Tips for getting the most out of your PC
 Cleaning House
We recommend running Disk Cleanup once a week. This is a built-in Windows utility for deleting temporary files that are no longer needed. Makes more drive space available and may improve performance.
This program can be accessed through: Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools
Want something more powerful? Why not try CleanUp! or CCleaner for an even more thorough cleaning? Find out more about these free programs and others on our recommended software page.
 Tuning Up
We recommend running Disk Defragmenter once a week. This is a built-in Windows utility designed to arrange files in a logical manner on the hard disk so that data may be accessed faster. This can improve performance and decrease the danger of file corruption.
This program can be accessed through: Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools
Want something better? May we suggest Diskeeper Lite for defragmenting.
Find out more about this free program and others on our recommended software page.
 An ounce of prevention...
Back up your data! Can you afford to lose all those irreplaceable digital photos, important documents, emails and addresses? Hard drives can fail without warning and data recovery can be an expensive option.
There are many means of storing your data and these include:
| Method |
Pros |
Cons |
| DVD or CD |
Media is cheap.
Portable.
Readable on almost any PC. |
Easily scratched.
Prone to write errors.
Will deteriorate over a long period. |
| External Hard Drive |
Fast copying on USB2 or Firewire.
Large Capacity. |
Expensive.
Fragile and somewhat bulky to carry offsite. |
| USB Pen (Flash) Drive |
Small and Portable.
Fast Copying on USB2. |
Can be corrupted or damaged or easily lost. |
| Floppy Disk |
Media is cheap.
Portable. |
Very small capacity.
Unreliable and prone to damage.
Slow. |
| Zip Disk (and similar) |
- |
Unreliable and prone to damage.
Expensive 'old' technology. |
| Online Secure Backup |
Automated so no need to remember to backup.
No media required. |
Requires broadband connection to for best results.
Subscription based. |
For information about backup utilities including BullGuard and Cobian, please visit our recommended software page.
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