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In previous articles I covered the first nine points of the 10 step program to Computer Happiness! In this article, we will perform the final step — defragment the hard drives. You can also download the complete “Cleaning the Crud from your Computer” from www.gcclc.org and click on Seminar then on the Download link.
Step 10 - Defragment hard drives
I hate newspaper articles that start on the front page but continue somewhere in the middle of the newspaper. I could get through the article much faster if it was printed on consecutive pages like a book. Files on your computer can either be fragmented like a newspaper, or unfragmented like a book.
Newspapers fragment their articles in order to have lead-ins to interesting articles on the front page. Computers fragment their hard drive, because oftentimes the data to be stored does not fill up the space allocated. Thus, some space is left over, but it’s not a big chunk; it’s just a fragment.
Over time, more and more files become fragmented. When a file is fragmented, it takes longer for the computer to read it because it has to skip to different sections of the hard disk — just like it takes me a few seconds to find a page in the middle of a newspaper. The diagram compares how a computer reads unfragmented and fragmented files.
You cannot work on your computer and defrag your computer at the same time. It is common for disk defragmenter to take a long time. The time can vary from 10 minutes to many hours, so run the Disk Defragmenter when you don’t need to use the computer! If you defragment regularly, the time taken to complete will be quite short.
To run the Disk Defrag utility do the following:
Make sure ALL programs are closed
Turn off your screensaver
Click on Start on the task bar
Point to All Programs.
Point to Accessories. Point to System Tools.
Click Disk Defragmenter. The Disk Defragmenter window appears.
Note: You can also get to this screen as follows. Double-click My Computer.
Right-click the drive (volume) you want to analyze or defragment. Click Properties.
Click the Tools tab. Click the Defragment Now button.
The Disk The defragmenter window consists of two main areas. The upper portion lists the disk (volume ms-its:C:\\WINDOWS\\
Help\\DKconcepts.chm::/defrag_window_layout.htmHELP=glossary.hlp%20TOPIC=gls_volume" \o "View definition" ) on your computer.
The lower portion displays graphical representations of the amount of fragmentation on the disk before and after running defrag. The colors of the display indicate an approximation of the volume's condition: Make sure the disk drive you want to defragment is selected (usually C:) and click the Defragment button.
Red areas represent fragmented files.
Blue areas represent contiguous (non-fragmented) files.
White areas represent free space on the volume.
Green areas represent unmovable files, which cannot be relocated by Disk Defragmenter.
Note: On file allocation table (FAT)/FAT32 volumes, the green areas typically represent paging files, which are also called swap files.
When the defragmentation process is complete, the computer will display a window with a close button that you should click.
If you have more than one hard drive, repeat the process for the other drives.
So that’s it. That’s the 10 steps to Computer Happiness. If you use CCleaner, Spybot and disk defragment regularly (weekly or monthly) and check the file system/hard drives using the check disk utility every three to six months — you’ll be find your computer running at peak performance. The Startup list (msconfig), also only requires an occasional check.
Remember though — you should always be running a Firewall and an Anti-Virus program — especially if you spend time on the Internet. Finally, don’t forget to make regular backups of all your important data.
That’s the end of this series of articles, but there’s more to come. Myself and others from the Computer Learning Center will be writing more articles to help you get the most out of your personal computer.
ooo
Roger Thornburn is a volunteer with the Gold Country Computer Learning Center. For information about computer classes or The Learning Center go to www.gcclc.org or call 273-3029.
Step 10 - Defragment hard drives
I hate newspaper articles that start on the front page but continue somewhere in the middle of the newspaper. I could get through the article much faster if it was printed on consecutive pages like a book. Files on your computer can either be fragmented like a newspaper, or unfragmented like a book.
Newspapers fragment their articles in order to have lead-ins to interesting articles on the front page. Computers fragment their hard drive, because oftentimes the data to be stored does not fill up the space allocated. Thus, some space is left over, but it’s not a big chunk; it’s just a fragment.
Over time, more and more files become fragmented. When a file is fragmented, it takes longer for the computer to read it because it has to skip to different sections of the hard disk — just like it takes me a few seconds to find a page in the middle of a newspaper. The diagram compares how a computer reads unfragmented and fragmented files.
You cannot work on your computer and defrag your computer at the same time. It is common for disk defragmenter to take a long time. The time can vary from 10 minutes to many hours, so run the Disk Defragmenter when you don’t need to use the computer! If you defragment regularly, the time taken to complete will be quite short.
To run the Disk Defrag utility do the following:
Make sure ALL programs are closed
Turn off your screensaver
Click on Start on the task bar
Point to All Programs.
Point to Accessories. Point to System Tools.
Click Disk Defragmenter. The Disk Defragmenter window appears.
Note: You can also get to this screen as follows. Double-click My Computer.
Right-click the drive (volume) you want to analyze or defragment. Click Properties.
Click the Tools tab. Click the Defragment Now button.
The Disk The defragmenter window consists of two main areas. The upper portion lists the disk (volume ms-its:C:\\WINDOWS\\
Help\\DKconcepts.chm::/defrag_window_layout.htmHELP=glossary.hlp%20TOPIC=gls_volume" \o "View definition" ) on your computer.
The lower portion displays graphical representations of the amount of fragmentation on the disk before and after running defrag. The colors of the display indicate an approximation of the volume's condition: Make sure the disk drive you want to defragment is selected (usually C:) and click the Defragment button.
Red areas represent fragmented files.
Blue areas represent contiguous (non-fragmented) files.
White areas represent free space on the volume.
Green areas represent unmovable files, which cannot be relocated by Disk Defragmenter.
Note: On file allocation table (FAT)/FAT32 volumes, the green areas typically represent paging files, which are also called swap files.
When the defragmentation process is complete, the computer will display a window with a close button that you should click.
If you have more than one hard drive, repeat the process for the other drives.
So that’s it. That’s the 10 steps to Computer Happiness. If you use CCleaner, Spybot and disk defragment regularly (weekly or monthly) and check the file system/hard drives using the check disk utility every three to six months — you’ll be find your computer running at peak performance. The Startup list (msconfig), also only requires an occasional check.
Remember though — you should always be running a Firewall and an Anti-Virus program — especially if you spend time on the Internet. Finally, don’t forget to make regular backups of all your important data.
That’s the end of this series of articles, but there’s more to come. Myself and others from the Computer Learning Center will be writing more articles to help you get the most out of your personal computer.
ooo
Roger Thornburn is a volunteer with the Gold Country Computer Learning Center. For information about computer classes or The Learning Center go to www.gcclc.org or call 273-3029.
