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Exploring
Windows
Lesson Eight: Maintain Your Computer
In the last lesson you learned about gadgets, file
types and how file types associate with application programs.
In this lesson you will learn how to protect and maintain your computer and optimize your computer’s hard drive for better performance.
Important: Some of the activities in this
lesson should only be completed with the consent of your instructor. Please
follow directions closely.
In this lesson you will:
· Learn how to remove unneeded files and free up disk space
· Understand the need to back up files and learn how to initiate a backup
· Learn about System Restore
· Know how to check your disks for errors and repair some types of errors
· Learn about defragmenting your disk to improve efficiency
·
Review the security features built into
Contents Page
If
automatic file backup is already set
Manually
create a restore point
Other
anti-virus and anti-spyware utilities.
If you are like most computer users, your hard disk drive will fill with clutter over a period of time. Files will accumulate; some will be worth keeping and others will just take up space. In this lesson you will learn how to remove unnecessary files, backup files and keep your computer operating efficiently.
1 Power up your computer and log on (if
necessary) to
Windows Vista starts up and the desktop appears.
The following sections describe some of the system utilities included with Windows Vista. These utilities should be run on a regular basis to keep your computer operating at peak efficiency.
Over time, your computer will accumulate miscellaneous files that are unnecessary and take up space on your hard drive. These files may be left over after you have installed programs on your hard drive or from various websites you access on the Internet. It is a good idea to periodically perform a cleanup of these files to recover disk space.
Before performing the following actions, close any open programs or windows.
1 Click the Start menu, click All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools and click Disk Cleanup. The Disk Cleanup Options dialog opens (Figure 8.1)
Figure 8.1 Disk Cleanup Options
2 Click the My Files only option to affect only your personal files and not those of any other users on the computer. (If you have multiple user accounts set up on your home PC, you may want to choose the “Files from all users….” option.
A new dialog opens, asking which drive you want to clean up (Figure 8.2).
Figure 8.2 Drive Selection
3 Choose drive C: (the default) which is your local hard disk drive. If you have a second internal drive or an external drive you wish to cleanup, click the down arrow to the right of the drives field and choose the appropriate lettered drive. Click OK.
The Disk Cleanup dialog opens (Figure 8.3) and the disk cleanup analysis begins. This may take a minute or more to run.
Figure 8.3 Disk Cleanup dialog
Once the scan is completed, a new dialog opens (Figure 8.4).
Figure 8.4 Disk Cleanup dialog
At the top of this dialog is a statement indicating the total amount of space that could be recovered if all of the checked files are removed. In the scroll box titled Files to delete, is a list of files and the amount of space they occupy on your computer that could be removed. Some of the files have checkmarks next to them to indicate they will be deleted if you complete the process.
You can view the contents of the files by clicking the View Files button for a given selection of file type.
4 Click the check box next to any item in the scroll box to check or uncheck it to identify the files you want to delete or not.
In this exercise, limit your selection of files to delete to: Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, Recycle Bin and Temporary Files. These can be safely deleted.
5 Click OK on the Disk Cleanup dialog box.
A confirmation message appears asking if you are sure you want to delete these files.
6 If you are performing these steps in
class, click Cancel on the confirmation message unless otherwise advised
by the instructor. If you perform the cleanup operation at home, click Delete
Files.
If you clicked Delete Files, a status dialog appears while the cleanup is underway. When done, you are returned to the desktop.
If you suspect some problems with your hard disk drive such as frequent program crashes, corrupted files or intermittent behavior, it should be checked for integrity. A disk diagnosis error-checking utility is included in Windows. This checks the integrity of your files and folders and attempts to repair recoverable problems.
To perform the error-checking operation on the classroom computer would take too much time to complete. Therefore you will complete the steps for the various options described below but you will not click the Start button. You can perform the error-checking procedure on your personal computer at home.
1 Click the Start button and click Computer to open Windows Explorer with the view set to Computer.
2 Right-click the Local Disk (C:) drive in the right hand pane and a pop-up menu results
3 Click Properties.
The Properties dialog box appears.
