May 25th, 2004
Step-By-Step: Tune Up Your Windows XP PC
by Contributing Editor Stan Miastkowski
Windows reminds me all too often of those finicky foreign sports cars
of decades past. If you don't spend time tweaking, maintaining, and
tuning it, it tends to run a little rough. A lot goes on under the
hood to keep your XP-based PC running smoothly; but as you add,
update, and delete software and data files, things can get sluggish.
XP's built-in tweaking tools can boost your PC's performance.
Windows XP has fewer built-in tools than earlier versions of Windows,
though the tools available are more full-featured. Other
more-sophisticated and automatic tune-up tools can be found in various
suites and stand-alone utilities, as discussed in "The Trouble-Free
PC":
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/95333/15377828/364363/0/
But if you're frugal, their cost (up to $90) may give you pause. XP's
built-in tools, along with a few free add-ons, should be sufficient
for most users and most situations.
If you're using an earlier version of Windows, consult "Get a Free
Tune-Up for Your Windows PC":
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/95333/15377828/364364/0/
And if you're up for a more extensive overhaul, check out "Optimize
Your PC for Faster Start-Up Times" first:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/95333/15377828/364365/0/
1. Back up your PC. It's essential to perform regular backups of your
PC, particularly if you'll be using utilities and tools that make
software changes. Unfortunately, Windows XP Home Edition doesn't come
with a backup utility. See "Utilities To Back Up Your Data" for
downloads that will do the job:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/95333/15377828/364366/0/
The built-in backup utility in Windows XP Pro is more robust than
earlier versions, but it won't back up to a CD-R. It does work with
CD-RWs, hard drives, and removable storage.
Log in to XP Pro with Administrator privileges, select Start, All
Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup. Step through the various
dialog boxes and follow all directions. In the "What to Back Up"
dialog box, choose the All information on this computer option if you
haven't done a backup before. This will create a floppy that you can
use to boot your PC and to restore the backup after a crash.
2. Check hard drives for errors. It's wise to do a thorough check on
the status of your hard drives occasionally. Go to Start, My Computer,
right-click the icon for your C: drive, and choose Properties. Then
choose the Tools tab and click the Check Now button. Repeat this step
for your other hard drives.
Applications and files must be closed in order for error checking to
fix the problems it finds, so XP will often report that the disk check
will run the next time you restart your system if you've checked
"Automatically fix file system errors" on the next screen.
Note: Finding and recovering bad sectors can take hours if you have a
large drive.
3. Defragment hard drives. The more you use your PC, the more some
files become broken into disparate parts scattered around your hard
drive. Defragmenting rearranges each file's pieces into a single
continuous block for faster access.
You'll need to be logged in as the Administrator to run XP's Disk
Defragmenter. First select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System
Tools, Disk Defragmenter. Highlight the drive that you want to check,
and press the Analyze button. XP will tell you whether the drive needs
to be defragmented. If XP does recommend defragging, click the
Defragment button.
4. Sack any spyware. A free program like Spybot Search and Destroy or
Ad-aware can get rid of any freeloading spyware that makes its way
onto your system.
You can download Spybot Search and Destroy he
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/95333/15377828/364367/0/
Ad-aware is he
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/95333/15377828/364368/0/
5. Clean out unneeded files. Go to Start, All Programs, Accessories,
System Tools, Disk Cleanup, and select the drive you want to clean. XP
will analyze your files and show a list of which ones can be removed.
Check the boxes next to the categories you want to discard.
The More Options tab offers you several more cleanup choices. The
System Restore cleanup option, in particular, can clear lots of disk
space by erasing old restore points.
6. Back up again. Once you've finished tweaking your system and you're
sure that everything is running well, it's a good idea to back up
everything once again. That way, you'll always have a clean, fully
optimized starting point that you can return to in case a disaster
befalls your system.
Read Stan Miastkowski's regularly published "Step-By-Step" columns:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/95333/15377828/364369/0/
==
"Any idiot can survive a crisis; day-to-day living is what kills you." --
Unknown
"If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased." --
Katharine Hepburn