NOT a Guru!
Keeping it simple, without the hype. PC tips and Internet advice for mom and pop businesses.
Keeping it simple, without the hype. PC tips and Internet advice for mom and pop businesses.
A friend of mine is a young photographer who has been transferring a ton of digital images onto her year-old laptop. Now, the laptop is so full that she cannot defrag or store anything else. She has a Microsoft operating system.
In such a situation, this is what I would suggest:
Step One.
Empty the recycle bin. Delete anything else on the hard drive that is not necessary, or transfer it to an external storage device (her laptop is so full that this might not be possible).
Step Two.
Compress the hard drive. To do this:
- Click “MY COMPUTER.”
- Right click on DRIVE C and SELECT PROPERTIES.
- Click the COMPRESS DRIVE TO SAVE SPACE option on the bottom of the screen and click okay.
Screen shots that give you pictures showing you how to compress your hard drive can be found in here (the link will open in a new window so you can easily return to this page). The compression instructions are in the 2nd half of the article.
Step Three.
Clean up your disk. You can do this from the properties menu you just accessed in Step 2 above, or from your system tools (accessible by clicking your start button). Screen shots illustrating how this is done are shown in the first part of the same article as the compression instructions (new window will open here).
Step Four.
After the compression and cleanup, if you are still short on hard drive space, delete or transfer to an external storage device any files you do not need. If you do not have enough external storage devices to save files that you do not want to delete, consider transferring them to an online storage area.
I think MediaFire is probably the best place to start off with if you are looking for free online storage. Here is a screen shot that lists MediaFire’s features for a free account:
Step Five.
Defrag your hard drive. To do this:
Click the “start” button on the lower left side of your screen.
- A menu comes up — click “Programs.”
- When you click “programs,” you’ll see a menu for “Accessories.” Click that.
- You’ll see a menu for “System Tools.” Click it.
- In the “System Tools,” you’ll see “Disk Defragmenter.” Click it and follow the prompts.
Other Things to Consider.
Regularly maintain your computer by defragging and using your system’s cleanup utility.
If you store a lot of graphics or other media, consider getting an external hard drive that you can plug into your USB port. Just plug the hard drive into your port and you’re ready to go … there is no special set up procedure. I use these all of the time and they are a life saver! The cost is economical, particularly considering how much time and aggravation you are saving. You can plug your external hard drive into any computer and be able to access your files. This may be more reliable than depending on an online storage service, and you do not need Internet access to retrieve your files. Take a look at the external hard drives featured below — I spent some time trying to find some of the cheapest options. If you have storage challenges, these are wroth checking out.
This Seagate external drive has 750 GB of space and is $79.95. 750 GB will store a lot of stuff! Click the image for more details.
If you’re willing to spend a bit more money for some peace of mind, Office Depot is currently running a special where you can get a 1TB storage drive for just $119 (it’s normally around $140). With free shipping, this is one heck of a deal. Click the image for details.
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Wow, to think I actually do these things. And yet, my laptop still moves slower than me on mornings. Eurgh. Better just go delete some files… T_T
Thanks for sharing!
Regularly maintain your computer by defragging and using your system’s cleanup utility.