subject: How to – Spring Clean You Hard Disk [print this page] Files and Recycle Bin; they may contain files you want to keep. The final option is Custom, which lets you select other folders. Tick the boxes for the areas you want to clear and click Start. Another window will then open to confirm which folders will be emptied; just click the OK button when you're happy with the selection. PC Tools Disk Suite will then show the status of the file deletions, along with the amount of hard disk space that's being recovered in the process. You can opt to see a brief report on the clean-up when it's finished. Otherwise, just click the OK button on the Operation Complete dialog box to return to the program. Cleanup and Optimize should keep your PC in tip-top shape, but you need to remember to use it regularly. If you're the forgetful type, click the Schedule... button at the bottom of the screen to set this task to run automatically on a regular basis. Click OK to confirm the list of folders to purge (as in step 3), give the task a name and select a frequency. Monthly should be sufficient for most PCs, but When Windows start [sic] works just as well. Choose a time and day to run the task then. when you click the Finish button, it will be listed under the program's Schedule pane. PC Tools Disk Suite doesn't need to be running for this schedule to take effect; all scheduled tasks run automatically in the background. Another option worth using regularly is Defrag, also found on the Status page. Defragmenting a hard disk rearranges files that are catered far and wide to make them faster to access. Select the drive you want to defragment (usually C), select the Consolidate Free Space action and click the Start button. Defragmentation can take some time, so it's worth creating a monthly schedule for this. PC Tools Disk Suite can also be used to fix problems with key Windows folders and repair a hard disk that contains errors. The Scandisk operations listed under Status, Repair let you check the hard disk for physical damage and attempt to rescue data in the damaged sectors. However, the Repair boot record options are best left untouched unless you're familiar with such aspects of Windows' operation.
