Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archive

Spring Cleaning - Part 2

By Cate Eales
Appeared April 27, 2006 on castanet.net

Last time we talked about some steps to clean up your PC and make it a happy, healthy machine. This week, we continue with those recommendations, picking up where we left off.


Organize
Do you have about a gazillion files all living in "My Documents"? Or living on your Desktop? Well then here's a real opportunity to improve YOUR speed and overall performance, as well as your computer's! Whether you group your files by subject or chronologically or some other way that makes sense to you…for goodness sakes, organize them!


Optimize
I recently encountered a free tool called CCleaner, available here: http://www.ccleaner.com/. Their website says, "CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less that a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware! :)"

Personally, I think the BEST part is that it will create an undo file before it makes any changes in case you need to put things back the way they were. I wish more things were like that.


Disk Defrag
Now that we've cleaned out unwanted/unneeded files, there's another built in Windows utility called Disk Defragmenter. As we download and move and create new files, they can become fragmented over the disk. Windows performance improves if files are not scattered all over everywhere, and that's what Disk Defragmenter does --- it moves blocks of data so that everything is closer to where it should be. To start this utility

Click Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk Defragmenter

The program will open and you'll see a list of your hard drives. (If you only have one hard drive, you'll only see one in the list.) Select the one(s) you want to defragment, and click on Defragment. Then, go walk the dog, make yourself a sandwich, paint the house, or whatever takes you a long time. Disk Defragmenter takes a long time, especially the first time you ever run it, and you are not going to be able to do anything else while it's running. Come back later and compare the "before" and "after" graphics to see how much tidier things are now!


Blow It All Out
If you want to go all the way to clean, you can actually open up the computer and clean it out. You should proceed with due caution, however. Fred Langa has a very informative article here: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=60403472 which goes step by step and includes some helpful photos. He also provides instructions for cleaning the furballs out of your laptop in an article here: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60300177. These are great for the do-it-yourselfer, but if you're at all hesitant, consider calling in a professional. Most compter service people, including us at Real Life Internet Solutions, offer this service.


Links:
Spring Cleaning Part 1 - column39.htm
CCleaner - http://www.ccleaner.com/
Langa: Clean Your PC - http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=60403472
Langa: Clean Your Laptop - http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60300177
Get Cate's column by email - http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=20618

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Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric, and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware and malware eradication; personal computer training and management; digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and management. Email Cate at cate@rlis.com with your comments, suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet Solutions website at www.rlis.com.