Maintaining Your Computer; Improving Performance; Handling Drives; Using Disk Defragmenter - HP Notebook User Manual

7

Maintaining your computer

It is important to perform regular maintenance to keep your computer in optimal condition. This
chapter provides information about improving the performance of your computer by running tools
such as Disk Defragmenter and Disk Cleanup. It also provides information about updating your
programs and drivers, instructions for cleaning your computer, and tips for traveling with your
computer.

Improving performance

Everyone wants a fast computer and you can drastically improve the performance of your computer
by performing regular maintenance tasks with tools such as Disk Defragmenter and Disk Cleanup.
Also, as your computer gets older, you might consider installing larger drives and adding more
memory.

Handling drives

Observe these precautions when handling drives:
Before removing or installing a drive, shut down the computer. If you are unsure whether the
●
computer is off, in the Sleep state, or in Hibernation, turn the computer on, and then shut it
down.
Before handling a drive, discharge static electricity by touching a grounded surface.
●
Do not touch the connector pins on a removable drive or on the computer.
●
Do not use excessive force when inserting a drive into a drive bay.
●
If a drive must be mailed, place the drive in a bubble-pack mailer or other suitable protective
●
packaging and label the package "FRAGILE."
Avoid exposing a drive to magnetic fields. Security devices with magnetic fields include airport
●
walk-through devices and security wands. Airport conveyer belts and similar security devices
that check carry-on baggage use X-rays instead of magnetism and do not damage drives.
Remove media from a drive before removing the drive from the drive bay, or traveling with,
●
shipping, or storing a drive.
Do not type on the keyboard or move the computer while an optical drive is writing to a disc. The
●
write process is sensitive to vibration.
Before you move a computer that is connected to an external hard drive, initiate Sleep and allow
●
the screen to clear, or properly disconnect the external hard drive.

Using Disk Defragmenter

As you use your computer over time, the files on the hard drive become fragmented. A fragmented
drive means data on your drive is not contiguous (sequential) and, because of this, the hard drive
works harder to locate files, thus slowing down the computer. Disk Defragmenter consolidates (or
physically reorganizes) the fragmented files and folders on the hard drive so that the system can run
more efficiently.
NOTE: It is not necessary to run Disk Defragmenter on solid-state drives.
Improving performance 55