Hi hear's instructions on how to cleen your pc including start up.
From time to time I post information that will assist you in working with
your PC. Just like servicing your car, your PC needs attention also.
Here are some recommendations everyone should do on a regular basis.
There are several things you can do to maintain your PC's performance.
These procedures should be done at least once a month or even more often
depending
on your usage.
I recommend doing them in this order.
1. Prefetch
When you launch an application, Windows XP stores that information in a file
called, prefetch. These files can accumulate over a period of time and will
have some affect on the loading of Windows. It doesn't hurt to clean out
this file from time to time and will not affect the operation of your PC to
delete
them.
Go to the start menu and either arrow down to run or just type the letter R.
When the edit box appears, type in: prefetch and press enter.
You will have a list of applications that you have used since you have been
using Windows XP.
Simply do a control a to select all and then press your shift delete. If
you just press delete, those files will go into the recycle bin, but adding
the
shift key will bypass it.
Now say yes to, are you sure you want to delete these files.
Finally press alt f4 to exit.
2. Disc Clean-up
Whenever you surf the internet or download files, your PC stores information
on the hard drive in a temp folder. There are other files included in the
Disc Clean-Up which you probably would want to get rid of.
Go to your start menu, then to All Programs, then Accessories,
next to System Tools and finally to Disc Clean-Up and press enter.
It might take a few minutes for it to open, depending on if it
will compress old files. But once it does, you will probably be asked which
Drive your want to clean. Select the C drive.
Once this is selected, you will have a list of items that the
disc clean-up will clean. These may include:
Downloaded Internet Files
Temp Internet Internet Files
Off Line Web Pages
Office Set-Up Files
Recycle Bin
Temporary Files
Web Publisher Files
Compress Old Files
Catalogue Files
As you down arrow through the list, you will notice that they may be
checked or unchecked. If they are checked, this will clean that option when
the next
Button is pressed. I recommend checking everything with the exception of,
compress old files. You only need to check this if your hard drive is
getting
Low on free drive space.
After you have checked the files you want to clean, tab to next
and press enter. You will be asked if you are sure you want to do this,
just
Press enter on, yes. It will take a few minutes, but when it is finished,
you will be taken out of the Disc Clean-Up.
3. Check Disc
The check disc should be performed before a scan disc is
performed. To do this, go to the start menu and then to, run.
When the edit box appears, type in: chkdsk /f and press enter. You will be
presented with a dialogue that says, the check disc cannot be performed
because
the volume is in use. Would you like to perform this the next time your
system starts? Just type the letter Y and press enter.
Now you will need to shut down any open applications and
restart your PC. When it begins to boot up and before Windows starts, your
PC will
perform a check disc. It will take a few minutes to perform, but when it is
finished, Windows will start up normally.
4. Start Up
One of the main reasons for your PC to be slow in starting is
what is included in your start up. The more applications you have in the
start
up the longer it takes for your PC to load windows and be ready for use.
Go to the start menu and then to run. When the edit box comes
up, type in: msconfig and press enter.
You will be presented with several tabs and will be in the
general tab to start with. Press your control tab key until you hear, Start
Up.
You will now have a list of applications that start when you
turn on your PC.
I personally don't' keep anything in my start up, but this is
completely up to you as to what you want starting up. If you are using
certain
anti-virus programs, you certainly want to make sure those are kept in your
start up.
As you arrow down through your list, you will see that each
item will be either checked or unchecked. If it is checked, this means it
will
start with your PC. Arrow down through your list and uncheck each item you
don't want to start. After you make your selection, tab to OK and press
enter.
You will be given a dialogue telling you will need to restart your computer
in order for this process to take affect. You will have two choices,
restart
now and restart later.
Once you restart your PC, Windows will load, and should load
quicker, and you will have a dialogue telling you that you are in selective
start
up, Press your tab to the, don't show this dialogue again and check it by
pressing your spacebar, then to tab to OK and press enter.
4. Scan Disc
Windows XP doesn't have an actual scan disc, but it does have
something relatively close to it.
To run scan disc, go to your desk top and then to, My Computer.
If you aren't using the classic start menu, you might have to go to your
start
menu and then to My Computer there.
Open My Computer and highlight your C drive, sometimes called,
Local Disc C. Don't press enter, just highlight it. Now do an alt enter to
bring up the properties. Next do a control tab to the Tools tab.
You will be on, errors checking, check now button. Press your
spacebar and it will say, Start Button, but don't press enter yet. Instead,
tab to the check boxes and check, automatically fix files system errors and
the next check box which is, scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
Check both of the boxes. Now tab to the start button and press enter.
You will be presented with a dialogue saying that the disc
check cannot pbe performed because the disc check needs exclusive access to
some
files. Do you want to schedule a disc check the next time you start
Windows? Just press your spacebar on yes. Now tab to OK and press enter.
Alt f4
out of the properties and shut down any open applications and restart your
PC.
It may take as long as an hour for this process to complete,
depending on the size of your hard drive and how many errors you have, but
be
Patient and Windows will restart once the process is complete.
5. Defrag
Sometimes when an application is shut down improperly, or you
turn off your computer improperly, files are fragmented. When this happens,
it takes longer for an application to launch since it has to go looking for
the files it needs to start.
To run a defrag, go to your start menu, then to all programs, then to
accessories, next to system tools and finally to disc defrag and press
enter.
You will be presented with an analyze button.
Press your spacebar on this and your PC will analyze your hard disc to see
what
percentage your disc is fragmented. This will only take a few minutes and
when it is finished you can tab to view report and press enter. Arrow down
and you will find what percentage your disc is fragmented. If it is more
than 5%, I would recommend running your defrag. Tab to the close button and
press enter, then tab to the defrag now button and press enter. This
process will take a while depending on how big your hard drive is and what
percentage
it is fragmented. Once it is finished you can alt f4 out of the
application.
These are all of the steps I recommend in maintaining your PC
that comes with Windows XP. I do however encourage you to number one, have
an
Anti-virus program running at all times and also highly recommend a spy ware
program. There are several of both of these available, some at no charge,
but remember, you always get what you pay for.
I personally recommend Norton anti-virus and for spy ware, a
program called, Spy Sweeper. This program is made by Web Root and can be
downloaded
from the Internet at,
http://www.webroot.com
or it can also be purchased at Wal-Mart for around $29.95. It works great
with Jaws and is the best spy ware protection that I have found.
For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit:
http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
