PERFORMING STANDARD MAINTENANCE
ON YOUR HARD DRIVE

There are two tasks that you can perform for standard maintenance on your hard drive. They are Scan Disk and Disk Defragmenter. Two Techs recommends that these programs be run consecutively and in the order listed.

Scan Disk - is a program built into Windows that checks your hard drive for any areas that are flawed and not stable enough to hold data. This program will identify any areas that meet this description and mark them as unusable, assuring that your computer will never place any data in these areas. Two Techs recommends that you run this program before Disk Defragmenter to eliminate the potential of placing data in a damaged area of your hard drive that may result in lost data.

Disk Defragmenter - is a program built into Windows that reorganizes the files on your hard drive in a more orderly fashion, allowing them to be opened faster. Two Techs recommends that you run this program after Scan Disk to avoid the potential of losing data.

To Run Scan Disk:

Prior to actually running this program it is helpful to turn off every unnecessary program. If this is not done it is likely that one of the programs running will interfere with Scan Disk and prevent it from completing. Once these programs have been turned off the computer is ready to run Scan Disk.

Turning Off Unnecessary Programs:

Simultaneously press the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys on your keyboard. This will present a window titled Close Program that shows all programs that are currently running on your computer. You will want to turn off everything listed except Explorer and Systray. One by one, select any item in this list except for the two mentioned above and then click End Task button located on the bottom left corner of this window. When you click End Task the window will close. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete and repeat this process repeatedly until the only items listed are Explorer and Systray.

Running Scan Disk

Left click on the Start button at the bottom left corner of your screen, go to Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Scan Disk. In the window that opens check the drive that you want Windows to scan (probably C:\), place a check mark by the option Thorough, and click Start. Two Techs also recommends that you uncheck the box marked to Automatically Fix Errors since this keeps you unaware of how many (if any) errors Scan Disk finds. Typically Scan Disk will not find any errors, and the program will run without interruption to completion. If there are errors it is important for you to know how many errors there were. If there were just one or two errors then your drive is likely okay, but if there are more than two there is a strong chance that your hard drive may be on the verge of failure. Knowing this will allow you the opportunity to back up any pertinent data you may have on your computer so that you won't lose anything important should the drive fail. When Scan Disk completes simply close the window.

If you have any questions using Scan Disk just email or call Two Techs. We will be glad to help you with any problems that may occur.

To Run Disk Defragmenter:

Left click on the Start button at the bottom left corner of your screen, go to Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk Defragmenter. In the window that opens simply select the drive you want to defragment (probably C:\) and then click OK. This program will run automatically, reorganizing your files more efficiently which will increase your computer's performance.

If you have any questions using Disk Defragmenter just email or call Two Techs. We will be glad to help you with any problems that may occur.

Let Two Techs come to you and provide a professional assessment of your computer in the St. Charles and St. Louis counties. We can help reclaim a crashed system, enhance the performance of your computer, update and resolve conflicts with hardware or software, as well as provide printer support and supplies. Contact Two Techs today and get everything your computer can offer you!

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