Windows does a pretty good job of keeping files organized on a hard drive. However, after some time, things do get a bit unruly. A PCs performance depends a lot on the hard disc, so it is well worth looking after it.
 

When a file is stored on the hard disc, it can be in several pieces, depending on what space is available. To start with, files are stored as whole blocks. As files are added and deleted, the space available is the space left by deleted files. To store a file, Windows may now have to spread it over several available plots. This is called fragmentation. Reading and writing a file to several pieces is slower than if it is in one piece, and so can noticeably affect the PC's performance.

The defragmentation program shuffles the files around on the hard disc, so the files are each in one piece. It also sorts some files to the front of the disc, and others to the end, to optimize performance.

There are a few ways to run defrag:

• from Windows Explorer, right click on the c: drive, select Properties, then Tools, click the Defrag button.
• click the Start button, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Defrag
• set up the Maintenance Wizard to run Defrag for you. Click the Start button, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Maintenance Wizard. Select the option to program the wizard. (Remember the wizard can only do its thing if the PC is running when its programmed time comes up.)

Run defrag about every month or so if you still have a fat32 file system.

Before running Scan Disk or Defrag, shut down all programs you have running, and switch the screen saver to none, or blank screen. You may also have to shut down your virus protection and firewall programs. A further option is to restart in safe mode.

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Clean Up Unused Files

• Temp folder - This is usually c:\Temp or c:\Windows\Temp, and it is where programs are supposed to leave temporary files. Any files left in here should be able to be deleted without affecting anything else. Delete files with names like ~*.tmp or *.tmp. Don't delete anything with today's date - it might be still in use.
• Internet Explorer temporary files - IE stores copies of all the pages you browse, to speed up surfing. In IE, go Tools / Options / General click the button to Delete Files. Here you can also set a limit to how much stuff is stored.
• Check disc Files - The scan disk program puts file fragments that it finds in the root directory, with names like *.chk.
• Newsgroups - The newsgroup reader (eg Outlook Express) keeps a copy of all the messages you download. This can build up. In Outlook Express, go to Tools, Options select the Maintenance tab and click the "Clean Up Now" button. Select from the 4 options. Alternatively, you can do the newsgroups individually by right clicking on one, select Properties then the Local File tab.
• Deleted Email - Emails that you delete in Outlook Express go to the Deleted Items folder. Clear this out every week or so. Better still, set OE to clean out the deleted items every time you exit OE. Go to Tools, Options select the Maintenance tab and make sure the item "Empty messages from the Deleted Items folder on exit" is checked.
• Other Unused Files - There can be lots of other files sitting around in the backwaters of your hard disc. Files like old WORD documents, saved games, downloads, etc. Search these out and delete the ones you no longer need.
• Recycle Bin - Files you delete go to the Recycle Bin. This is handy because you get a chance to recover accidental deletions. However, the Recycle Bin still takes up disc space, so it is a good idea to empty it every few days. Double click on the Recycle Bin icon, and go to File / Empty Recycle Bin.

Backup Your Data

Data is all the files you work with, such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, database files, pictures, etc. The ones you have made yourself are probably more valuable than files you have copied from someone else.

How - Copy the data files to a separate storage medium, like floppy disc or CD.
A floppy disc holds only 1.4MB, so you will need many to store the data. File compression, such as zip, would be a good idea for this.
A CD holds about 650MB, which would probably carry all the data on a typical PC. Unless you need to, don't use compression, just copy the data across.

A DVD can hold up to 9GB. This is what you want to you if you have big media files like movies or podcasts.

What - If you have all your data files organized into 1 or 2 folders, simply back these folders up. Also think about backing up mail folders (probably under c:\windows\profiles\...).

Frequency - as soon as you have data that you can't afford to lose.
I copy critical files to floppy each day I work on them, and make a complete backup of all data to CD about twice a month.

Software is all the executable programs you have on your PC. This probably includes the operating system (eg Windows98), applications (eg Works), games and other programs.

