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Disk Cleanup is a computer maintenance application included in Microsoft Windows operating systems.  It’s designed to free up disk space on your computers hard drive.  Therefore, it’s worth performing a cleanup every so often.  The feature searches and reviews your hard drive for files which are no longer necessary.  It will then, after you’ve made some selections, remove any files that are not needed on your machine.

Here is how to run a Disk Cleanup on XP:

1. Firstly click ‘Start’ and select ‘All Programs’
   
2. Then Select ‘Accessories’, followed by ‘System Tools’ and finally ‘Disk Cleanup’ (Click on image to enlarge)
   
3. Your computer will now run a scan to locate files that could be removed or compressed.
   
4. Next you should make selections regarding which files you would like to be removed.  Simply click on the option, read the description and if you’d like this to be removed click in the box next to the option so it has a tick in it.   We recommend that you don’t select to compress files as it will slow down your computer considerably (Click on image to enlarge)
   
5. Your computer will now perform the Disk Cleanup.
   

Hopefully this tutorial has been helpful and will encourage you to run a Disk Cleanup.  It’s a free way to improve the speed of your computer!

We will post about Disk Cleanup on Vista next week!

See Also:
Defrag for XP
ScanDisk for XP

This tutorial will show you how run/schedule a Defragmentation on your Vista machine.

What is a Defrag?

If you use this analogy, your computer is like a filing cabinet, it starts all neat and tidy but over time it becomes messy and disorganised.  Defrag simply tidies things up which makes it easier for the computer to locate the information it requires therefore improving the performance of the machine.

Tip:

We suggest that you don’t have any programs running whilst running a Defrag.

How to run a Defrag

1. First of all click on the Start orb
   
2. Then select ‘Computer’
   
3. Right-Click on the drive which has the Label (C:) and select ‘Properties’.
   
4. Select the ‘Tools’ tab and then Defragment Now (Click to Enlarge Image)
   
5. Select Defragment Now (Click to Enlarge Image)
   
6. Select which disks you wish to be defragmented (we recommend that you Defragment all Disks).  Once you’ve selected click OK.
   
7. Your computer will now be running a Defragmentation.  This may take up to a few hours.  (Click to Enlarge Image)
   
8. You will be informed when the Defrag is complete.  At that point you can close the Defrag Window and continue using your computer as you normally would.

How to Schedule a Defrag:

On Vista, Defragmentation is set on a default schedule.  However, that schedule may not fit to your work style.  So here is how to change the Scheduled date and time.

1. Follow steps 1-4 from ‘How to run a Defrag’
2. Select ‘Modify Schedule’  (Click to enlarge Image)
   
3. Decide when you would like the Defrag to be Scheduled for by using the drop down menus (Click to Enlarge Image)
   
4. Click OK

Have you found this helpful?  What would you like pctoolbox to do next?!

The following blog will show you how to defragment your computer.

What is Defrag?
If you use this analogy, your computer is like a filing cabinet, it starts all neat and tidy but over time it becomes messy and disorganised. Defrag simply tidies things up which makes it easier for the computer to locate the information it requires therefore improving the machines performance.

First of all, click ‘Start’ and select ‘My Computer’. It is best not to do anything on the machine while the Defrag is running.

Then right-click on ‘Local Disk’ (C:).

Select ‘Properties’.

Then select the ‘tools’ tab.

Click ‘defragment now’.

Then Click ‘Defragment’

Whilst the Defrag is happening the window will look similar to the image below. The Defrag may take a while. You will be informed that the Defrag is complete. You can then close the Defrag utility and continue using the machine.

If you found this tutorial blog helpful please let us know!