My computer is very slow to load or run programs.

a. Delete “FindFast”
• Click the Start button, Find, select and click Files
or Folders. The Find: All Files dialog box opens.
• Enter “FindFast” in the
Named: box.
• Click the Find Now button.
Once completed, the files
located will be displayed in
a window. Highlight all
files found and delete them
(use the delete key or right
click and select delete from
the pop-up menu).
b. Check the C: drive on the computer to see how much space is available.
• Double click on My Computer
• Right click on the [C:] drive icon
• Go to Properties

The (C) Properties box opens
This window shows the capacity of the C: Drive as well as how much
space is used and how much space is still available (free).
If most of your C Drive is used this can cause the system to be
sluggish. Perform the following tasks to clean up your hard drive and
free up space.
1) Click on the Start button on the task bar.
2) Go to Programs, Accessories, System
Tools, Disk Cleanup.
3) The Select Drive window will open.
Choose the (C:) drive and then click the
Okay button. Windows checks the drive and then the Disk
Cleanup Window will open.
4) The Disk Cleanup Window tells you how much space can be
freed. Files to delete are displayed in a checkbox list, you can
select which files you want deleted or uncheck files that Disk
Cleanup checked but you do not want deleted. Click the OK
button to delete the files.
5) To perform a Disk Cleanup automatically, click on the Settings
Tab and check the box next to the statement “If this drive runs
low on disk space, automatically run Disk Cleanup.” Please
note that at this point the disk space is critically low.
6) You SHOULD manually perform this operation at least once a
month, every other week if your students are doing a lot of Internet
searching.
Shortcut: Right-click on the C: Drive and click on Properties.
When the dialog box opens, click on the Disk Cleanup button (option
not available in Windows 95).
c. Defragment the C: Drive.
Over time files become fragmented on the hard drive. When a program is
installed on your computer, the program's files may be broken up over
multiple locations on your hard disk. This is called fragmentation. If fragmentation occurs on your
hard disk, the performance of programs on your computer is slower. The Disk Defragmenter tool
optimizes the performance of your computer by reorganizing the files on your hard disk into
contiguous blocks. You should defragment the hard drive a minimum of once a month (before
performing this operation run ScanDisk). When the Disk Defragmenter tool completes the
defragmentation of files on your hard disk, the performance of your programs is faster because the
files are arranged closer together.
NOTE: You can use your computer while Disk Defragmenter is running. However, your computer operates slower
and the defragmentation process restarts if the contents of the drive you are defragmenting changes. We recommend
that you do nothing while defragmenting.
• To start the Disk Defragmenter tool, use the following steps:
1) Exit/close all programs and turn off the Screensaver--Right click on a blank spot on the
desktop, select Properties, the Properties window will open. Click on the Screen Saver tab,
click the drop-down arrow to select None, click the Apply
button and then click the OK button.
2) See 10a and Run Scan Disk 6-8 in #11.
3) Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories,
point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter.
4) Click the drive you want defragmented, click OK, and then
click Yes. Once completed, the Disk Defragmenter
window opens asking if you want to quit the utility, click
Yes to exit the utility.
5) Turn the screen saver back on (can follow steps in 1
above).
Another method of accessing the Disk Defragmenter tool:
• Follow steps 1 and 2 above then double click on My Computer.
• Right click on the [C:] drive icon and select Properties from the menu. The [C:] Properties
window opens.
• Click on the Tools tab.
• Scan the drive for errors by clicking on the Check Now button in the first box titled “Errorchecking
status”
• Once the error scan is completed, click on the “Defragment Now” button. Once completed, the
Disk Defragmenter window opens asking if you want to quit the utility, click “Yes” to exit the
utility.