So why should you run Scandisk and what is Scandisk anyway?
Scandisk does just what it sounds like, it scans your hard drive looking for errors and correcting them.
The hard drive is where Windows (or what they call your Operating System) is installed, and all of your programs and any files you may have created.
If you ever turned off your computer by just turning off the power (You should try NOT to do this!See the article on Down shut off the power! ) then errors can occur on your hard drive. If you get errors in the wrong place, then some programs won't work right, maybe they won't even open or even files seem to be gone!
So after awhile you need to run Scandisk. Before you open Scandisk, make sure you don't have any programs open. If you have a Screensaver, make sure it is turned off. Turning off Screensaver applies to older Operating Systems.
Now click on your Start button and select Programs. In the Programs menu select 'Accessories', then select System Tools.
Now click on Scandisk. When the Scandisk Program opens, put a check mark in the little square at the bottom to automatically fix errors.
Then start the program & go find something else to do for a while. Scandisk can take a long time to run, so don't do this if you have something else you want to do on your computer right away. If you are using Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE or Windows ME, you need to run Scandisk once a month.
Once completed, you can go back and put your screen saver and background back to where you had it. You should perform a disk defragment after performing a ScanDisk.
Today's how-to guide for computer beginners is about computer CACHE!
Dealing with computer cache is a basic computer operation, and will be useful for you to know.
Here is are some list of questions I have been asked, and we will go over them one by one!
How you pronounce ‘cache’? It is pronounced CASH
Today, we are going cover the following questions:
What is cache or Define computer cache?
How-To clear your computer cache, or what some people call how do you delete your computer cache
Temporary Internet Files refers to a folder on your computer where the cache is stored. When read about the two terms you will notice that some people refer to them as one in the same.
In other words, How-to clear the temporary internet files could be asked instead of using the word ‘cache’. Other times they could be referring to Disk Cleanup.
Definition of Computer Cache
I will try to explain what Cache is for the computer beginner, and here is a couple of cache definitions that google came up with! There are different types of cache, and we will be talking about internet cache today.
Cache as most people call it are basically the Temporary Internet Files folder on your computer!
It contains a kind of travel record of the items you have seen, heard, or downloaded from the Web, including images, sounds, Web pages, even cookies. Typically these items are stored in the Temporary Internet Files folder.
How Stuff Works has an article on Cache as well, and they use a different visual to describe it.
Your Internet connection is the slowest link in your computer. So your browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Opera, etc.) uses the hard disk to store HTML pages, putting them into a special folder on your disk. The first time you ask for an HTML page, your browser renders it and a copy of it is also stored on your disk. The next time you request access to this page, your browser checks if the date of the file on the Internet is newer than the one cached. If the date is the same, your browser uses the one on your hard disk instead of downloading it from Internet. In this case, the smaller but faster memory system is your hard disk and the larger and slower one is the Internet.
Storing these files in your cache can make browsing the Web faster because it usually takes your computer less time to display a Web page (or what they call loading the page) when it can call up some of the page's elements or even the entire page from your local Temporary Internet Files folder.
So if you have NOT been to a website yet your temporary files do not have a record of any information on that website, and it will take longer to load.
Now next time you are surfing the web..... you will know why some pages LOAD faster than others!
Keep in mind at times you need to clear out that cache, because it does take up room on your computer! It will slow your performance down as well.
People ask me how often you need to clear cache, and it really depends on how often you use your computer and the internet in particular!
Believe or not you will know how often you should clear cache the more you use the computer, and the more your surf the internet! Keep in mind if you have never cleared cache before it may take a while to empty the cache, but it will NOT take as long afterwards (after you do it the first time).
Clearing the Cache or Deleting the Cache at times is more about personal preference. Some people do this before they browse the internet, and others may do this once a week. If you notice things are starting to slow down a bit – clear the cache to see if that helps.
Keep in mind if you are like some people that just pop on for 10 minutes to check email, and read a bit then sign off you will have to clear cache less often!
Especially with older web browsers: If you empty the cache to often loading web pages will always take forever, and it will be very frustrating! Its just like seasoning your food!
You don't want to much or to little in the cache to make it work well for you! When you do clear the cache things will take longer to load next time you visit your favorite webpage at times! After a while believe me you will notice your performance difference! TRUST me on that!
Before Proceeding we need to find out what web browser you use.
Most of the time if you look at the top of your web browser you should see a ‘help’ section. You can click that, and search for ‘cache’ for instructions similar to our lesson below. As much as I try to keep up on changes to web browser update sometimes there is a delay from me. So keep that ‘help’ section in MIND!
I will tell you I have more than one web browser on my computer, and that would NOT be unusual! So, I clear the cache for each one separately.
