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Performing these preventive measures will significantly decrease the
probability and frequency that your hard drive will crash, or the likelihood that
viruses will ruin your system.
Note: The following is
intended only as a set of guidelines. Consult the documentation that came
with your computer for additional guidance.
Weekly:
- Run Disk Cleanup (Start > Programs > Accessories > System
Tools > Disk Cleanup).
Check any or all boxes. Disk Cleanup allows you to remove many temporary files,
logs, and empty your Recycle Bin all in one action.
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Scan, or check, your disk:
- Windows 98:(Start > Programs > Accessories >
System Tools > Scan Disk).
- Windows 2000 or Windows XP:Open My Computer. Right click on your C:\
drive and select "Properties". From the pop-up box that appears,
select the "Tools". Click on the "Check now" box under
"Error-checking".
Be sure to check the "standard" box before starting.
Scanning, or checking, your disk looks for problems and attempts to repair any
that it finds. For example, this process
can repair problems related to bad sectors,
lost clusters, cross-linked files, and directory errors.
This may take a few minutes.
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Run Disk Defragmenter (Start > Programs >
Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter).
Check the C:/ drive. Defragmenting your disk rearrange files, folders, and
programs so that they occupy contiguous space on the hard disk. This tool also
reorders free space, moving it into a contiguous block at the end of each volume.
As a result, the operating system can write files to the hard disk sequentially
more often, which improves performance.
This may take between 10-60 or more minutes,
depending on how many files you have saved on your hard drive.
Monthly:
- Download and install anti-virus updates. Run your anti-virus main program
and follow its instructions.
- Download and install system updates to obtain the latest Windows software bug
fixes. This should be located on Start menu as "Windows Update," or go
directly to the Windows
Update website.
Quarterly:
- Perform a virus scan of your entire hard drive (C:/).
Run your anti-virus main program and follow the instructions.
This may take an hour or more.
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