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Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter

Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter (Defrag) are two very important disk maintenance tools on your computer. However, they need to be used properly, and in the case of the former, with caution (more later). They should be run frequently - I would recommend once a week. The more often Defrag is run the quicker it takes to do its job, so you may actually save time by doing it frequently. Moreover, if you dont run these tools frequently, your computer will become increasingly slow, and prone to serious errors.

It is worth noting here that there are alternatives to the rather problematic Windows Scandisk. I do not know how good they are but I would imagine they will be better than the Windows version.

• Symantec produces an alternative called Disk Doctor within their Norton Utilities and Norton SystemWorks suites.
• There is, I think, a similar tool within VCom Fix-It Utilities and System Suite (formerly OnTrack System Suite).
• OnTrack still produce a small application known as Data Advisor which runs from a bootable floppy. It reports but odes not repair.
• pcpitstop.com have an on-line disk scanner - click on "Disk Health" if you wish to run it, but read the documentation first.)

The advice that follows is spread over several pages - it is quite a lot to take in; however, once you have grasped the principles of disk maintenance and established the correct settings, then most of the work is done.

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