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“Renew Your Hard Drive: Here are the Simple and Easy Ways toCleanup your Hard Drive”By Steven PresarYou know that a regularly scheduled simple maintenance mayhelp keep your computer in shape. There are plenty ofthird-party programs to help you keep your computer in peakform.However, Microsoft Windows provides you with a solid toolboxof built-in programs to help you keep your computer inshape. Check out the Windows START menu, through thePROGRAMS area, then ACCESSORIES, will reveal a group ofcomputer hard-drive helpers called SYSTEM TOOLS.Backing Your Computer FilesOne of the System Tools is the Backup program. Backup maynot be part of your default Windows installations. If is notinstalled on your computer system, it may be found andinstalled from your Windows system CD-ROM.Although it will not recover personal files like email orspreadsheets, the Microsoft Windows SYSTEM RESTORE tool mayrestore files for individuals who have accidentally deletevital system files or tinker so much that their computersfail to operate properly. Windows Restore creates a seriesof backup points at regular intervals that the user can rollback to in an emergency.Backing up your computer's data on a regular bases,including bookmarks, e-mail folders and personal documents,is an important task if you want peace of mind about yourcomputer system.Once you start the Backup program, click on the files youwant to copy -- or pick one of the other options Windowsoffers, including backing up all of your files -- and thenchoose where you want to save the files. If you lose a file,you can also restore it from the Backup program.Your computer system can be backed up by a variety of otherdevices: this may be an external tape, CDs, anther harddrive or removable-cartridge drives like the IomegaPeerless. Regardless of what method you use, making a backupof your files that matter the most can save you aggravationor despair in the event that something happens to yourcomputer.Cleaning Your Computer Hard DriveOnce you have backed up your important system files, youshould delete the files that you no longer use.Windows users can remove old unused software with theAdd/Remove Programs function (from the START menu, thenSETTINGS, then CONTROL PANEL). Or you may use commercialsoftware to safely remove old software.Commercial utility software will not only uninstall oldprograms but can also clean up unintentional clutter aroundyour hard drive. Temporary files, bits of previously viewedWeb pages, disconnected shortcuts, browser-history files andother digital detritus hog space that you can safelyreclaim.The Windows DISK CLEANUP tool in the System Tools menu doesa good job deleting unneeded files, but commercial utilitysoftware like LIUtilities’ WinBackup, Norton CleanSweep orMcAfee QuickClean may do a more thorough job.Checking Your Computer SystemIf you have ever suffered a crash while working in Windows,you are probably acquainted with ScanDisk. The ScanDiskutility is run after an “unscheduled” computer systeminterruption. It checks the hard drive for file systemerrors, cross-linked files and other problems. ScanDisk cando a lot more to your hard drive. It can seek out and findbad spots on the drive where data cannot safely be stored,and then prevent Windows from using the damaged space andpossibly losing data.ScanDisk is standard with all recent Microsoft Windowsoperating systems. ScanDisk may appear automatically intimes of your computers failure. It may also be launchedfrom your System Tools menu (unless you use Windows XP).ScanDisk offers two testing options: Standard and Thorough.The Standard test checks for file and folder errors, andchecks the hard drive's surface as well. If you choose thecheck the Automatically Fix Errors option, you may want tofind something else to do while ScanDisk does its job. Ittakes a while to run fix options.If you have Windows XP, you may check your hard drive bygoing to MY COMPUTER, clicking on the drive in question andthen going to the FILE menu and selecting PROPERTIES. Underthe TOOLS tab is the error-checking utility.Many commercial utility software packages provide a varietyof disk-checking and repair tools. LIUtilities’ SpeedUpMyPCand Norton SystemWorks suite by Symantec are two of the morepopular utility packages.Buffing Your Computer SystemOnce the computer has been checked out and cleaned up, agood defragmentation session can tune it up further.Operating systems tend to fragment and scatter files aroundthe hard drive as they are used, causing slower performanceover time because the system has to look all over the drivefor those file parts. Defragmenting the drive putseverything back together.Windows has a built-in Disk Defragmenter program on theSYSTEM TOOLS menu, and many of the non-Microsoft utilityprograms mentioned above also provide a defragmenter option.If you find that your computer keeps starting the processover and over, try booting your computer in “Safe Mode” toturn off all programs before trying to run the Defragmenteragain.Microsoft’s Safe Mode is a Windows diagnostics mode. Whenyou start the computer in Safe mode, only the specificcomponents that are needed to run your computer’s operatingsystem are loaded. Safe mode does not load softwareapplications automatically and does not allow somefunctions, such as connecting to the Internet.Under Safe Mode, you are running your computer’s Windowsoperating system at its most basic level.To activate Microsoft’s Safe Mode, power-up your computer.Watch for a blank black screen. When you see "StartingWindows," immediately press the F8 key. Windows then proceeds to start in Safe Mode.If you are running under Windows XP, Click START, and then click RUN. A RUN dialog box appears. Type “msconfig” (do not type the “) and then click OK. The System Configuration Utility appears. Select the BOOT.INI tab then check the "/SAFEBOOT" option, and then click OK.The time needed to perform all of these system checks andcleanup procedures will vary, depending on the size of yourhard drive and the amount of data stored on it. Each taskcould take just 10 minutes or so, but it is not unheard offor it to take several hours to complete all of them. If youwould rather be sleeping or playing softball, you canautomate many of the cleaning chores with the MaintenanceWizard or, in some later versions of Windows, the ScheduledTasks function. Both are found in the System Tools area.Here are three most important steps that you must do toprotect your valuable computer files:~ Regularly Backup Key Files:Save valuable computer data on a separate drive, CD, ordisk, such as a Zip(R) disk. After files are backed up,remove the disks from the computer and keep them in a safeplace removed from your computer.~ Install and Update Anti-Virus Software:Make sure any anti-virus program runs from the start menuand updates the program on a regular basis.~ Carefully Review all email Attachments:Don't open e-mail attachments unless you know the source.Also, to minimize the potential impact of an emailattachment to your hard drive, transfer attachments to a CDor Zip(R) disk before opening.Taking care of your computer with a little regularmaintenance may just pay you dividends down the road.Copyright Steven PresarSteven Presar is a recognized small business technologycoach, Internet publisher, author, speaker, and trainer. Heprovides personal, home, and computer security solutions atwww.ProtectionConnect.com. He provides business softwarereviews at www.OnlineSoftwareGuide.com. In addition, hepublishes articles for starting and running a small businessat www.Agora-Business-Center.com. 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