Cleaning and Organizing Your Computer

 

It is a beneficial idea to think of your PC as an office. It stores files, programs, and pictures. You can compare this to the files, machines, and decorations of an actual office. The operating system is the boss. With this image in mind, think of an office you've visited that was slow and inefficient. There were probably many different reasons for the inefficiency. This phenomenon also applies to computers. Numerous factors can cause your computer to slow down. Perhaps the most commonly overlooked factor is disorganization and clutter.

Disk Cleanup

An office may accumulate numerous unnecessary files, machines, and decorations. The same can be said for your computer. Performing a cleaning utility periodically is one of the best ways to keep this clutter under control. Windows refers to this cleaning utility as a "disk cleanup." It removes a variety of unnecessary files depending on the options you have selected.

To perform a disk cleanup on Windows XP, you can simply click on "my computer" under the start menu. Than right-click on your "c drive" or "hard disk" and choose properties. Next, select "disk cleanup" and adhere to the instructions provided. When selecting files to clean up or delete, Windows will give you information to help you decide. Simply click on the file type name in the list of file types and read the accompanying description in the description area. This will inform you whether the files are suitable for safe deletion. To select the file group, just check the box next to the group name. Once the selection is complete, click "OK" to proceed.

Now, performing a disk cleanup is not very time-consuming—just a couple minutes—and it may save more time in the end by making your computer run faster. However, you should run a disk cleanup periodically rather than just once in a great while. One way to make this run periodically is to make it a scheduled task. This will allow your computer to run it automatically with intervals and times of day determined by you. Yet, you can always run it yourself periodically without creating a scheduled task.

Add or remove programs.

The above information can assist you in removing some unnecessary files, but you may also need to remove some unnecessary programs. You can accomplish this task by utilizing Windows' "add or remove programs" utility. This is located in the control panel and lists all of your currently installed programs along with an option to uninstall them. It is a good idea to periodically browse through the add or remove programs utility to ensure that all programs are useful.

You can simply highlight programs that are no longer in use and click the uninstall button. Windows will then begin the process of uninstalling the program. In most cases, it is wise to restart your computer after uninstalling a program. This will release any temporarily held files.

Although the add or remove programs utility is very useful, it does not list all programs upfront. You can also uninstall programs that come pre-installed on your computer and the Windows operating system. For instance, Outlook Express is a default email program that comes with the Windows XP operating system. If you do not use this e-mail program, you can uninstall it. Click "add or remove Windows components" in the add or remove programs utility and simply follow the instructions.

Defragment

Numerous offices hold a vast array of valuable files and programs that are irreplaceable. In fact, these offices may hold files that remain unutilized yet require retention for various reasons. Even though these files must stay in the office, they require organization. We create file folders to organize related groups of files. We then arrange them alphabetically in cabinets for storage.

A computer stores its saved files on the hard drive. However, the hard drive arranges them based on the time of their last save. So, if you open a word document and save the file as "file A" and then open another document and save it as "file B," you have "file A" placed next to "file B." This is fine, but if you open "file A" later and save it again, it will save the added information next to "file B."

This type of file fragmentation is known as a fragmented file. This implies that for the computer to open a single-word document, it must first locate the first part of the file and then locate the second part. This can make your computer run slower. However, Windows has created a utility that is meant to rearrange files so that they are no longer fragmented but sit right next to each other.

You can run the disk defragmenter by selecting "all programs" under the start button. Next, select "accessories" and "system tools," and you will see "disk defragmenter." In fact, this is an alternative method to choose the disk cleanup that was previously mentioned. Before starting the defragmenter, you can analyze your internal drive to see if Windows recommends performing the defragmenter. It will either say that you should or should not defragment at this time.

If you need to defragment your computer, simply hit the defragment button. It may take your computer a while to finish this task, depending on your computer's speed and the number of defragmented files. It could take about 15–30 minutes or more. However, you can still use the computer while the disk defragmenter is working.

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