4 Click the Tools tab (see Figure 8.5).
Figure 8.5 Properties dialog box with Tools tab selected
5 In the Error Checking section, click the Check Now button.
A “User Account Control” dialog may open asking you to authorize continuing this action. Click Continue.
The Check Disk Local Disk dialog opens (see Figure 8.6).
Figure 8.6 Check Disk dialog box
6 Click to put a checkmark in the check box next to Automatically fix file system errors if not already done.
The process will attempt to automatically fix any errors found.
7 If
you are at the computer at the
If you are working on your own computer, click the Start button.
The error check cannot run while other programs are in use and a dialog opens asking if you want to schedule the disk check the next time you start your computer (see Figure 8.7).
Figure 8.7 Check Disk Advisory
8 Click Schedule disk check. If you have proceeded this far at the
9 This dialog closes. Close any other open windows. The next time you start your home computer, a disk check will be run and a screen as seen in Figure 8.8 will be seen prior to Windows Vista launching. Be patient; the disk check can take several minutes.
Figure 8.8 Disk Check Startup screen
Windows stores files on the hard disk drive in what is known as “clusters”. It may take many clusters to hold a single file. Successive clusters are linked to one another so that no matter where the clusters reside on the hard drive, the file can be reconstituted. It is most efficient if those clusters that make up a file are contiguous – that is, placed one after another so that the disk drive can simply read out consecutive clusters when retrieving a file. But as the hard drive fills up, the set of clusters that comprise a single file can get “scattered” over the hard drive and slow down performance and Windows must do more work to read or write all the clusters for a given file. The Disk Defragmenter tool reorganizes your hard disk so that clusters that make up individual files are placed in contiguous areas of the disk. This allows the disk drive mechanics to read a file quicker than if the file clusters were scattered all over the disk.
In
You can choose to run it manually or change the automatic settings.
1 Click the Start menu, click All Programs, point to Accessories, click System Tools and click Disk Defragmenter. A dialog requesting permission to proceed opens. Click Continue.
The Disk Defragmenter dialog opens (see Figure 8.9).
Figure 8.9 Disk Defragmenter dialog
This dialog gives you the option to set a regular schedule or defragment now.
STOP NOW!
2 At home you might consider continuing and click the Defragment now or Modify schedule button. Defragmentation will proceed and can take up to a few hours depending on the size of the hard drive and the degree of fragmentation. If you do proceed with a manual defragmention, click the OK button to close the dialog box as the process could take hours to complete. You can continue to use your PC for other operations.
3 At the
You can back up your files to a DVD, CD, flash drive or a USB attached external hard drive. Using a large USB-connected external hard drive is the preferred method. External hard disk drives with hundreds of gigabytes[1] (abbreviated as GBytes) capacity are available at reasonable prices.
Why
Backup?
Perhaps you have many personal files, hundreds or thousands of photos, your music collection and email messages all stored on your personal computer hard drives. Hard drives are mechanical devices, and though reliable, they can and do fail. It is often said it is not a matter of “if” but “when” a hard disk drive will fail. To provide protection against failure and peace of mind, you need to back up your files.
How?
There are several ways to back up your files but the one constant is that your backup must be on a different media than your primary storage. For example, there is no point backing up files in your hard disk drive in the Documents folder to another folder on the same hard drive. If the drive fails, it fails. Backups need to be done on a different device or media than the primary storage drive. Examples of backup media includes DVD or CDs, flash drives, USB connected external hard drives or a remote internet-based storage service. External hard drives are strongly recommended for their ease of use, large capacity and ability to automate the backup process. If you use CD or DVDs you will quickly find that their limited storage capacity will require multiple CDs or DVDs to backup all your files – especially if you have lots of photos and music file.
Which
files?
Although
some backup strategies backup the entire computer – operating system and every
file – the critical need is to back up
everything in the Personal folder. This will cover all items in the Documents
folder, Picture folder, Music folder and more. This stresses the importance to
store all your personal files in these folders and not scattered around the
file system.
How
often?
Depending on
how often you add, create or edit files may determine how frequently you back
up. But with a large external hard drive attached, and with the backup tools
built into
1 Click the Start button, click All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools and click Backup Status and Configuration.
The Backup Status and Configuration dialog opens (Figure 8.10).
