How To Clean Hp Laptop Hard Drive

Keeping Your Hard Drive Healthy

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As the workhorse of your PC, your difficult bulldoze naturally needs periodic fine-tuning. This upkeep does not require an enormous amount of time, and tin fifty-fifty be done automatically on new HP PCs using an application chosen HP Back up Assistant. If you exercise not accept HP Support Assistant, practise non want to automate some clean-upwardly tasks, or want to do a more thorough make clean-up, every iii months or and so, follow the iv simple steps outlined below to organize and streamline your hard bulldoze so information technology tin maintain optimal health.

Healthy hard drive: Remove clutter and old programs

Start this "purge procedure" by taking a wait at the brusque-cut icons on your desktop. Because information technology takes fourth dimension for your PC to discover these icons when it boots up, delete them or turn them off with a swift right click if you don't need easy access to them.

Side by side, if you don't need all those individual files, pictures and MP3s on your desktop, get-go categorizing them into folders. This is also a skilful time to go through the contents of folders yous have already created and delete whatever indistinguishable files or those you no longer use. Microsoft® Windows® XP comes with already-labeled folders such as "My Documents," "My Photos" and "My Music" to help organize your files accordingly—and eliminate the clutter on your PC's desktop.

Lastly, if y'all've never used a particular software program that came with your PC or haven't used it in over a year, consider getting rid of it. To delete a software program:

one. Click Starting time, and point to Settings.

ii. Point to Control Panel, and double-click Add together/Remove Programs.

3. Click the software program you want to delete.

4. Click the Modify/Remove button, and follow the instructions on the screen to start the removal procedure.

Alternatively, you tin use the "Uninstall" feature that comes with the software plan you lot'd like to delete. However you lot choose to remove the program, empty your PC's Recycle Bin after the removal has taken identify.

Every time yous visit a new website, content is automatically stored in your "Temporary Internet files" binder, otherwise known every bit a cache. These files irksome downward hard drive speed past taking up valuable storage space. The "Tools" function provided past Microsoft® Internet Explorer allows you to delete these files. To clear out the enshroud in Internet Explorer:

1. Click Tools then Internet Options.

ii. Nether Temporary Internet files, click Delete Files.

Disk Cleanup, a handy tool that comes with Windows® XP, allows yous to hands sort through and delete unused and temporary files, freeing space on your hard drive and speeding upwardly its performance. To access Disk Cleanup:

one. Click Start, and point to Programs.

ii. Point to Accessories and so to Arrangement Tools.

3. Click Deejay Cleanup.

4. Choose the bulldoze you lot want to scan from the drop-down card, and click OK.

5. Wait while Disk Cleanup calculates how much infinite is available for cleanup. This step may take a few minutes.

six. Click the "Disk Cleanup" tab and then the checkbox(es) next to the blazon(s) of files y'all want to delete.

7. Click OK to first the cleanup process. Depending on the amount of files you lot want to delete, this may take several minutes.

As you piece of work on your PC, information technology stores your data in bits and pieces on its hard drive, wherever in that location is infinite. Imagine diverse chapters of a book being deposited in different places throughout your home. When you open a certain file, your PC runs around gathering all these "chapters" (creating the whirring sound you may have heard).

Enter Disk Defragmenter, some other powerful utility included in Windows® XP. Reorganizing that scattered information on your difficult drive, Disk Defragmenter also moves the files you use most to the starting time of your hard drive, and then they load faster and your PC runs more efficiently. To access Disk Defragmenter:

1. Click Start, and point to Programs.

ii. Point to Accessories and and so to System Tools.

iii. Click Disk Defragmenter.

4. One time Deejay Defragmenter tool appears, click the "Analyze" button, which volition evidence you how much time y'all'll need for defragging. Depending on the corporeality of files on your hard drive, this step may take a few hours.

5. After the defrag tool analyzes your hard drive, follow the instructions on the screen to outset the defrag process.

Disk Defragmenter'southward bottom frame displays its progress, and you can interrupt or temporarily discontinue it by clicking on "Terminate" or "Pause." While you can apply your PC while defragging, the process slows down other applications, so you're best off utilizing Disk Defragmenter when you don't need to piece of work on your PC, like when y'all go to bed.

Note that your PC'due south hard drive must have at to the lowest degree 15% free space for Deejay Defragmenter to completely and adequately defrag information technology. If your hard drive has less than 15% costless space, Disk Defragmenter volition merely partially defrag information technology. To increment your hard drive's free space, delete even more files that you don't use or motion your files to some other bulldoze or device such as the HP Personal Media Drive.

If you organize and clean up your PC'southward hard drive equally described, information technology volition be the well-oiled machine it should be—and remain salubrious and run smoothly for years to come up!