Computer down time can have a major impact on productivity at work, and be an annoyance at home. These problems are likely to increase as time goes on. Refurbished or older computers often have CPU performance issues. To keep your computer running smoothly and fix problems with the hard drive, it’s important to schedule regular tune-ups.

The hard drive is a bottleneck for all computer operations. The more places on the drive that the CPU has to access, the longer every process takes. The less cluttered the hard drive, the smoother the performance of large programs and complicated operations. Fortunately, there are many ways to improve the efficiency of your hard drive, and some of them are included right in your Windows system tools.

Some of the procedures suggested here might take a half a day when you do them for the first time, so make sure that you will not need your computer for any critical tasks before you attempt any system maintenance.

First: Use a hard drive cleaning utility.

This is a simple utility that looks for files that are “left over” from old programs or software that you have uninstalled, as well as temporary files stored during Internet browsing, downloading email attachments, and so forth. Although it has nothing to do with performance, running a disk cleaning utility will free up space for other information, and will help you in the next step.

Second: Defragment your hard drive.

Over time, as you install and uninstall programs, save files, and work with your computer, your are writing and rewriting portion of your hard drive with new information. As you delete files, little gaps open up in the hard drive’s storage, and the next time you’re installing something new, the computer sees the empty space and uses it. Remember, though a hard drive is just a glorified record album – it records information in a circle as it spins. When the CPU goes to the hard drive to access data, and the data it wants to access is split into fourteen pieces along the hard drive, it has to go to all of those places on the drive to get the data before it can deliver it. When you’re waiting for something to load, the computer is wasting your time searching for information all over the surface of the hard disk. A defragmentation utility, or “defragger,” does nothing more than re-arrange the data on your hard drive into bigger chunks. That way, the information a program or operation needs is all in one place, and less time is required to “travel” over the disk looking for data.

Defragging a hard drive can take a very long time if it’s never been done before. Depending on the size of the disk, you may be in for several hours for the utility to finish. Make sure you turn off any screen saver or auto-sleep functions before you start, as these might interrupt the process.

Third: Make a backup copy of all your data.

Now that your disk is neat and tidy, it’s a perfect time to create a backup of your hard drive. This is something that people do all too infrequently, even though there are plenty of options available. If you have a home network, you can purchase a networked storage device that allows you to back up over wifi. There are also Internet services that will allow you to backup your data to a remote server for a monthly subscription. Or you can buy an external hard drive that connects to your computer and allows you to save a copy (or “image”) of your hard drive. These external drives often come with a simple backup utility to make this process very simple. Finally, you can use a backup utility and optical discs (CD-R or DVD-R) to take a snapshot of your hard drive.

Backing up you hard drive is important for two reasons. First, if anything ever were to happen to your computer, you will not lose your files. People seem to think that computers are made of teflon and kevlar, but that is not the case. The number of tragedies that could have been prevented by a simple backup is frightening. Second, there are times when, no matter what you do to fix something on your computer, you will simply need to erase (or replace) the hard drive and start again. If you regularly back up your data, this isn’t that big a deal. If you don’t, then you’ve added an additional step (and still more delay) before you have a working computer again.

The good news is that backup devices are cheap. Online computer stores offer deep discounts on external drives and other storage solutions, and Internet services sometimes charge only a minimal fee for small quantities of data.

Although most of these tips can be accomplished without additional software, there are times that System utility software suites can come in very handy. They provide a layer of customization and power that you do not find in the “stock” system utilities, and they extend your ability to optimize your computer’s performance. You can often use third-party utility suites to repair or restore lost or damaged files, or even recover files that have been deleted accidentally.

With some simple precautions and routine maintenance, you can keep your computer running well for a very long time,. Like all tools, a computer needs proper care in order to work properly. And just think, with all the money you save by not buying a new computer you can buy a cool laptop sleeve!

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