You should have most of these on CD, so you don't need to regularly back them up. Make sure you have copies of any valuable software you have downloaded.

Also, you should make rescue disks so you can recover from hard disc failure. Update your rescue discs whenever you make significant changes to the operating system.

There will be lots of other information you have relating to your PC. This includes serial numbers for hardware and software, passwords, etc. Be sure to keep these, some software won't reload without the key number.

Don't keep these on your computer. If they are there somewhere, there is a chance a hostile program can access them without your permission. Also, don't allow the PC to remember your password for logging on to the internet.

Instead, keep these numbers written down on paper, and kept it handy near your PC.

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Virus Protection

Install Virus Protection software Install Virus Protection software

No that was not a typo.

Make sure you have virus protection on your PC. There are plenty of options available. CUSTOM-PC uses AVG security software.

If you don't use Microsoft products (like Windows and Outlook Express), don't connect to the internet and don't exchange floppy disks or CDs with anyone, then perhaps you don't need virus protection. Otherwise, you will need it.

Most virus protection systems use a set of definitions to spot a virus. This means they only spot viruses they know about. You need to keep the definition up to date so your PC is protected against the latest viruses. I update my definitions every week.

Well, there is only one type of virus - bad. But they do have some differences that are worth noting.

Virus - a program that inserts itself in other program files. When the infected program runs, it activates the virus. The virus spreads when an infected file is copied to another PC.

Trojan - a program that runs on your PC and performs functions for someone else, such as copy files, steal passwords or provide an entry point for a hacker. The trojan may do something, such as a screen saver, or it may be almost invisible to a user. A trojan does not replicate itself.

Worm - a self replicating program A worm can copy itself using email or a network, and can carry a destructive payload. More commonly, the damage done is through simply overloading computer networks as the worm replicates exponentially.

If your PC is infected, you will need some clean software to repair it. This is called a recovery disk, and is made by the virus protection software.

Update the recovery disks every 6 months or so.

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Firewall

Why?

Your PC can have over 60,000 ports open, and a cracker just needs to find one to get in. If a cracker does get in, they can cause trouble for you in many different ways.

One approach is to get your log on name and password, which the cracker can use to gain internet access at your expense and under your name. Another route is for the cracker to get credit card details from your PC, which they use to make purchases. You might not know until they show up on your next bill.

Read more about PC security here and here. (Some more notes)

A firewall is a program that watches all traffic between your PC and the internet. It uses a table showing which traffic is allowable, and stops the rest.

CUSTOM-PC USES AVG for their firewall program.. There is a free version available for home use, or you can purchase an upgraded version. There are various other firewall products available.

When you have installed your firewall, check it is working ok with the Shields Up port tester at Gibson Research.

If you don't have a firewall, you should definitely go there to learn how exposed your PC is!

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What's the WinKey used for on the Windows keyboards?

WinKey = Displays taskbar and Start Menu
WinKey + E = Opens Explorer
WinKey + F = Opens Find
WinKey + R = Opens Run
WinKey + D = Maximize/Minimize all windows
WinKey + M = Minimize all windows
WinKey + Pause = Opens System Resources
WinKey + Tab = Flip between open application in the taskbar
WinKey + CTRL + F = Finds a computer
WinKey + Shift + M = Maximize all "WinKey + E" minimized windows
WinKey + Break = Displays the System Properties sheet

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Restricting Logon Access

If you work in a multiuser computing environment, and you have full (administrator level) access to your computer, you might want to restrict unauthorized access to your "sensitive" files under Windows 95/98.
One way is to disable the Cancel button in the Logon dialog box.
Just run Regedit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Network/Logon

Create the "Logon" subkey if it is not present on your machine: highlight the Network key -> right-click in the left hand Regedit pane -> select New -> Key -> name it "Logon" (no quotes) -> press Enter. Then add/modify a DWORD value and call it "MustBeValidated" (don't type the quotes). Double-click it, check the Decimal box and type 1 for value.
Now click the Start button -> Shut Down (Log off UserName) -> Log on as a different user, and you'll notice that the Logon Cancel button has been disabled.