Clear Cache on IE or Clear Cache on Internet Explorer 9:
We will start with deleting cache on Internet Explorer 9.0 version first.
This is the Internet Explorer or IE web browser Icon.
Look to your upper right hand corner of your web browser, and find the symbol I’m pointing to here.
This will bring up a menu with some options.
Look for Safety First And you will next be offered the option of delete browsing history.
Internet Browser have come a long way, and now they give you the option of saving some cache that you use. The top portion would be websites that you have placed in your ‘favorites’ section on your browser.
I would say most of the time people like the first four clicked. They would be self explanatory.
For a better Explanation of all your options? I wrote a How-To Article just on ‘delete browsing history’ menu.
You can delete files you downloaded, information you have typed into forms online, passwords that are filled in automatically by the browser (you would have an the option at the time to allow this).
Once you have made your choices you would look to the bottom of this screen, and push your delete button.
Once the process of clearing your cache or deleting your cache is done at the bottom of your browser you should get a message similar to the one I pictured below.
Some people have this orange foxfire Rectangle button that is pictured (top left hand side). When you click on that
you will be presented with a number of choices.
You want to click on the ‘options’, and then on the advanced.
Other versions of Foxfire:
Click Tools, and then Options
As you can see pictured. The advanced, then network, then clear now.
You would click ‘okay’ on the bottom for close this window.
With your history you would go into the ‘privacy’ section, and click the options you wish in much the same way we did here.
My Foxfire Browser I have option at the top of my browser to go directly to tools
I go down to the section called ‘clear recent history’
At the top you have an option of how much you wish to clear. My option says ‘everything’. You can pick timeframe you wish.
I also make sure I click the cache, cookies option as well.
Then the CLEAR NOW button.
How-To Clear Cache in Google Chrome
This is your Google Chrome Icon, and you want to click on it to open a web browser window.
In the TOP right hand side of your browser window you will see a symbol that represents what the call, ‘Menu’
Click the Chrome menu on the browser toolbar. Select Tools. Select Clear browsing data.
In the dialog that appears, select the checkboxes for the types of information that you want to remove.
Use the menu at the top to select the amount of data that you want to delete.
When you are finished with your choices.
Click Clear browsing data.
I hope my how-to lesson for the computer beginner on CACHE was understandable to you. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to use the comment box.
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Today's tutorial is about the Defragment process of your computer system. Learning computer basics will keep you machine running smoothly, and you won't have what I call COMPUTER FRUSTRATION!
Computer Frustration
Just like a car or household you must learn to do the maintenance of the machine. In this computer lesson we will break things down, and I will attempt to answer most questions I have been asked in the past about defragmenting. I’m sure you have guessed by now it can also be referred to as, ‘how do you defrag?” for short!
So what the heck is defragging, defragment....DEFRAG???
The files on your computer become fragmented, and you are basically placing them back where they belong! You are running a defragment program on your computer to place everything back where it belongs...if you will!
The best visual I can come up with is a book to explain what is meant by fragmented computer!
Files Flying Before Defrag of the computer
A book as we all know is a collection of pages.
With a computer you have a file instead of a page in a book.
In our world pages in a book are placed in order and bound together.
On the computer your files are NOT always stored next to each other, or even CLOSE to each other! Can you imagine reading a book with pages all over the place? Learning how to defrag or how to do a defragment would collecting all those pages, putting them order, and binding them up again.
Imagine running all over the place collecting those pages together so you read them! That is how the computer handles the pages in your book! Your files on the computer are all over the place, and it can take forever for a computer to run around - gather all the files - and then place them in order before you are reading to USE your computer. In other words, learning how to defrag keeps your computer running efficiently.
This is one of the reasons computer run slow at times. They are busy running around trying to grab all those files for you. Defragmenting your computer? Keeps keep it running faster as well.
Defragmenting your computer places all the files neatly together so your computer is NOT having to run all over the place to find the information for you!
After you defrag your computer or completed defragmenting your computer all your books (in our case files) are placed away neatly together for more efficient use of your computer!
Doesn't he look happier now?
How-to know how often to defragment your computer
It really depends on how much you use your computer as to how often you need to defrag your computer! People that use their computer all the time will defrag it more often than someone that gets on it once a month!
For most people I recommend trying to do the defragmenting of your computer once a month! If your computer doesn't need it that much it won't take that long to run! With the newer computers the program itself may tell you if its time to defrag the computer or not.
Lesson on how to Defragment your computer for the computer beginner!
How do you do it? AHHHH! The next part! Let us help you place your library of files back together, and have your computer happy with its NICE NEW organized LIBRARY!
I’ll will start with older operating systems, and then move to newer ones!
With the older operating systems (Windows 95/98/ME/2000) you MUST turn off all programs as well!
