Maintaining the Health of Your Hard Drive under Windows Vista

We often times forget about the hard drives in our computer. These days, they have become so large that we rarely run out of space, and they run quieter than ever. But maintaining the health of a hard drive should be of the utmost concern. Without the hard drive, we lose our documents, photos, videos, settings, programs, and other information. We need our hard drive to be healthy and free of defects. For this reason, we’re going to suggest ways to keep the sparkle and shine on your hard drive.

This guide focuses on the Windows Vista operating system, but many of the tools used here can also be used on Windows XP machines. Let’s begin with standard hard drive cleanliness activities.

Removing Unused Programs from the Computer

Do you have programs taking up space on your hard drive? Sometimes we download free programs, use them once and find they offer little value in the long run. We can free hard drive space by removing them from the computer. This is a very simple operation and should be done regularly to ensure the health of your hard drive. 

1. To begin removing unwanted software, select the Start Menu and choose Control Panel.
2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
   
   
   
3. The following screen should populate with programs installed on the system. Select the program you wish to remove with a single click.
   
   
   
    
4. Options appear next to Organize and Views, which include Uninstall and possibly the option to Change the program. Select Uninstall to remove the program.
   
   

    

5. A window should appear questioning whether you wish to uninstall the program. Select Uninstall to continue with the operation.
   
   
   

   
   Quick Tip: Select Change during step 4 if you wish to adjust the settings entered during the initial installation.