Tips for You

Using Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup is a safe and simple maintenance tool that users can employ to keep their computers running smoothly. Disk Cleanup searches the drives on the computer and then shows the user temporary files, Internet cache files, and unnecessary program files that user can safely delete. Deleting these files frees space on the hard disk, which helps the computer run faster and more efficiently. Removing temporary files also helps performance, because these files can build up on the computer, occupy lots of space, and hinder performance.

It is advisable to run Disk Cleanup once a week. To use Disk Cleanup, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. Disk Cleanup often takes a few minutes to open because it first calculates how much space you will be able to free up on the computer's disk drive.
2. If the computer has multiple partitions, in the Select Drive dialog box, select the drive to clean up from the drop-down list. If this is the first time the drive is being cleaned and more than one drive or partition exists, choose the system partition first. Click OK.
3. In the Disk Cleanup dialog box, review the files to be deleted. Click to choose a file type to delete, and select the Recycle Bin check box to empty it also. Click OK when finished.
4. Click Yes to verify that you want to perform these actions.

Using Disk Defragmenter

Disk Defragmenter is another tool that can be used to keep the user's computer running smoothly. The hard disk becomes fragmented as users delete files, move files, delete and install programs and applications, and empty the Recycle Bin. The files on the hard disk aren't stored contiguously as they once were, and this cause the computer to work harder than necessary to locate the file fragments, put them together, and bring up the data.

It is advisable to run Disk Defragmenter once a month. They'll see better computer performance, have fewer problems in the long term, and learn that maintaining the computer benefits them greatly. To use Disk Defragmenter, follow these steps:

1. Close all open programs.
2. Turn off screen savers and antivirus software, and disconnect from the Internet.
3. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and click Disk Defragmenter.
4. Highlight a drive to defragment, and either click Analyze to see whether the disk needs defragmenting or click Defragment to begin the process immediately.