Uninstall unused programs

Unused programs chew up space.

Your PC will soon groan under the weight of all these programs.

A little housekeeping will do the trick.

If you are loyal to only one Web browser - be it Internet Explorer (IE) or Firefox - or one type of media player, such as Windows Media Player or QuickTime, remove the unused programs to free valuable space in your hard drive.

It is also time to get rid of all the free utilities downloaded from the Web, like the StumbleUpon IE Toolbar or Yahoo Toolbar, if you hardly use them.

Removing them is simple: use the program's own uninstall function to ensure that every file attached to that program is removed.

Click Start >Control Panel >Add/Remove Programs and follow the instructions to remove these hardly-used space occupiers.

Make sure you use the Add/Remove Programs function instead of just deleting the files you can see - or stray files will be littered all over your disk.

Secure your laptop

Encrypting data on your computer is necessary as laptops are more likely to be stolen or lost than a desktop.

The encryption will prevent crooks from accessing sensitive information like bank account numbers and addresses.

In Windows XP Pro, select the folder you want to encrypt.

Mouse over the folder and do a right-click.

Select Properties, then Advanced.

Check the box for Encrypt Contents To Secure Data.

Then click Apply and OK.

The same option is not available in Windows XP Home Edition.

You have to download TweakUI from the Web.

After starting up the program, select Explorer on the right of the first window pane.

Under Settings, select Show Encrypt.

Mouse over the folder you want to encrypt and do a right-click.

Select Properties and click the Sharing tab.

Tick Make This folder Private, then click Apply and OK.

Do back up the data on another computer or a USB drive so you do not lose the data as well if your laptop goes missing.

Defrag your PC

In a Windows machine, a hard drive can become fragmented with hundreds of files in many locations across the drive, leaving pockets of unused space strewn all over the disk.

This can slow down a computer's response time as it takes longer to find the files.

Defragmenting your disk to organise all directories and files will solve this problem.

Before you begin, make sure your files are backed up to a CD or a USB drive and exit all programs.

Also, plug your laptop to the power socket even if your battery is fully charged.

This is to ensure a constant power supply as your hard disk may crash or be corrupted if power is suddenly cut off while defragmenting.

Go to Start menu and select All Programs.

Select Accessories, Systems Tools and then Disk Defragmenter.

Follow the instructions.

This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life.

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