Pc Windows Tips

I do this fairly frequently. I recommend that a computer should be defragged once a month for better performance and keep the system files organized.

There are a few things to do before you defrag your hard drive, like removing unnecessary system files that don’t need to be defragged to speed up the process.

Let’s remove the unnecessary files

1. First thing to do is delete the Internet Explorer Temporary Files and History.
2. Right click on Internet Explorer and select properties.
3. Delete the history files and temporary internet files.
4. When done close the Internet Explorer Properties screen. 
5. Next we need to delete TMP and BAK files.
6. Go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools and select Disk Clean.
7. Select the hard drive you wish to clean up and hit OK.
8. From the Disk Cleanup Screen select all the options you wish to cleanup and hit Ok.
9. Third is delete any files and directories in the \TEMP folder located in \WINDOWS\TEMP. These files are safe to delete as they are installers from programs or files you have downloaded from the internet and are no longer needed.
10. To Defrag the Hard drive without the swapfile, use the instructions below.
11. Windows 95 and Windows 98 have a built-in utility called Disk Cleanup. To run it go to Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup
12. You can also run Disk Cleanup by going to Start -> Run -> and type CLEANMGR.EXE

Once you have removed all the temporary and history files, you can proceed with the defrag of your hard drive. I suggest to do the defrag just before you go to bed or when you have free time away from your computer.

The defrag process can take up to an hour or more depending on how fast your computer is, or when the last time you defragged your hard drive.

Before running the defrag also insure your screen saver is turned off, and all applications or shut down.

Lets start the Defrag

Windows 95 and Windows 98 Users

1. Go to Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools
2. Click on Disk Defragmenter
3. If you have more then one hard drive select the drive you wish to defrag
4. Click the Defragment button.
5. When defrag has completed you will receive a popup, simply click ok and reboot your computer.
    

Defrag in Windows XP

1. Go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools
2. Click on Disk Defragmenter
3. If you have more then one hard drive select the drive you wish to defrag
4. Click the Defragment button.
5. When defrag has completed you will receive a popup, simply click ok and reboot your computer.  

How to Defrag the Swap File

To defrag the swap file follow the instructions below.

1. Right click on My Computer and select properties from the option menu
2. Now click on the Performance tab, and then click on the Virtual Memory button
3. Now select “Let me specify my own virtual memory settings”
4. Be sure to select the “Disable virtual memory,”  This will cause the system not to use a swap file.
5. Click on the OK button
6. You will receive a warning message just answer Yes to the warning and click on the Close button
7. Reboot your computer when prompted.
8. Once your system has rebooted check to see that there is no swap file. If one still remains WINxxx.SWP, you can safely delete it.
9. Defrag your system with the above instructions “Lets start the Defrag”.
10. After defrag has completed reboot your computer.
11. Be sure to reset the swap file to your previous setting and reboot again.
12. Warning: Do not leave your system running without a swap file.