No internet, No virus protection, No open documents, No music programs, no screensavers....everything you know how to turn off!
Those are what the computer will call processes, and will slow down or even HALT your computer if running them at the same time as your defragmenting program! That is my first computer beginner HINT that I learned the hard way! The second 'how-to' or computer lesson hint I have give you when you start this defragment process make use you won't be needing to use the computer for while! Defragging your computer will go so much smoother, and run faster with nothing else running!
I used to start it about an hour before my appointment with my pillow!
Sidenote: If you have never done defragging of your computer before, or its been a long time since it was defragged it will take while to complete! Relax! This first time it has alot of work to do!
From what I remember of Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows 2000 about defragging your computer the directions were pretty simple. There was a couple of ways, and none of them did the operating system seem to like!
The traditional way to defrag your computer is using the pictures above!
Start Button, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter
With the older operating systems you will have the 'C' drive as the harddrive that your information is on, and that is the drive we well be defragging today.
I'm going to show you a couple of different versions of defragmentation, and you should see your computer system in the following steps! I'm going to start with the older operating systems first for this computer lesson!
Right Hand Side Settings
You might want to click 'settings' first! Look to the bottom right of picture.
Make sure these options are checked on your computer as well! Then click OK!
You will start to see one of the following screens during the defragment process on your computer.
You can a pretty graphic is you click the 'show details' button on the defragment menu screen! I never really bothered! It was pretty boring to watch after a while! Below is what you may see if you click the 'show details' button during the defragment process.
THEN off the defragmenting process RUNS! Ahem...You hope!
The only thing is computers with these older operating systems (Windows 95, Windows 98, ME) really seems to hate this defragging program, and it will slow down or even crash the computer when running defrag. For me (at least) it didn't matter if I was or wasn't running anything extra processes like screensaver, etc! There were times it ran fine, and other times it didn't! Older operating systems HATE the defragment program!
Alot of times I had people recommend to me to run this defragment program in safe mode!
To boot Windows 98 in safe mode for defrag:
Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Information. On the Tools menu, click System Configuration Utility. Click the Advanced button, and then click to select the Enable Startup Menu check box. Click OK, click OK, and then restart your computer when you are prompted to do so. Select the Safe Mode menu option from the Startup menu, and then press ENTER
Do the above defragment directions ALL Over again, but in safe mode this time! Your screen will look funny, and it will have 'safe mode' messages on it! Either shut down or restart your computer to get your screen back to normal when the defragment process is complete!
Windows ME can be tough to get into safe mode. Here's an alternative method to get ME into a selective startup mode similar to safe mode, in which Defragmenter should run without problems. You can use this method in Windows 98 as well, with the noted variations.
We will need to use the System Configurations or 'MSCONFIG' to do this next step!
Launch System Configuration Utility (MSCONFIG) as above. Select the radio button for Selective startup, and then uncheck the following: Autoexec.bat (in Windows 98) System.ini Win.ini Startup group items (in Windows 98: "Load startup group items") Click OK and restart when prompted. Run Defragmenter. Run System Configuration Utility again, set it back to Normal startup, click OK and restart when prompted.
You can also do this (above) in safe mode!
Restart your computer and when it starts to reboot.. hold down the control key. (Ctrl = control key)
Windows will start with options for you to choose from.
Choose "SAFE MODE"
When computer is finished booting up...Start then go to accessories, system tools and choose defragment.
Oh don't forget to right click your desktop where no icon is..choose properties...then screen saver..then select none before starting the defrag process.
Another way:
Click Start Click Run and type 'defrag' (no quotes) in the run box Click ok Within the defrag window, select the drive that you wish to be checked and click ok. In most cases it will be the C drive for defragment.
You can also try:
Right click on My Computer Right click on your C drive.and select Properties Click on the Tools tab. In the Defragmentation Status section click on the Defragment Now button
YEP doing defragging this on those operating systems are a royal pain the rear! It needs to be done to keep the system working well!
From what I have read, and from what I remember the safe mode option was the easiest! If you haven't done this at all, or even don't remember the last time it will take you a while to get this task complete! If you do this on a regular basis you will speed up the process!
How to Defrag a computer on Windows XP
Defrag on Vista
Hit start button (circle), then computer, click on your hard drive (normally is C), and then right click on it. Your mouse has two button on it normally, and HIT the right one! Slide down to properties, and click it! Look at the top for the word 'tools' and click that! Hit the button that says defragment!
If this Computer Beginner Lesson on Defragmenting your computer was confusing in some way make sure to comment to me, and I will try to help you out! Once you defrag your computer a couple of times this tutorial or lesson will be a breeze! PROMISE!
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So why should you run Scandisk and what is Scandisk anyway?
