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Maintaining
Your Hard Drive - 2
In
our last column, we began to discuss how to use the
hard drive maintenance programs built into your
operating system. We talked about Scandisk, and then
Disk Defragmenter (DD). In this week’s column we
will discuss more fully how best to use DD to improve
your hard drive’s performance.
As
mentioned last issue, DD scans the file structure of
your hard drive, looking for gaps that might have
occurred. DD then takes files from the end of your
hard drive to fill any gaps it finds. This keeps all
the file structure together, and shortens the time
needed for the hard drive to find the file you want.
However,
to do this operation, DD needs exclusive access to
your hard drive. This means you should not work on
your computer, or have other software programs running
while DD is operating.
In
keeping with this requirement, there are several
things you should do before running DD. This applies
only for the older versions of Windows, such as 95,
98, and ME. Windows 2000 and XP uses a different file
structure, and doesn’t require the same treatment
while using DD.
Before
running DD on Windows 95, 98, or ME, always turn off
your screensaver. If you don’t, DD is interrupted,
and will return an error saying, This program has
restarted 10 times, and will now close. To turn off
your screensaver, right click on your Desktop, click
Properties, then Screensaver. Then in the selections
on the left, choose None. Then click OK to return to
your desktop.
DD
will also be interrupted if you leave any Antivirus or
firewall programs running. In fact, ANY software, if
left running, will interrupt DD. To avoid this, we
recommend the following: At the desktop, press CTRL -
ALT- DEL on your keyboard all at once. This opens a
Program window, which shows all the software that is
currently running on your PC. One at a time, highlight
each software name with your mouse, and click End
Task. The software may take a minute or two to
disappear. If another window appears, click the End
Task in that window as well. Repeat this process until
all software entries are removed, EXCEPT Systray and
Explorer. It is VERY important that you leave these
two, for if you remove them, your computer will shut
down.
Once
you have all except Systray and Explorer closed, you
can open DD, and it should run without problem. Once
it has done its job, which, depending on the size of
your hard drive might take several hours, you can
restart your PC. All the software you closed
previously will reappear, and your hard drive will be
faster and more efficient.
For
Windows 2000 and XP users, simply go to DD in the
location stated in our previous column, and run it. DD
will first analyze your hard drive, and then
defragment it. When DD is complete, you will not need
to restart.
If you have any
questions or problems running these hard disk
maintenance programs, you can contact us on 4163 8061,
or email us at info@mcsyarraman.com.au.
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