Troubleshooting and Maintenance Guide
Windows reports smaller capacity in the Windows Explorer tool and in the My Computer window because it
shows information about one partition on the hard disk drive at a time. The first partition contains the System
Recovery information.
Recommended Maintenance Schedule
Daily Weekly Monthly Quarterly (seasonally)
Manage e-mail
• Delete e-mail from
unknown sources.
• Do not open untrusted
attachments.
• File e-mail.
Protect against viruses,
adware, and spyware
• Update definition files
or schedule a weekly
automatic update.
• Run a full virus, adware, and
spyware scan or schedule a
weekly automatic scan.
Use Windows Update
• Check for updates
or schedule a monthly
automatic update.
(See the Getting Started
Guide for details.)
Set new passwords
(See the Getting Started
Guide for details.)
Optimize performance
• Run Disk Cleanup.
(See “Running the Disk
Cleanup Program” on
page 1.)
• Check for disk errors.
(See “Checking for Hard
Disk Drive Errors” on
page 2.)
• Run Disk Defragmenter.
(See “Running the Disk
Defragmenter Program”
page 2.)
Review the Start menu
• Set to launch only needed
applications.
Optimize your browser
• Delete cookies.
• Delete cache.
• Delete history files.
Clean up the desktop
• Delete or uninstall unneeded
icons and applications.
(See “Removing Unused
Programs” on page 1.)
Empty the Recycle Bin
• This, and other cleanup
tasks, can be performed with
the Disk Cleanup program.
(See “Running the Disk
Cleanup Program” on
page 1.)
Maintain overall condition
• Check cleanliness.
• Make sure ventilation is
unobstructed.
• Secure all connections and
cabling.
Clean the PC, monitor,
keyboard, and mouse
• For detailed cleaning
instructions, go to
http://www.hp.com/
support
select your country/region
and language, search on
your PC model number,
and then search on the
keyword cleaning.
Back up important files to
CD or DVD
(See “Creating Data Backup
Discs” on page 1.)
Create a Restore Point
(See “Microsoft System
Restore” on page 16.)
PC Troubleshooting and Maintenance Guide 3