Some ways to clean and fix your computer

Is your computer slow? You just bought it like a couple of months or reformatted it like just a month ago? Some things that might help you solve the problem.

1. Scandisk - scan your computer for corruption. Before it was quite cool in windows 98 we just type in on the command prompt : scandisk /autofix and it will scan it all by itself. For windows xp and later you can do it by going to my computer, right click on the hard drive (usually c drive) click on properties, click on the tools tab in the "error-checking" click check now this will invoke the scan program though you can continue on this since it will ask you if you want to scan it at boot time " boot time means when your computer is starting" just click th ok button and restart your computer and wait for the scan to finish. Most problems not related to virus will be fixed by this. before there is also the famous "ndd" i love that program. norton disk doctor

2. Defragment - Also this one will eventually speed your computer. This doesn't destroy your files don't worry about some of your friends saying it corupts data. It doesn't, its a tool to line up your files. imagine a straight line, a ticket booth people buying tickets or a military captain checking the number of soldiers, counting your deck of cards in a right sequence. Defrag will fix the sequence of the files. This is also located on the tools inlined with scandisk. Do this after the scandisk.

3. Disk cleanup article below is from microsoft.com
The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk by searching your disk for files that you can safely delete. You can choose to delete some or all of the files. Use Disk Cleanup to perform any of the following tasks to free up space on your hard disk:

• Remove temporary Internet files.
• Remove downloaded program files. For example, ActiveX controls and Java applets that are downloaded from the Internet.
• Empty the Recycle Bin.
• Remove Windows temporary files.
• Remove optional Windows components that you are not using.
• Remove installed programs that you no longer use.

You can start Disk Cleanup, by doing any of the following:

• Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type cleanmgr, and then click OK.
  
  -or-
• Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup.
  
  -or-
• In Windows Explorer or My Computer, right-click the disk in which you want to free up space, click Properties, click the General tab, and then click Disk Cleanup.

4. Removing Resote Point ( this one is not advisable for beginners since this will remove good working restore points read more about restore point before doing this since restore is created to fix computer issues most of the time)

Remove Restore Points

To remove all restore points except the most recent restore point, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
2. Right-click the disk in which you want to free up space, and then click Properties.
3. Click the General tab, and then click Disk Cleanup.
4. Click the More Options tab, and then under System Restore, click Clean up.
5. Click Yes to remove all but the most recent restore point.
6. Click OK, click Yes to proceed with this action, and then click OK.