hard drive before it crashes and dies.
At the very least bad sectors should motivate
you to be very disciplined about backing
up your work. Try Start > Help > Index
> and type scan to get more information.
Defragment your hard drive
You should also defragment your hard drive
on a regular basis to keep your system running
well. In the course of normal usage, files
are constantly changed and written or rewritten
to the hard drive. The file system tries
to pack the files tightly, but because they
are not all the same size, it breaks them
into pieces to fit where it finds space for
them. Over time these pieces get scattered
all over the drive. It begins to take a lot
of head movement (and thus time) to read
and write files. As a result, your computer's
performance suffers, and worse yet, it's
easier for errors to creep in.
Run "Disk Defragmenter", to put
these files back together again.. That will
reorganize the scattered pieces of files
into contiguous sectors on your hard drive.
It can also move the files that you use most
often to the beginning of the hard disk where
they'll load faster. Try Start > Help
> Index > and type defrag to get more
information.
Before you defrag
- Clean out any junk files that you don't need.
Empty the recycle bin, delete the contents
of C:\Temp\ and C:\Windows\Temp, and delete
your temporary internet files (Tools >
Internet Options > Delete files...). You
might want to use Disk Cleanup to clean out the junk.
- If you have a virus program, turn off "auto-protect"
or close the program. Otherwise it will very
likely interfere with Disk Defragmenter.
- Disable your screensaver Right click the Desktop > select "Properties"
> click the Screen Saver tab > select
"none" > and click OK.
- You may need to disable, or exit other programs too. (Use the "3-fingered salute"
-- Ctrl+Alt+Delete -- to shut down unnecessary programs.)
- It's a good idea to run ScanDisk before you defrag. Disk Defragmenter will
look for disk errors but can't fix them.
If there are errors, you'll end up going
back to Scan Disk and then restarting defrag.
Do not run defrag if there's a chance that
electrical power will be interrupted -- for
example, during a thunderstorm, or when construction
could cause an outage. Defrag will be unable
to complete what it was in the middle of
and your hard drive will probably be scrambled.
Also, don't use the automatic mode to defrag
a laptop. Some day you're going to forget
to plug it in, defrag will start, the battery
will run down, you'll lose your data and
get to reinstall everything.
Running Disk Defragmenter
TIP: The usual ways to get Defrag to run successfully
are shown right below this tip. For many
computers, the way to defrag with the least
fuss is to just run Disk Defragmenter from
"Safe mode" as described here:
Be sure to set your screen saver to "(none)"
and disable power settings though, as shown
in step 2.
- Start your computer in Safe mode: Click Start > Shut Down > Restart
in MS-DOS mode > OK. After DOS starts,
you'll see C:\Windows> at the bottom of
the screen. Type win /d:m -- that's "win
(space) /d:m". (Use backspace to make
corrections if you make a mistake in typing.)
The line should look like this C:\Windows>win
/d:m -- then press Enter and wait for Safe
mode to start. This may look complicated, but it's easier
to do than to describe.
- Right-click the Desktop > Select "Properties"
> go to the Screen Saver tab > Select
"None" for Screen Saver > and
select "Never" for all power scheme
settings under "Power settings"
or Energy settings".
- Run ScanDisk first. If you run Disk Defragmenter
first it may find errors on the hard drive.
It can't repair them, so you'll have to go
back to ScanDisk before continuing. Just
run ScanDisk first. [Click Start > Run
> type scandisk > click OK]
- Open Disk Defragmenter [Click Start >
Run > type defrag > click OK]
- Click the "Settings" button and
choose the settings you want to use. You'll
probably want to select "Rearrange program
files so my programs start faster,"
but you don't need to select "Check
the drive for errors" because ScanDisk
just did that.
- Click OK in the "Select Drive"
dialog box and wait for Defrag to complete.
You can stop the defrag process if you have
urgent need to use your computer. It will take one or two or maybe ten hours
for defrag to complete.
- Restart your computer in normal mode. [Start
> Shut Down > Restart > OK]
Windows claims you can use your computer
while Disk Defragmenter is running. However,
defrag restarts if the contents of the drive
you are defragmenting change. Most of the
things you do with your computer will write
to the hard drive. Defrag will then have
to restart. You might as well pick a time
when you're going to be away from your computer,
start Disk Defragmenter and come back when
it's finished (one to five hours later).
Get ready to defrag by setting
your computer
up for success: Shut down all
your programs,
turn off your screen saver and
any power
saver settings. (Right-click
the Desktop
> Select "Properties"
> go
to the Screen Saver tab >
Select "None"
for Screen Saver > and select
"Never"
for all power scheme settings
under "Power
settings" or Energy settings".)
Disconnect from the Internet
and turn off
your anti-virus program. Now
you should be
set to go.
