We got an email a few months ago from a person living in their Bus
conversion who was new at using Windows XP...He wanted to know a
simple 'Path' to get to Windows Error Checking and Defragmenter that
didn't call for a bunch of typing stuff in or searching around....so
I set this page up for him with some screen shots and a few
explanations on how I go about this...
I know this is pretty simple stuff and there are other ways to go
about this...but anyways, if anyone wants to know about this sort of
thing here it is.
It's a Good Thing every once in awhile to Defrag your Computer
system . Basically after using a bunch of programs , saving stuff
etc. for some time...files that should be compacted together get
spread about all over the place in your Hard Drive. This causes
Programs to run slower and on systems with slow processors and not
much Memory can even cause your system to Freeze up and sometimes
Crash.
So it's smart to run Windows Defragmenter every week or even every
few days if you do a lot of Video Editing and such.
Here's a simple and easy to find route to take to get to Windows
Defragmenter
On your Desktop , double-click the "MY Computer" Icon...you could
also right click the icon and choose "open' if you'd like.
A Window will open showing your computer systems
drives and such.
What you want to do here is right-click on your 'Local Disc' (C
drive typically )
Next...From the Drop down Menu list click on "Properties'
Here's a pic
A new window will open called Local Disc Properties ....near the top
will be a number of Tabs.
Click on 'TOOLS"
This will take you to two very useful Utilities
Windows Error Checker & Defragmentation
If you want to Defrag your Computer ...Click-on "Defragment Now'
A window will pop up ...click on the Defragment Button and the
utility will start doing it's tidying up stuff.
If you been having a bunch of program glitches and
your computer's been acting weird....Click on "Error Checking" in
the Tools Section of Local Disc Properties.
Error checking scans the C Drive for problems....once you click on
the Error Checking button a small window will pop up...
I suggest checking both boxes...then click 'Start'
What's going to happen now is a new window will pop up telling you
Error Checking (Disc Check )cant be done at this time because the
utility needs exclusive access to certain files. And it will ask you
if you'd like to schedule a Disc Check the next time you start
Windows.
Click yes
Now 'Re-Start' your computer...
Once it's up and running again the Disc Check will proceed.
