A PC should have routine maintenance performed on the operating system software. Utilities are installed on your PC for this purpose. We will discuss 3 different utilities that can greatly improve the overall performance of your PC.

Disk Cleanup

This utility is accessed by opening the Windows Explorer, then right-mouse click on your drive in the left-hand window pane. Then select Properties. A dialog box will come up, with 4 tabs at the top - make sure that General is selected, then you will see a Disk Cleanup button at the lower right. Clicking that will open a new dialog box, showing you the total amount of files that you can safely remove from your Recycle Bin, Temporary Internet Files, etc. Delete these files, then proceed to Scandisk.

Scandisk

This utility can be found by clicking Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, then Scandisk. Usually the Standard option is sufficient. Scandisk using the Standard option will check all files and folders to make sure that they are correctly indexed. The Thorough option will also scan the surface of the hard disk for errors. This is usually not required, but can be run if disk integrity is questionable or you have a suspect hard drive. Run this utility on all local fixed hard disks.

Defragment

Defragmenting a hard drive can be a tedious and time-consuming process, but the performance gains are worth the time spent. Defrag is located in the same System Tools folder as Scandisk. The system will most likely tell you that defragmenting is not necessary. This is a default setting in Windows because Windows will continue to function with a badly fragmented hard drive, just slower. Make sure that the Settings are set to Rearrange Program Files AND Check the Drive for Errors. Use these settings each time. The first defragmentation, if it has not been run as a matter of habit (or ever), will take a considerable amount of time (from 15 minutes up to 2-3 hours). Allow it to run its course. It will appear to hang at 10% for a long time - this is normal. After the 10% hurdle is overcome, the remaining 90% passes relatively quickly.

IMPORTANT: Some PC's will not run Defragment correctly due to programs running in the backround. Close all open applications, disable anti-virus protection, close any messaging programs (AOL IM, MSN Messenger, ICQ, etc.). If this still does not allow Defragment to run, restarting in Safe Mode will disable all TSR's (Terminate and Stay Resident programs). HP has an excellent description of how to accomplish this here.

System Resources Decrease After Starting and Quitting a Program

Computer Speed and Performance May Decrease

Summary

Hopefully you've learned something new. This is the procedure used by V Graphix and our consultants for on-site maintenance of customer's PC's. To set up an appointment to have V Graphix perform these services for you, please email or call (636) 978-4395.