provided by ur"s GowThaM
By following a few simple
guidelines, you can maintain
your computer, help increase
your PC speed, and help keep it
running smoothly. This article
discusses how to use the tools
available in Windows 7, Windows
Vista, andWindows XP Service
Pack 3 to help make your
computer faster, maintain your
computer efficiently, and help
safeguard your privacy when
you're online.
Note: Some of the tools
mentioned in this article require
you to be logged on as an
administrator. If you aren't
logged on as an administrator,
you can only change settings that
apply to your user account.
1. Remove spyware, and help
protect your computer from
viruses
Spyware collects personal
information without letting you
know and without asking for
permission. From the websites
you visit to user names and
passwords, spyware can put you
and your confidential
information at risk. In addition to
privacy concerns, spyware can
hamper your computer's
performance. To combat
spyware, you might want to
consider using the PC safety scan
from Windows Live OneCare. This
scan is a free service that helps
check for and remove viruses.
Download Microsoft Security
Essentialsfor free to help guard
your system in the future from
viruses, spyware, adware, and
other malicious software (also
known as malware). Microsoft
Security Essentials acts as a
spyware removal tool and
includes automatic updates to
help keep your system protected
from emerging threats.
The Microsoft Windows Malicious
Software Removal Tool is another
utility that checks computers
running Windows 7, Windows
Vista, Windows XP, Windows
2000, and Windows Server 2003
for infections by specific,
prevalent malicious software,
including Blaster, Sasser, and
Mydoom, and helps remove any
infection found.2. Free up disk space
The Disk Cleanup tool helps you
to free up space on your hard
disk to improve the performance
of your computer. The tool
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.
Delete downloaded program
files, such as Microsoft ActiveX
controls and Java applets.
Empty the Recycle Bin.
Remove Windows temporary
files, such as error reports.
Delete optional Windows
components that you don't use.
Delete installed programs that
you no longer use.
Remove unused restore points
and shadow copies from System
Restore.
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:
Windows 7 users
Windows Vista users
Windows XP users3. 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 as a file is
opened (to piece it back
together). The response time can
be significantly longer.
Disk Defragmenter (sometimes
shortened to Defrag by users) 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
(weekly is optimal), there are
other times you should run it,
too, such as when:
You add a large number of files.
Your free disk space totals 15
percent or less.
You install new programs or a
new version of the Windows
operating system.
To use Disk Defragmenter:
Windows 7 users
1. Click Start, click All Programs,
click Accessories, click System
Tools, and then click Disk
Defragmenter.
2. In the Disk Defragmenter dialog
box, click the drives that you
want to defragment, and then
click theAnalyze disk 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 theDefragment
disk button. In the Current
status area, under the Progress
column, you can monitor the
process as it happens. After the
defragmentation is complete,
Disk Defragmenter displays the
results.
4. To display detailed information
about the defragmented disk or
partition, clickView Report.
5. To close the View Report dialog
box, click Close.
6. You can also schedule the Disk
Defragmenter to run
automatically. (Your computer
might even be set up this way by
default.) UnderSchedule, it reads
Scheduled defragmentation is
turned onand then displays the
time of day and frequency of
defragmentation. If you want to
turn off automatic
defragmentation or to change
the time or frequency, click
Configure schedule (or Turn on
Schedule, if it is not currently
configured to run automatically).
Change the settings, and then
clickOK.
7. To close the Disk Defragmenter
utility, on the title bar of the
window, click theClose button.
Windows Vista users
Windows XP users
1. Click Start, point to All Programs,
point to Accessories, point to
System Tools, and then click Disk
Defragmenter.
2. In the Disk Defragmenter dialog
box, click the drives that you
want to defragment and then
click theAnalyze 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 theDefragment
button. Note: In Windows Vista,
there is no graphical user
interface to demonstrate the
progress—but your hard drive is
still being defragmented.
After the defragmentation is
complete, Disk Defragmenter
displays the results.
4. To display detailed information
about the defragmented disk or
partition, clickView Report.
5. To close the View Report dialog
box, click Close.
6. To close the Disk Defragmenter
utility, on the title bar of the
window, click theClose button.
Running Disk Cleanup and Disk
Defragmenter on a regular basis
is a proven way to help keep
your computer running quickly
and efficiently. If you'd like to
learn how to schedule these
tools and others to run
automatically, please read Speed
up your PC: Automate your
computer maintenance schedule.4. 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 run this utility once a
week to help prevent data loss.
Run the Error Checking utility:5. Learn about ReadyBoost
If you're using Windows 7 or
Windows Vista, you can use
ReadyBoost to speed up your
system. A new concept in adding
memory to a system, it allows
you to use non-volatile flash
memory—like a USB flash drive
or a memory card—to improve
performance without having to
add additional memory.
Learn more about ReadyBoost in
Windows 7.
Learn more about ReadyBoost in
Windows Vista.
6. Upgrade to Windows 7
If you try all the previous
remedies and your computer still
isn't as fast as you would like it
to be, you may want to consider
updating to Windows 7.
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