Computing with Cait

When we think about Spring cleaning we usually think about house cleaning.  However, Spring is also a good time to “clean up” your PC.  Spring cleaning for your PC includes both internal and external cleaning activities. 

• Delete unneeded or unwanted programs.  If you have programs on your PC that you no longer use or programs that were installed as “freebies” but you have never used, now is a good time to get rid of them.  Go to the Control Panel and select the Add or Remove Programs option.  Look at the list of Currently installed programs and after selecting the program you wish to remove click on the Change/Remove button.  If a program name is not familiar to you and you are you are not sure what it does, use the Google search engine to find out more about the program.  If you can not find any information, it is better to be on the safe side and leave the program installed.  You don’t want your PC to stop working because of your cleanup activities!

• Clean up temp files and empty the recycle bin.  Open My Computer; right click on the listing for your hard drive and choose Properties from the menu that appears.  The Local Disk Properties dialog box will appear.  You will see a button that says Disk Cleanup.  After clicking on that button, you will see a message indicating that the system is calculating how much space you will be able to free.  This process may take a few minutes.  You will see a list of Files to delete.  Place a checkmark in the boxes for Temporary Internet Files, Recycle Bin and Temporary Files.  Click on OK.

• Check your hard disk for errors.  On the Local Disk Properties dialog box you will see a tab labeled Tools.  Select this tab and in the Error-checking section, click on Check Now.  When the Checking Disk dialog box appears, click on Start.   This process will take a few minutes.

• Run defrag on your hard drive.  The defragmentation process usually takes a long time and it is recommended that you run it at night while the PC is not being used.  You should temporarily disable any screen savers, anti-virus and firewall software and temporarily disconnect your Internet access.  On the Tools tab in the Local Disk Properties dialog box you will see a button labeled Defragment Now in the Defragmentation section.  After clicking on the Defragment Now button, the Disk Defragmenter window appears.  Click on the Defragment button. 

This will complete your internal cleaning activities.  Using a can of compressed air to blow the dust out of your keyboard and monitor wipes to clean your monitor of smudges will complete your external cleaning activities.  Now you can go enjoy the great Spring weather.