Maintaining your hard drive
Hard drives need regular maintenance because running the system software divides files, creates spaces between data, and otherwise decreases the hard drive’s performance. Windows 95 and Windows NT provide maintenance tools that help prevent possible hard drive problems. The most important tools for hard drive maintenance are the programs ScanDisk (Windows 95 only), Check Disk (Windows NT only), and Disk Defragmenter (Windows 95 only).
Using ScanDisk
ScanDisk is a Windows 95 program that lets you check your hard disk for damaged areas and then repairs them. We suggest you scan your hard drive from at least once a week to once a month, depending on how often and how much you use your computer.
To use ScanDisk
1.Click on the Start button. Then click on Programs, then Accessories, then
System Tools, and then ScanDisk.
The ScanDisk window opens.
2.In the ScanDisk window, click on the drive you want to scan.
3.If you only want to check your files and folders for errors, select the Standard option button. If you want to do a more thorough scan for errors, select the Thorough option.
Because the Thorough option takes more time than the Standard option, we recommend you normally use the Standard option and do a Thorough check at least once a month.
4.If you selected Standard and you want to change the settings ScanDisk uses when it checks files and folders, click on the Advanced button, select the options in the ScanDisk Advanced Options window, then click on the OK button to close the window.
20 Gateway ALR 8200 User’s Guide