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Things To Try Before Contacting Us

Windows 98, Me, 2000, and XP all come with a Disk Cleanup Wizard that streamlines the process of clearing out unwanted temp files. First close all running programs. Then access the Wizard, by clicking on the Start button and choosing Programs (All Programs in Windows XP). Go on to choose Accessories, System Tools, and Disk Cleanup. (A shortcut is to click on Start, choose Run, and type in cleanmgr.) The wizard will give you the option of cleaning up all your hard drive partitions, if you have more than one. It will show you how much space is being consumed by unneeded temporary Internet files, as well as other temporary files, downloaded program files, and offline Web pages. This Disk Cleanup Helper will even empty the Recycle Bin for you. Just check the box in front of the item, click OK, and the wizard will clean up your disk. Get rid of at least the temporary Internet files and other temporary files. Remember that the files in the Recycle Bin take up hard drive space, so you may want to have the wizard empty your trash as well.

Your Windows computer comes with another program that will defragment your hard disk. This process reunites all the data into large blocks and gathers all the free space on the hard disk into one block making data retrieval faster and easier for the computer. Most of you will be able to find the disk defrag program by clicking on the Start button, then choosing (All) Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and finally clicking on the Disk Defragmenter. If you have any trouble finding it, simply click on Start, then Help. Click on the Search tab and type in the word "defragment." The computer will give you a link to the defrag program. Depending on your computer and your hard disk, defragmenting the hard disk can take a bit of time. After you defrag, you will see no difference in your computer, except for a little faster speed if the disk was very fragmented. Yet, getting into the routine of defragging every now and then is a good habit to form since it keeps your computer running smoothly. Some programs, like video editing software, will crash if the disk is too fragmented.

The chkdsk utility included with Windows 98, Me, 2000, and XP can perform both quick and surface scans. You can launch the utility from Windows by opening 'my computer,' right clicking on the hard drive you wish to test and selecting 'properties' then from the 'tools' tab, select 'check now.' I suggest putting checks in both options and then rebooting the compter.