System Tools

System Tools

System Tools

Windows incorporates certain tools such as the Disk Defragmenter, the Disk Cleanup the tool to free disk space, the Scheduled Tasks etc. Almost all of these tools are designed to optimize the behavior of the computer. Next we will learn in more detail about some of the most useful tools.

The Scandisk

This tool is used to search errors in the system’s units and to repair those errors.

When the computer is turned off in an abrupt manner it is possible that some files may be damage. Normally when the computer is turned on after being turned off abruptly (without using the option shut down from the Start menu) the Scandisk is launched to check the system and repair any error that it may find.

This tool is usually used when we have a damaged disk. By using it we can fix the possible errors and therefore retrieve the information that it contains. Keep in mind that this tool is not a miracle worker and therefore it is not always possible to retrieve the information.

To open Scandisk, click on the My Computer icon on the desktop, and the screen shown here will open up.

Now select the unit that you want to perform the scandisk on, for example unit (D), and right click it.

A shortcut menu will open, like the one shown select Properties from this menu.

This will cause the window Hard disk (D) Properties to open. Select Tools tab and the window shown will open.

If you click Check Now... , the window Checking hard disk (D) will open.

Here you need to choose one of two options available:

Automatically fix file system errors.

or

Search for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.

Click on Start so that the scan can begin. Note: This process can take a few minutes, depending on the size of the disk.

Once the scan has finalized a confirmation window will appear.

System Tools   The Disk Defragmenter   This tool is in charge of reorganizing the information that is stored in the disk, although it can also fix errors on the units.   Windows incorporates this tool because the disk becomes slow as we save new data and delete old data. This is why we need to reorganize the information so that the free spaces between the information disappear and the performance of our disk improves. By doing this we will also be able to access information quicker.   The free spaces that are generated when information from the disk is deleted influence the size that files and programs use. This is the reason why when we see the properties of a file two sizes appear, the real size of the file and the space that the file is using in the disk. If we defragment the disk we will notice that the difference between the two sizes decreases.   Click on Defragment Now... and the disk defragmenter window will appear, similar to the one shown below.     First select the volume from the list clicking on it, and then you can choose to run the defragmenter directly by clicking Defragment, or check the state of the disk first by clickingAnalyze.     Depending on the results, you can choose to Defragment the disk or not. When many deletions have been done on the disk a defragmentation in needed because there are many files that are fragmented instead of using a contiguous space on the disk.             System Tools   System Information   This tool, as its name indicates, is in charge of showing information regarding the system, such as the installed applications, the drivers, the processor, etc.     Here you can find usefull information, such as the models, versions, and manufacturers of your computer´s programs and hardware.   There is also more specific information that is only for use by experts, such as the E/S,Ports, etc.           System Tools   Restore System   This tool is in charge of restoring the Windows registry, which is the place where all the information about changes to the configuration is kept.   The system itself makes a copy of the registry every once in a while. So with this tool we can restore some of these copies or we can generate a new copy of the current registry when we are going to make important changes to the configuration of the system. This way we can easily go back and restore the system if the new configuration does not work properly.   To run this application select, from the Start menu, All programs, Accesories and System Tools and then choose System Restore.   Note: When you run this tool a screen like the one below will appear. This window gives you the possibility to either Restore my computer to an earlier time or Create a restore point.           System Tools   Formatting a Disk   To Format a Disk:   1- Open Windows Explorer or click on My Computer, then select the unit you wish to format with the right mouse button to display the shortcut menu.   2- Select the Format option, and a window like the one shown here will be displayed.     3- Select Capacity of the disk; nowadays the majority are 1.44 Mb for Floppy.   4- In the File System for floppies you can only choose FAT. For hard disks you can choose FAT, which is the most used system to date, or NTFS, which is newer and has more restoration and error analysis capabilities.   5- Select Format options, Quick Format or create a an MS-DOS start up disk.   6- You can also label it: simply write the name where the Volume label appears.   7- Once the appropriate options have been selected click Start.   8- When you finish click Close.