PERFORMING STANDARD MAINTENANCE
ON YOUR HARD DRIVE

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

Error Checking - is a program built into Windows XP 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 Defragmentation to eliminate the potential of placing data in a damaged area of your hard drive that may result in lost data.

Disk Defragmentation - is a program built into Windows XP 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 Error Checking to avoid the potential of losing data.

To Run Error Checking:

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 Error Checking and prevent it from completing. Once these programs have been turned off the computer is ready to run Error Checking.

Turning Off Unnecessary Programs:

Simultaneously press the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys on your keyboard. In the window that opens left click on the tab titled Task Manager and then left click on Applications. This will present a window 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.

Left click on the Start button at the bottom left corner of your screen and then click on My Computer, or open the My Computer icon on your desktop. In the window that opens right click the drive that you want Windows XP to scan (probably C:\) and left click on Properties. In the Disk Properties window that opens click on the Tools tab. In the top section of this window you will see an area titled Error-checking. Left click on the button titled Check Now... which will open a smaller window titled Checking Disk. Two Techs recommends that you check the box titled Scan For And Attempt Recovery of Bad Sectors. Two Techs also recommends that you uncheck the box marked to Automatically Fix File System Errors since this keeps you unaware of how many (if any) errors Error Checking finds. Typically Error Checking 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 Error Checking completes simply close the window.

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

To Run Disk Defragmentation:

Left click on the Start button at the bottom left corner of your screen and then click on My Computer, or open the My Computer icon on your desktop. In the window that opens right click the drive that you want Windows XP to defragment (probably C:\) and left click on Properties. In the Disk Properties window that opens click on the Tools tab. In the middle section of this window you will see an area titled Defragmentation. Left click on the button titled Defragment Now... In the window that opens simply select the drive you want to defragment (probably C:\) and then click Analyze. Windows XP will quickly check the drive you selected to see if it is in need of fragmenting. Once it is complete a message appears telling you whether or not you need to fragment the drive. To defrag the drive, left click on the button titled Defragment. This program can take some time to run, so be sure to allow plenty of time. The time will be dependent on the size and condition of your drive. When Disk Defragmentation has completed you can left click on the View Report button to find out more information about the condition of the drive.

If you have any questions using Disk Defragmentation 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 & St. Louis county areas. 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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