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There are simple steps that can help accelerate the speed of your PC and help it run more smoothly. By freeing disk space, you can improve the performance of your computer. The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk. The utility identifies files that you can safely delete, and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files. Use Disk Cleanup to:

1) Remove temporary Internet files and downloaded program files (such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets).
2) Empty the Recycle Bin.
3) Remove Windows temporary files and optional Windows components that you don't use.
4) Remove installed programs that you no longer use.

Typically, temporary Internet files take the most amount of space because the browser caches each page you visit for faster access later. To use Disk Cleanup Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. If several drives are available, you might be prompted to specify which drive you want to clean. In the Disk Cleanup for dialog box, scroll through the content of the Files to delete list. Clear the check boxes for files that you don't want to delete, and then click OK. When prompted to confirm that you want to delete the specified files, click Yes. After a few minutes, the process completes and the Disk Cleanup dialog box closes, leaving your computer cleaner and performing better.

You can speed up access to data. Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk when the file is opened to piece it back together. The response time can be significantly longer. Disk Defragmenter is a Windows utility that consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. With your files stored neatly end-to-end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the disk speeds up.

In addition to running Disk Defragmenter at regular intervalsmonthly is optimalthere are other times you should run it too, such as when you add a large number of files, your free disk space totals 15 percent or less and when you install new programs or a new version of Windows. To use Disk Defragmenter:

1) Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter.
2) In the Disk Defragmenter dialog box, click the drives that you want to defragment, and then click

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