Windows XP Maintenance !

Welcome to the Windows XP Section

Here we will be looking into the following tasks :-

Removal/Installation of Programs

How to change an installed program
Note: You cannot use this feature to modify all programs.

You can use this feature to change the installation of Windows Installer-based programs or any other program. Windows Installer-based programs include a Maintenance Mode option. With this option, you can add or remove features, change the installation state of the program or of individual components, or repair and restore the installation.

To change a program, follow these steps:

    Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Add or Remove Programs.
    In the Currently installed programs box, click the program that you want to remove, and then click Change or Change/Remove.
    Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to make the changes that you want.

How to remove an installed program

To remove a program that is installed on your computer, follow these steps:

    Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Add or Remove Programs.
    In the Currently installed programs box, click the program that you want to remove, and then click Remove.
    If you are prompted to confirm the removal of the program, click Yes.

Troubleshooting

Make sure that the program that you click in the Add or Remove Programs tool is the program that you want to remove from your computer. Some programs may not prompt you to confirm the removal before the program is removed from the computer.
You can only remove a program with the Add or Remove Programs tool if the program is written for Windows. If you do not see the program that you want to remove in the Currently installed programs box, view the program documentation for instructions about how to remove it.

Disk Cleanup Tool

The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk by searching your disk for files that you can safely delete. You can choose to delete some or all of the files. Use Disk Cleanup to perform any of the following tasks to free up space on your hard disk:

    Remove temporary Internet files.
    Remove downloaded program files. For example, ActiveX controls and Java applets that are downloaded from the Internet.
    Empty the Recycle Bin.
    Remove Windows temporary files.
    Remove optional Windows components that you are not using.
    Remove installed programs that you no longer use.

You can start Disk Cleanup, by doing any of the following:

Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type cleanmgr, and then click OK.

-or-
Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup.

-or-
In Windows Explorer or My Computer, right-click the disk in which you want to free up space, click Properties, click the General tab, and then click Disk Cleanup.

Remove Files Stored on Your Hard Disk

To remove files stored on your hard disk that you no longer use, follow these steps:

    Click Start, and then click My Computer.
    Right-click the disk in which you want to free up space, and then click Properties.
    Click the General tab, and then click Disk Cleanup.
    Click the Disk Cleanup tab (if it is not already selected), click to select the check boxes next to the files that you want to remove, and then click OK.
    Click Yes to the proceed with this action, and then click OK.

Remove Windows Components

To remove Windows components that you are not using, follow these steps:

    The Windows Components Wizard starts.
    In the Components list, click to clear the check box next to the component(s) that you want to remove.
        A shaded check box next to a component indicates that only some of its subcomponents are installed.

        If you want to remove a subcomponent, click Details, click to clear the check box next to the subcomponent(s) that you want to remove, and then click OK.
    Click Next.
    In the Completing the Windows Components Wizard page, click Finish.
    Click OK, click Yes to proceed with this action, and then click OK.

Remove Installed Programs

To remove programs that you no longer use, follow these steps:

    The Add or Remove Programs dialog box is displayed.
    In the Currently installed programs list, click the program that you want to remove, and then click Remove (or Change/Remove).
    If you receive a prompt to confirm the removal of the program, click Yes.
    Repeat step 5 and 6 to remove other programs that you no longer use, and then click Close.
    Click OK, click Yes to proceed with this action, and then click OK.

Remove Restore Points

To remove all restore points except the most recent restore point, follow these steps:

    Click Start, and then click My Computer.
    Right-click the disk in which you want to free up space, and then click Properties.
    Click the General tab, and then click Disk Cleanup.
    Click the More Options tab, and then under System Restore, click Clean up.
    Click Yes to remove all but the most recent restore point.
    Click OK, click Yes to proceed with this action, and then click OK.

Using Disk Defragmentation

Disk Defragmenter MMC is based on the full retail version of Executive Software Diskeeper. The version that is included with Windows XP and later provides limited functionality in maintaining disk performance by defragmenting volumes that use the FAT, FAT32, or NTFS file system.

To start Disk Defragmenter MMC, use one of the methods that is described in this article.

Method 1: Use the Properties of Your Local Disk

    Open My Computer.
    Right-click the local disk volume that you want to defragment, and then click Properties.
    On the Tools tab, click Defragment Now.
    Click Defragment.

Method 2: Use Computer Management MMC

    Start Computer Management MMC by clicking START and typing Compmgmt.msc in the     search box and press enter.
    Click Disk Defragmenter.
    Click the volume that you want to defragment, and then click Defragment.

Method 3: Use Disk Defragmenter MMC.

Start Disk Defragmenter MMC by clicking START and typing Dfrg.msc in the search box and press enter.
Click the volume that you want to defragment, and then click Defragment.

The version of Disk Defragmenter MMC that is included with Windows XP has the following limitations:

    It can defragment only local volumes.
    It can defragment only one volume at a time.
    It cannot defragment one volume while it is scanning another.
    It cannot be scheduled. If you need to schedule disk defragmentation, use the Defrag.exe command line tool.

Error Checking Utility

Chkdsk (Chkdsk.exe) is a command-line tool that checks volumes on your hard disk drive for problems. The tool then tries to repair any problems that it finds. For example, Chkdsk can repair problems related to bad sectors, lost clusters, cross-linked files, and directory errors. To use Chkdsk, you must log on as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group.

You can also run Chkdsk from My Computer or from Windows Explorer.

How to run Chkdsk

Notes :

    Chkdsk requires exclusive access to a volume when it runs. Therefore, if one or more of the files are open on the disk that you want to check, Chkdsk prompts you to schedule the disk check for the next time that you restart your computer.
    Chkdsk might take a long time to run, depending on the number of files and folders, the size of the volume, disk performance, and available system resources, such as processor and memory.
    Chkdsk might not accurately report information in read-only mode.

How to run Chkdsk at the command prompt

    Click Start, and then click Run.
    In the Open box, type cmd, and then press Enter.
    Use one of the following procedures:
        To run Chkdsk in read-only mode, at the command prompt, type chkdsk, and then press Enter.
        To repair errors without scanning the volume for bad sectors, at the command prompt, type chkdsk volume:/f, and then press Enter.

Note :

        If one or more of the files on the hard disk are open, you will receive the following message:
        Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)
        Type Y, and then press Enter to schedule the disk check. Then, restart your computer to start the disk check.
        To repair errors, locate bad sectors, and recover readable information, at the command prompt, type chkdsk volume:/r, and then press Enter.

How to run Chkdsk from My Computer or from Windows Explorer

    Double-click My Computer, and then right-click the hard disk that you want to check.
    Click Properties, and then click Tools.
    Under Error-checking, click Check Now.

Note :

    The Check disk options dialog box appears.
    Use one of the following procedures:
        To run Chkdsk in read-only mode, click Start.
        To repair errors without scanning the volume for bad sectors, select the Automatically fix file system errors check box, and then click Start.
        To repair errors, locate bad sectors, and recover readable information, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.

Note:

    If one or more of the files on the hard disk are open, you receive the following message:
    The disk check could not be performed because the disk check utility needs exclusive access to some Windows files on the disk. These files can be accessed by restarting Windows. Do you want to schedule the disk check to occur the next time you restart the computer?
    Click Yes to schedule the disk check, and then restart your computer to start the disk check.