Gateway GT4015H manual 123, Defragmenting the hard drive, To check the hard drive for errors

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Help & Support

For more information about checking the hard drive for errors, click Start, then click Help and Support. Type the phrase checking for disk errors in the Search box, then click the arrow.

Managing hard drive space

To check the hard drive for errors:

1Click Start, then click My Computer. The My Computer window opens.

2Right-click the hard drive that you want to check for errors, for example Local Disk (C:), then click Properties. The Properties dialog box opens.

3Click the Tools tab.

4Click Check Now.

5Click the options you want to use, then click Start. For help, press F1. Windows checks the drive for errors. This process may take several minutes. After Windows has finished checking the drive for errors, it provides a summary of the problems that it found.

6Correct any problems that are found by following the on-screen instructions.

7Click OK.

Defragmenting the hard drive

When working with files, sometimes Windows divides the file information into pieces and stores them in different places on the hard drive. This is called fragmentation, and it is normal. In order for your computer to use a file, Windows must search for the pieces of the file and put them back together. This process slows the hard drive performance.

The Disk Defragmenter program organizes the data on the drive so each file is stored as one unit rather than as multiple pieces scattered across different areas of the drive. Defragmenting the information stored on the drive can improve hard drive performance.

While the Disk Defragmenter program is running, do not use your keyboard or mouse because using them may continuously stop and restart the defragmenting process. Also, if you are connected to a network, log off before starting Disk Defragmenter. Network communication may stop the defragmentation process and cause it to start over.

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