 Number 229 - June 2002 |
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| Computer Tuneup | |
| from Oak Run Computer Club | |
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There are several things
you can do routinely to ensure your computer doesn't get sluggish. These
mainly consist in keeping its files uncluttered with broken and unused
chunks of data.
And, finally, So, let's get busy! Clearing Your "Cache" and Dumping Your "Cookies" Truly, the "cache" in a computer is a superfast buffer memory that "sits" beside your processor and holds, for tiny bits of time, pieces of program data the processor needs to have handy to carry out its instructions. When the processor stops, this memory goes blank. People erroneously use the term "cache" to designate the Temporary Internet Files where Windows allows websites you have visited to place URLs of their sites to make them readily available when you visit them again. In theory, they will open up more quickly. The difference in speed is hardly noticeable, however. Cookies are tiny files placed on your drive by websites you have visited that allow those sites to keep track of your Internet use by sending back information to a visited site every time your return. Both of these files allow business sites (and others properly equipped) to monitor your internet usage. For your privacy's sake, you should routinely dump these files. If you spend a lot of time surfing the Net, you should probably clear them out at the end of the day. It's easy and here's how: Go Start/Settings/Control Panel/Internet Options. In the open Dialog Box, in the second pane is Temporary Internet Files. You can see where to Delete Files. But, lets go further. Click Settings. Now click View Files. If you scroll down you will be surprised at the accumulation of URLs and Cookies. Now go back by clicking OK. Now click on Delete Files. |
To see what you have done, click on Settings again. You see, you have erased the URLs but not the Cookies.
Now, click Edit/Select All and hit your Delete key. This should dump the cookies also. And while you are here on the Internet Properties page, you might want to hit CLEAR HISTORY. This is the history of the sites you have recently visited, which you can access by hitting the HISTORY button on the toolbar at the top of any webpage. However, I have mine set at 20 days which will prevent a large pile up. I find I rarely use this, but sometimes when I should have made a Favorite and didn't, it helps a lot. Running "Disk Cleanup", "ScanDisk" & "Defrag". These next three functions are accessed from the same page. Open My Computer, right click Local Disk C:, click Properties, click Disk Cleanup. This may be redundant because there you see TEMP.INT FILES again and the RECYCLE BIN which you probably empty regularly, right. No, well here's your chance. As you can see you can choose what you want to delete. If you haven't emptied RECYCLE for a while, it can accumulate a lot of junk and consume a lot of memory. Ok, now click the Tools tab. At the top is ScanDisk and below it, Defrag. Also it tells you how recently you ran these two. I would suggest running Scan Disk weekly and Defrag once a month. Scan Disk inspects all the data on your hard drive looking for broken fragments of unassociated data which, if found, allows you to discard or keep, your choice. I would choose Discard. This program will take fifteen or twenty minutes. After Scan Disk is finished, run Defrag. It requires you to run Scan Disk first, then it scrolls through the hard drive closing up empty files and moving everything to the front of the drive to allow it to search faster. It may take over an hour so allow enough time for it to finish before shutting down. Epilog. These maintenance functions can be set up to run automatically, if you like. For Homework, figure out how to do that and set it up on your computer! Also, if you have Win ME, set up a new Restore Point. Go Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools, click System Restore and follow directions. |
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Number 229 - June 2002
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