Want to speed up your 'puter?

If you want to try and speed you PC or laptop up a bit, you might like to think about using the Disk Defragmenter tool that comes with Windows.

The Disk Defragmenter tool is found by clicking on:

1. The Windows Start button in the bottom left-hand corner of your screen.
   
2. Selecting the Programs menu.
   
3. Accessories
   
4. System Tools
   
5. Disk Defragmenter
   

A screen like this one here will appear.

Click on the 'Defragment' button at the bottom of the screen and go and make yourself a cup of tea (or two) whilst Windows optimizes the way the files are stored on your hard disk. The program works by reading and writing the files stored on your hard disk to minimize head travel time and maximize the transfer rate.

Just how long the program takes to optimize your hard disk will depend on the size of your hard disk and the amount of data stored on it, but reckon on at least 20 minutes to half an hour.

When the program has finished those horzintal bars at the bottom of the screen should hopefully look like this:

No red 'defragmented' files to be seen in the lower bar, just blue and green blocks... and if your hard disk was seriously defragmented, you may even notice an improvement in performance.

You'll find more imformation on the website The Elder Geek.