To run Disk Defragmenter, click Start >
point to Programs > point to Accessories
> point to System Tools > and then
click Disk Defragmenter. Next, click the drive you want to defragment
> click OK > and then click Yes. You
can find specific instructions for Windows
Me here.
How often should defragment your hard drive?
It depends on how you use your computer.
If most of your work is word processing and
email, you'll need to defragment about four
times a year. If you use programs that use
lots of temporary files -- Web browsers,
scanning software, music programs, etc. --
or if you perform a lot of hard-drive-intensive
tasks, like multimedia applications, image
manipulation, sound recording or video editing
you should defragment your hard drive more
often -- maybe once a month.
Trouble with defrag? Try running it from
Safe mode
See the Quick Tip about running defrag from
Safe mode.
Running defrag from a command line (Windows
or DOS mode)
The syntax is:
defrag (X: or /all) [options] [/noprompt]
[/concise or /detailed]
"X:" is the drive you want to defrag
while "/all:" will defrag
all non-removable drives.
The actions of the specific options [options]
are:
/f: Defrag files and free space.
/u: Defrag files.
/q: Defrag free space.
/noprompt: Do not display confirmation messages.
/concise: Do not show details (default).
/detailed: Show details view.
Example: Click Start > Run > type defrag
c: /f /concise (don't leave out the spaces
in front of the slashes).
The Maintenance Wizard
Beginning with Windows 98, there's a "wizard"
that combines all the maintenance tasks.
It can be run once, or set to run on a regular
schedule. It will do all of some of the disk
maintence tasks described below. The idea
is to leave your computer on so the tasks
can run at night. Click Start > Programs
> Accessories > System Tools > Maintenance Wizard. Try Start > Help > Index > and
type maintenance to get more
information.
There are many options to consider and choose,
but you should be able to work your way through
it if you take it slow and consider all the
"Options" and "Advanced"
settings at each step. You'll need to be
sure that no programs, like your antivirus
program, intefere. The screensaver probably
will not cause a problem, because it will
have already changed states before Maintenance
Wizard is launched.
More system maintenance
All the tasks above serve only
to keep your
hard drive tidy. They do nothing
to keep
your operating system (Windows),
browser
or email client in good shape.
That doesn't
matter if you don't go online
(but we know
you do, or you wouldn't be reading
this).
Software is so complex these
days that it
all has security holes. Plugging
these security
holes with "patches"
that you download
and install is an important part
of maintaining
your computer.
There's a secret Microsoft tool, RegClean,
that's bound to find errors in
your registry.
(The registry has been described
as "The
single most stupid idea to be
distributed
in all of computing" --
but we're stuck
with it.) There are many registry
cleaners
out there on the Internet --
just try a search
on Google. This one is simple
and trustworthy
(but you should back up your registry first, just in case). You
can download RegClean from most popular download
sites, such as <http://zdnet.com.com/2001-20-0.html?legacy=zddl>
If you don't plug sucurity holes when they're
discovered, you become more and more vulnerable
to the hazards out there on the Internet.
There're also bugs which affect how Windows
and your programs work. You can get fixes
for these too. Go to updates on the Windows page to learn more.
Backup should be part of your system maintenance
plan too. See the system backup page.
MAINTENANCE INSIDE YOUR COMPUTER
Caution
Before you work inside your computer you
should eliminate the hazards. The first one
is electrical shock. You should disconnect the power cord from the back of your computer before you open it.
The second hazard is to your computer. It's
called Electrostatic Discharge (ESD). For example, the electrical energy
you pick up walking on a carpet is enough
to complete blow out almost any electronic
part you touch inside your computer. To prevent damage from ESD always touch the
bare frame before you put your hand or any
tool inside your computer. Better yet, keep
one hand or your arm touching the frame,
while you are working inside your computer.
Keep it clean
You'd be amazed how much dust and crud can
accumulate inside your computer in a couple
of years. Very few have intake air filters
(most people wouldn't know to clean them,
and the result would be even worse) so the
dirt just collects inside. What does the
dirt do? To paraphrase Professor Tognazini
(Heald College -- San Francisco, circa 1955),
"It shorten de life of de computer!"
http://www.google.com/search?q=clean+inside+computer
CMOS battery
The CMOS battery maintains some of the basic
settings for your computer, as well as the
system clock. If the clock loses it's setting
when you turn off your computer, it's time
to replace the CMOS battery. It's usually
a thick disk about the size of a quarter.
They usually last from 3 to 5 years.
CMOS Battery Replacement:
http://www.liverepair.com/encyclopedia/articles/cmosreplace.asp
http://pcsupport.about.com/cs/cmos/index.htm
http://www.google.com/search?q=replace+cmos+battery
Other resources
PC Maintenance links at About.com -- but go here first.
"Be Kind to Your Hard Drive: Clean Out the Cobwebs" (Registration may be required,
but it's no big deal.)
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