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Maintaining Files On Your Hard Drive

Your hard drive is where applications are permanently stored and more importantly, the data files you create with those applications, your hard disk requires special attention to keep it everything operating the way it should. Running Scandisk to check your disk scans for lost files and bad sectors will prevent most disk problems before they occur. Running a disk defragmentation utility such as Defrag will improve the performance of your system.

Every day, you create new files, delete unwanted ones, and write updated versions of current files to your computer's hard disk. Because of the way Windows assigns disk space to files, your hard disk can become fragmented over time. A fragmented hard disk slows disk access and which slows the overall system performance.

To defragment a Windows 95/98 or 2000 hard disk, use the Disk Defragmenter in Programs/Accessories/System_Tools. You should defrag your hard disk regularly. You should also defrag it after you have created or deleted a lot of files in a short span of time.

Occasionally, a storage area called a sector on your hard disk goes bad. A utility such as Scandisk detects such errors and keeps a table of such sectors so that your operating system doesn't try to use them to store files. In addition, a disk scanner detects soft errors, where the operating system has lost track of pieces of one or more files. ScanDisk ca be found in Programs/Accessories/System_Tools if you are using a Windows PC. It detects both hard and soft errors. You should run a hard disk scan regularly. In addition, if your computer crashes or you accidentally shut down without going through the proper shutdown procedure, run a disk scan as soon as you reboot if windows doesn't do that for you.

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Organising Your Files