Figure 8.10 Backup Status and Configuration
Note: if running
These screen shots represent a first time setup of the Backup utility. In the Learning center, these may vary somewhat since it is likely that the backup has already been configured. If the Automatic file backup is already set up, skip to the section titled If automatic file backup is already set.
2 Click Set up Automatic file backup.
You may see a dialog requesting permission to proceed. Click Continue.
The Back Up Files dialog opens (Figure 8.11).
Figure 8.11
3 Choose the device you want to back up to (an external hard drive, CD or DVD).
Note: In the
4 Click Next.
The Back Up Files dialog opens (Figure 8.12) and allows you to specify the type of files to back up such as pictures, music, email, documents and more.
. 
Figure 8.12 Back up files – file type selection
5 Click to check all file types (this is the default) to back up and click Next.
A new dialog opens (Figure 8.13).
Figure 8.13 Back up files - schedule
6 Choose how often and what time (suggested: daily at 12:00 PM) to create a back up.
In
the learning center, you will not be starting the backup.
Click
Cancel and close all open windows
7 At home, click the Save Settings and start backup button. The backup starts and may take a while if this is the first time you are backing up your files as a full backup is created. Subsequent backups are incremental (backing up only files that have changed) so they will take much less time (Figure 8.14).
Figure 8.14 Back up in progress
You can carry out computing activities while the backup is running. If you have set the automatic file backup “on”, the backup will run as schedule without disrupting your ongoing computer use – other than notifying you when the backup has successfully completed.
If automatic file backup is already set
1 If when you clicked through the sequence Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Backup Status and Configuration and you see the following dialog (Figure 8.15) indicating that Automatic file backup is turned on, you have the ability to initiate an immediate backup, change the backup settings or turn off the automatic backup.
Figure 8.15 Backup Status and Configuration dialog
2 If the Automatic file backup is turned on your machine, click Change Backup settings and the sequence of dialog screens seen in the previous section gives you the ability to change the backup drive, files and frequency.
3 Do not make any changes (unless you are at home and intend to) and click either Next or Cancel or appropriate.
4 Close all Windows to return to the desktop.
In the event you lose some or all of your data files, through either hardware failure or operator (i.e. you) error, you can restore these files from a recent backup. This is when you realize how good an idea it was for you to implement a backup strategy. Since you did not actually create a backup in class, you will just walk through the steps here.
1 Click the Start button, click All Programs, click the Accessories folder and click the System Tools folder.
A list of System tools appears.
2 Click Backup Status and Configuration.
The Backup Status and Configuration dialog opens (Figure 8.16).
Figure 8.16 Backup Status and Configuration dialog
3 Click the Restore Files icon in the left side pane. The dialog changes (Figure 8.17) to reflect this choice.
Figure 8.17 Restore files dialog
STOP
HERE
4 Unless there is a backup device or media present, you will not be able to proceed. At the learning center, close this window unless otherwise told by the instructor.
5 At home, if you have already created a backup, make sure the backup device or media is connected or installed in your computer. Click Restore files and follow the instructions to restore a file or folder from a previous backup.
System Restore is a component of Windows Vista that you can use to restore your computer to a previous state if a problem occurs. System Restore monitors changes to the system and some application files, and it automatically creates easily identified “restore points.” These restore points allow you to revert the system to a previous time. They are created automatically on a regular basis (usually daily) and at the time of significant system events (when an application or driver is installed). You also can create and name your own restore points at any time.
You may create a restore point manually, just to be safe, before you install a new driver or program or make a change to the operating system.
System Restore does not restore your data files from an earlier time, nor does it delete or alter your current data files. It only restores system files. You need to use the Backup and Restore utilities to backup and restore data files.
1 Click the Start button, click All Programs, click Accessories, click Systems Tools and click System Restore.
A dialog opens requesting permission to proceed since this requires administrator permission. Click Continue.
The System Restore dialog opens (see Figure 8.18).
Figure 8.18 System Restore dialog
You can choose the last set restore point (the recommended choice) or you can view all available restore points and manually select one. In this exercise, the latter is chosen. Click the radio button next to Choose a different restore point.
2 Click Next.
The System Restore dialog opens listing recent restore points. Typically you will see a restore point automatically created each day (assuming your computer was turned on every day).
