Whatever your computer before you decide you have a problem with speed, start-up etc be sure you are first doing the
essential housekeeping as these may well solve some of the problems.
1:Run up-to-date anti-virus
2:Run up-to-date anti-spyware (preferably two or more)
3:Empty “temp” files
4:Empty Recycle Bin
5:Run chkdsk and disk defragmenter
1:Run up-to-date anti-virusMost people know that anti-virus software is a necessity and most computers come with some form of anti-virus program already installed. (Note that anti-virus is a catchall term that refers to a variety of malware.) All the major programs check email as well as scanning your system. However, new viruses appear every day and anti-virus programs are only as good as their database or definitions of viruses. A program can't recognize a new virus unless it has been kept up to date. Anti-virus programs contain update features and these are automatic in the newer major programs. However, the big vendors like Symantec and McAfee no longer give unlimited free updates but start to charge after some initial period ranging from 3 months to 1 year. Very often people do not subscribe to the new updates and let their protection lapse. This leaves the computer open to any new virus that comes along. Actually, it may be better to periodically buy a whole new version of whatever anti-virus program you use. I have often found rebate offers that make the new program cheaper than the update subscription.
Personally, I find both the Norton and McAfee programs to be very heavy users of system resources. An alternative is one of the free programs like
Antivir's . In the past, Symantec's Norton has always seemed to get much better reviews for efficacy against infection than the freebies but a recent review by the magazine PC World indicates that there are several free programs that now provide acceptable levels of protection.
If you haven't got upto date anti-virus or are unsure check your anti-virus program. Once you are sure you are upto date then MAKE SURE YOU RUN A VIRUS SCAN ON YOUR COMPUTER TO ENSURE IT IS CLEAN AND IF NOT REMOVE ANY THREATS.
2:Run up-to-date anti-spyware (preferably two or more)Because of the proliferation of spyware, many programs are now available for detecting spyware and cleaning it out. Anti-virus programs do not detect most spyware because the programs do not have the characteristics of a virus. Thus a separate application is needed that specifically targets spyware.
A good free program is AdAware, you can download it by
clicking here. The program that I personally use is Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and that can be obtain free by
clicking hereUnlike ant-virus programs, where installing more than one program is not recommended, it is a good idea to clean your system with consecutive application of two or more spyware removers.
As with the anti-virus it is no good if it is not upto date. So make sure you have it updated. Once you are sure you are upto date then MAKE SURE YOU RUN A SCAN ON YOUR COMPUTER TO ENSURE IT IS CLEAN AND IF NOT REMOVE ANY SPYWARE.
3:Empty “temp” filesRegular Windows system maintenance should include the removal of unnecessary temporary files that the system accumulates. I will detail how to use the tool called Disk Cleanup that is included with the Windows operating system.
Although it has some limitations, Disk Cleanup may be sufficient for many home PC users to help keep their system clean. The tool can be accessed in several ways .It is listed in the Start-All Programs- Accessories-System Tools group. It can also be opened by right-clicking on a drive icon in My Computer, choosing "Properties" from the context menu, and clicking the button "Disk Cleanup" on the properties sheet. Perhaps the quickest way to open the accessory is to enter "cleanmgr.exe" into the Start-Run line. (Actually, just entering "cleanmgr' is normally sufficient.) If you have more than one disk volume or hard drive, you will be asked to select the volume that should be cleaned. The image below shows the main interface.
Various different folders which store temporary files are listed. Certain listings are standard for all systems while others may vary according to an individual setup. The standard list includes Downloaded Program Files,Temporary Internet Files, the Recycle Bin, and Temporary files. The item "Downloaded Program Files" has a name that confuses many PC users. It does not refer to downloaded software programs but is a folder that contains ActiveX and Java applets that are sometimes downloaded for temporary use by Internet sites.
The entries of primary interest to the average home PC user are Temporary Internet Files, the Recycle Bin, and Temporary files. All can be cleaned by other routes but it is convenient to have them collected in one interface. The "Temporary files" listing refers to the Temp folder defined by the environment variable %TEMP% and does not necessarily provide for cleaning all Temp folders. Usually it will refer to the folder \Documents and Settings\{User}\Local Settings\Temp. In addition, a system may have other Temp folders such as \Windows\Temp. These are not cleaned in the default setup.
4:Empty Recycle BinObvious perhaps but you would be surprised how many people do not empty it regularly. So right click on the "recycle bin" and click "empty recycle bin".
5:Run chkdsk and disk defragmenterChkdsk inspects the physical structure of a disk to make sure that it is healthy. It can repair problems related to bad sectors, lost clusters, cross-linked files, and directory errors. These types of problems can arise in a variety of ways. System crashes or freezes, power glitches, incorrectly turning off a computer can all cause corruption in the file or folder structure. Physically bumping or jarring a computer can cause the head that reads disks to hit the surface and damage sectors. Once some sort of error occurs it can propagate to create more errors so a regularly scheduled disk checkup is part of good system maintenance.
Chkdsk can also serve as an early warning that a hard drive is deteriorating. Disks gradually wear out and sectors may become bad. If Chkdsk starts finding bad sectors, that is a sign that a drive may need replacing. Unfortunately, many hard drive failures are sudden but nonetheless Chkdsk is an important line of defense.
How to run Chkdsk - Graphical interface Chkdsk can be run as a command-line application or it can be run with a graphical user interface. Typical home PC users will probably use the latter so I will discuss that. Chkdsk is not normally listed in the All Programs menu but is reached by the following steps:
1.Open "My Computer" and right-click on the icon for the drive that is to be checked.
2.In the context menu that opens, choose "Properties".
3.Click the "Tools" tab at the top of the Properties window.
4.In the "Error-checking" section, click the button "Check now".
5.A box showing the options for running Chkdsk is then available as shown in the figure below.
Generally, the option "Automatically fix file system errors" should be chosen for routine checks. If serious disk problems are suspected, the option "Scan and attempt recovery of bad sectors" should also be checked. However, this may involve a period of many hours.
How to run Disk DefragmenterThere are several ways to open the Disk Defragmenter Console. One quick way is to go to the Start menu and find the "Run" line. Type "dfrg.msc" without the quotes and click "OK". (Figure 1) Note that the command "defrag", which works in Windows 98/Me, will not work in the XP run line. (It does work if you are using the command prompt, however.) Also, just "dfrg" is insufficient. The extension "msc" is required for consoles. The console is the standard interface for many services in Windows XP. Another way to access Disk Defragmenter is through the Computer Management Console. The defragmenter console is also usually listed in Start- All Programs-Accessories-System Tools.
Figure 1
The disk defragmenter window will open with a list of all the drives on your computer. Select the drive that you want defragged by clicking on it. Before defragmenting, click the “Analyze” button to see if it is necessary.
Wait until Windows finishes analyzing the selected drive to see whether Windows thinks you need to run "Defragment". If not needed, click "Close". If you have a large hard drive that is mostly empty, you may want to defragment periodically even when Windows reports that it is not needed. If you want a report on the condition of those files which are fragmented, click "View Report".
Even after running the defragmenter, some files will remain fragmented. Any files that are in use are left alone by the defragmenter so things like pagefile.sys will not be defragmented.
When Disk Defragmenter hangs or continually restarts A problem that I have encountered on several computers seems to arise because of something in the Internet cache. Corruption of a cached page or Web sites that have very long names can cause the defragmentation process to hang. Therefore, I always clean out the Internet cache before running defrag. In fact, it is a good idea to clean up all temporary files first.
