Maintaining your computer is a very easy thing to do and if done on a regular basis it takes little time and keeps the computer repair man away in most cases. Most people overlook these simple tasks until their computer is so slow that they have to call for help. First I will guide you through the necessary steps to maintain your computer and then I will show you how to create an automated Script file if you use Internet Explorer 7 that will automatically do most of the work for you.The basic tools for regular computer maintenance are Disk Defragmenter, Disk Cleanup, and cleaning out your Internet temporary files. Disk Defragmenter and Disk Cleanup can be found and run off of the Start Menu/Accessories/System Tools folder. Disk Defragmenter will organize the files on your hard drive making it easier for your computer to find the information it needs when it needs it. It will also help keep your hard drive from working as hard so it can have a longer life. Disk Cleanup can cleanup all the hidden system files and other things you gather through time that you probably did not even know was taking up space on your hard drive. In Internet explorer we can go to the Tools menu and choose Internet options. This will give you the ability to clear your Internet history, stored data, stored passwords and information that is gathered every time you go to a website. Neglecting this for long periods of time can cause your computer to run slower and also take up more space on your hard drive than you think.
Now that we know what tools to use and where to find them, I will show you how to make an automated script file that you run and will automate all these processes for you. What you will do is right click on your desktop and click on, New-Text Document and then name the document whatever you want. Once you have named your document you can open it and copy the text below into it and then instead of saving it as a .txt file we will be saving it as a .bat file which tells it to run the commands we tell it to.
c:windowssystem32cleanmgr.exe /dc /sageset: 1
c:
cd
cd c:windowsprefetch
del *.* /q
Once you have copied this into the file and saved this as a .bat file we will then double click on this bat file and it will run a setup for Disk Cleanup asking what you would like it to do every time you use this tool. I usually pick them all but depending on what you do with your computer you might want to pick and choose items you want to cleanup. Once you are done you will right click on the .bat file we created and select edit. Delete the contents of this file and replace it with the following and save it.
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 4351
c:windowssystem32cleanmgr.exe /dc /sagerun: 1
c:
cd
cd c:windowsprefetch
del *.* /q
defrag.exe c: -f -v
Now that you have entered this and saved it you will double click on this file. Once you double click on this file it will first clean your internet explorer for you (if you run Internet Explorer 7). After this it will run a Disk Cleanup according to how you set it up previously. Finally it will run a Disk Defragmenter which usually runs in the background so you can continue working. Once that black DOS prompt disappears on its own then you are done and ready to keep pounding away at that keyboard. Once this is setup you are just a double click away from keeping your computer maintained. On a final note a good anti-virus is a must have on top of your normal computer maintenance. There are many free anti-virus tools out there like AVG Free (www.grisoft.com) and Avast! (www.avast.com) so just find one you like and make sure to update and run a virus scan weekly. If you follow these simple steps then this should help prevent unnecessary calls to a repairman and will help keep your computer running smoothly.
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