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NTFS vs. FAT


To NTFS or not to NTFS—that is the question. But unlike the deeper questions of life, this one isn't really all that hard to answer. For most users running Windows XP, NTFS is the obvious choice. It's more powerful and offers security advantages not found in the other file systems. But let's go over the differences among the files systems so we're all clear about the choice. There are essentially three different file systems available in Windows XP: FAT16, short for File Allocation Table, FAT32, and NTFS, short for NT File System.


FAT16
The FAT16 file system was introduced way back with MS–DOS in 1981, and it's showing its age. It was designed originally to handle files on a floppy drive, and has had minor modifications over the years so it can handle hard disks, and even file names longer than the original limitation of 8.3 characters, but it's still the lowest common denominator. The biggest advantage of FAT16 is that it is compatible across a wide variety of operating systems, including Windows 95/98/Me, OS/2, Linux, and some versions of UNIX. The biggest problem of FAT16 is that it has a fixed maximum number of clusters per partition, so as hard disks get bigger and bigger, the size of each cluster has to get larger. In a 2–GB partition, each cluster is 32 kilobytes, meaning that even the smallest file on the partition will take up 32 KB of space. FAT16 also doesn't support compression, encryption, or advanced security using access control lists.

FAT32
The FAT32 file system, originally introduced in Windows 95 Service Pack 2, is really just an extension of the original FAT16 file system that provides for a much larger number of clusters per partition. As such, it greatly improves the overall disk utilization when compared to a FAT16 file system. However, FAT32 shares all of the other limitations of FAT16, and adds an important additional limitation—many operating systems that can recognize FAT16 will not work with FAT32—most notably Windows NT, but also Linux and UNIX as well. Now this isn't a problem if you're running FAT32 on a Windows XP computer and sharing your drive out to other computers on your network—they don't need to know (and generally don't really care) what your underlying file system is.

The Advantages of NTFS
The NTFS file system, introduced with first version of Windows NT, is a completely different file system from FAT. It provides for greatly increased security, file–by–file compression, quotas, and even encryption. It is the default file system for new installations of Windows XP, and if you're doing an upgrade from a previous version of Windows, you'll be asked if you want to convert your existing file systems to NTFS. Don't worry. If you've already upgraded to Windows XP and didn't do the conversion then, it's not a problem. You can convert FAT16 or FAT32 volumes to NTFS at any point. Just remember that you can't easily go back to FAT or FAT32 (without reformatting the drive or partition), not that I think you'll want to.

The NTFS file system is generally not compatible with other operating systems installed on the same computer, nor is it available when you've booted a computer from a floppy disk. For this reason, many system administrators, myself included, used to recommend that users format at least a small partition at the beginning of their main hard disk as FAT. This partition provided a place to store emergency recovery tools or special drivers needed for reinstallation, and was a mechanism for digging yourself out of the hole you'd just dug into. But with the enhanced recovery abilities built into Windows XP (more on that in a future column), I don't think it's necessary or desirable to create that initial FAT partition.

When to Use FAT or FAT32
If you're running more than one operating system on a single computer (see Dual booting in Guides), you will definitely need to format some of your volumes as FAT. Any programs or data that need to be accessed by more than one operating system on that computer should be stored on a FAT16 or possibly FAT32 volume. But keep in mind that you have no security for data on a FAT16 or FAT32 volume—any one with access to the computer can read, change, or even delete any file that is stored on a FAT16 or FAT32 partition. In many cases, this is even possible over a network. So do not store sensitive files on drives or partitions formatted with FAT file systems.

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The Start Menu can be leisurely when it decides to appear, but you can speed things along by changing the registry entry HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop/MenuShowDelay from the default 400 to something a little snappier. Like 0.