Before and after I had downloaded too many files to the hard drive on my personal laptop, I used this basic clean up to "buy time" of doing a more detailed extensive cleaning. I use these methods often based on the amount of time and things I do on my computer. Each user will want to analyze their own personal use to determine how much or how often one should use this. Without further ado, below are the steps to do a very basic clean up your systems software. This keeps everything in tact. This is all without having to buy any extra "stuff", which is another reason its my favorite.
I hope you guys learn to implement these steps and make use of them to keep your computer system's running smoothly. They'll be other tips and tricks I'll share with you to help you maintain the life of your hard drive that won't leave you with an empty wallet.
BASIC PC MAINTENANCE
1. Delete the browsing history. This includes cookies, temporary internet files, and history. You'll want to do this a few times a week just to get rid of unnecessary page loads, spyware, and junk stuff that loads onto the system while you surf the net. I'm using Windows 7 right now, so for the purposes of this demo I will use screen shots from PC. If you are using XP/Vista there isn't much of a variation in difference. If you get stuck you can add me on yahoo messenger and ask me and I'll be more than happy to tell you how. My yahoo ID is savorian1.
Instructions: Click the Start Menu (Windows logo button
).Locate the Control Panel and click it. Brings up the window needed to get to your history.
After clicking on control panel.
Click on the "Network and Internet link" shown above then click on "Internet Options".
You'll land on the "Internet Properties" window.
Click delete under the browsing history section. The "Delete Browsing History" window will appear.
The "Preserve Favorite Website Data" should NOT have the check mark in the box. Leaving it checked could cause unnecessary files to remain. Doing so will NOT result in your "Favorites" or "Bookmarks" list being deleted. It will just ensure to remove files that are simply junk. Make sure the "Temporary Internet Files", "Cookies", and "History" boxes are checked. Then click "Delete" at the bottom of the window. When this is done you'll have a clean slate so to speak.
2. The next thing you'll want to do is run the disk clean up tool. You can find this in your Accessories folder most easily. There are other ways of activating this feature, but this is the method I most often use. Once the system scans the drive, select which files you want to clean up. In this case you want to clean the ones that have stuff in them. Check out the illustration below.
Click on the "start" menu and find "All Programs". This may require scrolling down.
Click on "All Programs" and scroll to find "Accessories" and click on it.
After clicking on accessories locate the "System Tools" and open the file by clicking on it.
The "Disk Cleanup" tool will be in this folder. Click it once found.
Once you click on this, the tool will begin to scan the hard disk for unneccessary files that have stored themself on the system. The tool will let you know how much space you will be able to free up. Freeing up space on the hard disk is a good thing. The less space used the faster the system runs.
After it calculates the space it will be able to free, the window will appear that shows which folders contain the unneccessary files. Place check marks in the boxes you wish to empty. I always remove any files that remain here as I can always use the extra space.
Make sure to scroll down and check for additional folders. Once all the boxes have been selected that contain files to be removed, Click the "OK" button at bottom of the window to execute the deletion of the files. A window will appear that makes sure you want to delete the files. Click "Delete Files". You will not be losing your valuable files. Only files that can cause clutter and issues later on if allowed to build up.
The tool will then delete the files and automatically close.
The last and final thing you want to do in this power pack I like to call it, is run the scan disk. This is the best way to make sure the system is performing properly and to clean up issues. I do it all the time. I have to admit to being a FB (Facebook) fan. After I have been on the site all day viewing pages, probably watched some YouTube, and all my other searching I do from day to day; my system starts to slow down. I know then it needs attention. I have tested my machine to the max to see what works well and what doesn't.
This scan can take up to a couple of hours. However, if used on a feasible schedule it can prove to make the user experience and life of the machine a very delightful one. I recommend this basic maintenance during bedtime or when you are cleaning house or just not in need of the computer for a couple of hours. This clean up system can save lots of time and money. Without further ado, the last procedure in this Basic Maintenance System is:
Click on the "Start" menu and locate "Computer". Some systems may say "My Computer". For the most part I'm sure you can figure out which one your system has. Once you have found "Computer" click on to open up the window which displays your drives or disk space devices. In this case we are looking for the "Hard Disk" which is usually OS (C:). I have seen instances when it was something else like D:, but that has been rare in my experience.
After clicking on "Computer" the drives window will open.
Now use the "Right-click" feature on your mouse to make the drop down menu appear so you can select "Properties" at the bottom of the window.
Click on the "Properties". The following window will open.
As you can see from the illustration above you can also access the "disk cleanup" here as well. Here you'll want the "Tools" tab which is located next to the "General" tab. Click tools. The window below is what will happen next.
Click "Check Now"; what you see circled in red. This will allow you to select what you want to be scanned on the hard disk.
I check both boxes to make sure all files get scanned for errors. This scan will not only scan for errors, but it will often times correct most issues as it runs. This is the reason for the length of time it takes to make sure all is well on the machine.
Because you are still on the system, the scan will tell you that it cannot perform the check disk until it has full access. This means you will need to select "Schedule Disk Check" this window will disappear. Close out all windows and open applications and shut down the PC for about 60 seconds or so. Power the computer after the wait period and do nothing else. The scan will automatically start when the PC is turned on the immediate next time. Once the scan begins allow it to complete. You will not be able to use the computer at all until it is finished. The scan can take a couple hours to complete. Don't be alarm if it seems to linger. This is what it does. After completion Windows will automatically start back up. You will be able to resume normal activity.
This scan has saved me time and time again. It works wonders for those who do not know much about computers and want to ensure an efficient running system.
I hope you all utilize this system. It is quite helpful and doesn't cost anything to implement. Enjoy!
Be sure to incorporate a suitable performing virus protection program and you should experience little to no computer issues.
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