PC Maintenance and Performance

Healthy hard drives

Recovering files

Supplies, Parts, Cleaning

Improving performance

Healthy hard drives

These tips will help reclaim disk space on your computer:

• Clean up temporary files.
• Run CHKDISK on your hard drive.
• Defragment your hard drive.

Clean up temporary files using both these techniques. Once a week is a good goal.

Use Disk Cleanup

1. Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Systems Tools -> Disk Cleanup.
2. Make sure there are check marks in all the boxes, except Compress Old Files; click OK and Yes to confirm. This will only take a few seconds.

Use Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer
2. Click on Tools -> Internet Options -> Delete Files button.
3. Make sure there is a check in the "Delete offline content" box, and click OK once to delete the files, and again to close the box.

Run CHKDSK on your hard drive. SCANDISK went away with Win9X/ME, but its replacement, CHKDSK, can be periodically run under Windows XP to keep a happy, healthy hard drive humming along. You can either type a brief command, or use your mouse to get things started. Once a month would be just right.

Type a command

1. Click Start - Run, and then either type or paste the following: CHKDSK C: /F
2. You'll get a message saying the volume is in use, and would you like to schedule it for the next reboot. Type Y (for yes), hit Enter, and then restart the computer (Ctrl-Alt-Del - Shutdown - Restart).
3. CHKDSK will run during the reboot process and repair any problems that it finds. You'll see its progress, and then it will restart your computer. This process takes less than 5 minutes, depending on the size of your hard drive and the speed of your computer.
4. If you think there's a physical problem with your hard drive, you can instead run CHKDSK /C: /F /R -- this will take much longer, so it's best to start this via reboot at the end of your shift.

Use your mouse

1. Double-click My Computer to view your drives.
2. Right-click on "Local Disk C:" and then choose (left-click) Properties.
3. Click on the Tools tab, and under the Error Checking section, click "Check Now".
4. Click on the first box, which says "Automatically fix file system errors", and then click on Start.
5. It'll tell you it can't run right now, and ask if you want to run it the next time Windows restarts; click Yes.
6. Restart the computer (Ctrl-Alt-Del - Shutdown - Restart). CHKDSK will run during the reboot process and repair any problems that it finds. You'll see its progress, and then it will restart your computer. This process takes 3 or 4 minutes
7. If you want to run a more thorough test, check the second box as well, "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors." this will take much longer, so it's best to start this via reboot at the end of your shift.

Defragment your drive. Once a month would be a good goal. Start this just before you leave, and lock your workstation (Ctrl-Alt-Del - Lock Workstation) to keep it secure. It'll take 1-3 hours.

1. In the lower right hand corner of your screen are some tiny icons. Right-click once on each icon to display the menu, and if you see Exit or Disable or Stop, then left-click on that command to select it. Some of the icons won't have this type of command (like your video and sound) and that's fine.
2. Turn off your screensaver: Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Display. Click the Screensaver tab, and in the drop-down list underneath "ScreenSaver" (click the down arrow to get it), select None (at the very top). Click OK to finish, and then close the Control Panel window.
3. Go to Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter. Make sure the C: drive is selected and click Defragment to start. Turn your monitor off and let the program run.
   

   In the morning:

1. Close the Defragmenter Window.
2. Turn your screensaver back on.
3. Restart your system (Start -> Shutdown -> Restart)

Recovering files and shortcuts

• Anything you delete from your local hard drive should be in your Recycle Bin. Double-click to open it, select the files you want (either Click, then Shift-Click to select a list, or Ctrl-Click to select individual files), then use File - Restore to recover them.
• Anything you delete from a network location such as your H: or I:\groups drives cannot be restored except from a backup tape (it doesn't go to a Recycle bin). If you need a file restored, first check I:\snapshots to see if you can recover it yourself. If not, contact nebula-support@cac.washington.edu and include the directory path, filename, and a date range from which an acceptable copy of the file could be recovered (last Thursday, anytime last week, etc.).

Supplies, Parts, Cleaning

The UW Bookstore carries many computer-related items on their Computer Supplies/Data Storage page, including cleaning supplies for monitors and keyboards, surge suppressors, and printer supplies. Many office supply stores carry these items as well.

To clean your mouse:

• If you have a mouse with a rubber ball on the bottom:
  • Rotate the plastic circle so the ball falls out.
  • Clean the ball with clear tape.
  • Check the three rollers inside and scrape off any gunk with your fingernail or a straightened paperclip.
  • Hold it upside-down and shake out any big dust-bunnies, then re-assemble.
• If you have a different type of mouse, see the instructions that came with it.

To clean your monitor:

• Non-flat panel monitors: most office products stores carry sprays or wipes for this equipment. Never spray directly onto the monitor itself; spray onto a cloth and then wipe the cloth over the screen or monitor cabinet. Be sure your product is meant for your type of monitor.
• Flat panel monitors: These monitors usually have plastic screens and other components, and can be damaged by cleaning products that use chemicals (benzene, thinner, ammonia, acetone), abrasives, or compressed air. Dell recommends lightly dampening a soft, clean cloth with water, and using that to clean the screen. The monitor cabinet can be cleaned with a cloth lightly dampened with a mild detergent.

To clean your keyboard:

• Make sure your computer is turned off before you work on your keyboard.
• You can use compressed air to blow debris out of your keyboard, or turn it upside-down and shake it gently. Do not disassemble it.
• Cleaning materials such as pads or swabs that contain a cleaning liquid can be used on the keys and upper surface.

Improving Performance

To improve performance, try the following:

• Change your "color quality" from 24bit to 16bit: right-click on your desktop, choose (left-click) Properties - Settings.
• Right-click My Computer, choose Properties - Advanced - Performance settings - Best performance.
• If the "best performance" option, above, is too extreme, set your performance settings back to "let Windows choose", and try some of the items suggested below.
• Turn off some of the effects:
  • Right-click on your desktop, choose Properties - Appearance - Effects, and make sure these boxes are unchecked:
    • Transition effects
    • Show shadows under menus
    • Show window contents
  • Right-click My Computer, choose Properties - Advanced - Performance settings; make sure only these boxes are checked:
    • Animate Windows when minimizing and maximizing
    • Show shadows under mouse pointer
    • Show translucent selection rectangle
    • Show window contents while dragging
    • Smooth edges on screen fonts
    • Smooth-scroll list boxes
    • Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop
    • Use visual styles on window and buttons

You may also wish to try defragmenting your system, as described above.

Nebula Support Team (nebula@u)
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Last modified: May 6, 2008