Figure 8.19 System Restore points
3 Previous restore points are presented for you to select. DO NOT select any at this time, but click Cancel to exit this dialog. If you were to continue (only in the event of a real need to restore to a previous time), you would select a specific restore point, click Next and then follow directions to complete the Restore.
Manually create a restore point
Although Windows Vista automatically creates restore points, there are times when you might want to force the creation of a restore point such as just before installing that new program you just purchased or downloaded. This guarantees that, should anything go wrong after installation, you will be able to restore the operating system to the state just prior to the new install.
1 Click the Start button, click All Programs, click Accessories, click Systems Tools and click System Restore. Click Continue on the permission dialog that opens.
The System Restore dialog opens (see Figure 8.20).
Figure 8.20 System Restore dialog
2 Click the open System Protection link on the last line of the dialog.
The System Properties dialog opens to the System Protection tab (see Figure 8.21).
Figure 8.21 System Properties dialog
3 Click the Create button to create a restore point (subject to the approval of your instructor).
A new dialog, titled System Protection, opens inviting you to name the restore point (Figure 8.22).
Figure 8.22 System Protection dialog
4 In the name field, type Test.
Tip: At home, you
can use a descriptive name for this restore point. For example, “Prior to
installing Office 2007,” or “Prior to Installing Quicken 2008.” You do not have
to type the date because the date and time are automatically added to your
Restore Point description.
5 Click the Create button.
The Restore Point Created window opens with the day, date, time and restore point description. You have successfully saved critical Windows configuration files that may be used in the future to restore your computer if there are problems, for example, resulting after installation of new software.
Reminder: System Restore does not restore nor delete any
data files. To protect your data files or restore damaged data files, you must
back them up separately using the Backup utility covered earlier.
6 Click the Close button.
7 Close all open windows and return to the desktop.
· viruses - malicious software that deletes, alters or destroys files or otherwise takes over your computer.
· adware or spyware - software that plants unwanted advertisement pop-ups on your computer or installs software that tracks your behavior or activity without your consent.
· malicious individuals or programs that attempt to access your computer over the Internet without your permission.
You will review the security features built into
1 Click the Start button, click Control Panel and click the Security heading.
A dialog opens showing the various security functions provided (Figure 8.23).
Figure 8.23 Security Window
You may be familiar with the Windows Update service
as seen in previous versions of Windows. Windows Update sets how your computer
access and installs
Windows Update presumes that you are connected to the Internet at one time or another even if it is infrequently via a dial-up connection. If you have cable or DSL service, Windows Update works quickly. If you use dial up and are only attached to the Internet for limited periods, Windows Update downloads updates in small “chunks” and once the full update has been downloaded (which may take many dial up sessions), the update is installed on your computer.
1 Under the Windows Update heading click the Turn automatic updating on or off entry (Figure 8.24).
Figure 8.24
The Windows Update dialog opens (Figure 8.25).
Figure 8.25 Windows Update, Change Settings dialog
The default setting is “on” which checks for updates daily over the Internet, automatically downloads them and installs them. It is recommended you leave it at this setting.
If for any reason, you want to change these settings on your home computer, review the options available but do not make any changes at the learning center.
2 Click the Back button on the Address bar to return to the previous dialog. Note the other options available under the Windows Update entry (Check for updates and View installed updates). You can explore these on your own but do not make any changes.
3 You should be at the Control Panel > Security window as indicated in the Address field. (as in Figure 8.23).
Windows Vista provides a firewall service to block remote users and programs from accessing your computer without your permission. A firewall also blocks programs on your computer from accessing the Internet without your permission.
1 Click the Windows Firewall heading.
A new window opens and displays the status of Windows Firewall (Figure 8.26).
Figure 8.26 Windows Firewall dialog
Windows Firewall is on by default and there is little reason to turn it off. However, there may be need at some point to change its settings. You will now examine this option but not make any changes.
2 Click the Change settings link. Click Continue on the dialog requesting permission to proceed.
The Windows Firewall Settings dialog opens (Figure 8.27)
Figure 8.27 Windows Firewall settings
Explore the three tabs in this dialog but do not make any changes:
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