1.1. Preparing the hard drive Now, most likely, one of the operating systems is installed on your computer Windows family with its own file system. Linux OS uses a different type of file system, so to install it you must free up disk space and format it (i.e.

How to protect it from premature failure?

– the main long-term memory of every computer. It is on it that the user records all the information important to him, and only he can save large volumes for a long time various information without compromising its quality. That is why it is strongly recommended to conserve hard drive resources.

Premature failure of a hard drive can occur for a variety of reasons. And this is by no means due to its natural aging, as many users believe. In just one and a half to two years, a hard drive cannot age so much that it completely fails and does not even start. To use a hard drive correctly, it is important to understand that it is far from the most powerful device in the world, which consumes a lot of energy, but it is the most demanding in terms of the quality of the supplied voltage and current. The hard drive is very sensitive to voltage surges and other network interference.

Thus, if for no apparent reason your files begin to disappear, or the recorded files are displayed with errors or, moreover, are not displayed at all, if bad sectors, in 90 percent of cases this occurs due to poor quality electrical supply Winchester.

The stable operation of a hard drive directly depends on the quality of the energy supplied to it. Therefore it is important. There are many companies that produce cheap power supplies for desktop computers. But their use does not provide any guarantees of quality and no guarantees of stable operation of the entire system. Cheap Chinese consumer goods break down after about a year of intensive use. But the user may not always notice this; as a rule, the malfunction consists of interference or voltage surges on or peripherals, which includes the hard drive. Therefore, it is strictly not recommended to use a power supply of the type "NONAME" .

It is impossible to determine the quality of a power supply by the stickers and labels attached to it. As a rule, unscrupulous manufacturers of cheap blocks put more serious stickers on them. Therefore, you need to buy a high-quality power supply only from a certified store. Moreover, when buying a power supply, immediately pay attention to its weight. If it is too light, then most likely the manufacturer saved on some components and on this power supply. A decent power supply should also weigh decently.

A too short warranty on a power supply is a sign of fraud on the part of the manufacturer. Typically, power supplies only have a one-year warranty. In rare cases, manufacturers provide a two-year warranty. This happens because the elements that make up the power supply are too subject to very heavy loads and easily fail. And this is the first reason for interference and damage to the hard drive.

Recommendation four

When working with a computer, you need to try to maintain all its logical part (software) in normal condition. You should try to avoid any conflicts in the system, since even minor problems and freezes can result in a voltage drop on the periphery. If for typical electronic devices (, etc.) this is not so scary, then for mechanical device(hard drive) this is very noticeable. The fact is that information is constantly written to the magnetic disk of the hard drive, and if at a certain moment a voltage dip occurs, this has a detrimental effect on it.

Indoor electrical wiring must be in good condition. Do not forget that complex electronic devices, which include, appeared much later than the house in which you live was built and the wiring may not be designed for high-quality electrical supply. There may be power surges in the network or insufficient network capacity. This may be enough for one computer, but if you suddenly connect an iron, electric kettle or refrigerator to a weak network parallel to the computer, the voltage drop will be very noticeable, which, first of all, will have a negative impact on the health of the hard drive.

It is highly recommended to use network filters, and even better, network stabilizers with autonomous power supplies. These devices allow you to smooth out emerging network interference and protect your hard drive. Network stabilizers They have their own power source and if suddenly a voltage surge occurs in the network, a special microcircuit stabilizes it, and the excess discharge is sent to the ground (the device must be grounded). If the jump is downward, then due to the autonomous energy source, the stabilizer smoothes out the voltage again. This way, the form and quality of power supplied to the hard drive will meet the requirements.

When you use your hard drive every day, fragmented files appear on it. This happens because something is deleted, something is written. And the hard drive does not rewrite all files on its own, but simply uses free space for part of the file, and writes the rest further. In the future, because of this, the magnetic head will have to work several times more intensely in attempts to read the necessary information. Due to overloads, it will quickly fail. To avoid this, it is important to promptly defragment disk space using special utility included in any operating system. You can also use other third-party programs for this purpose. You will find a lot of positive reviews on the Internet about defragmenters. Defraggler , Smart Defrag , O&O Defrag , Auslogics Disk Defrag .

From time to time it is recommended to free the hard drive from information and reset it low level formatting using the program "Victoria". With its help, you can completely diagnose the condition of the disk.

Hard drive repair and maintenance

The hard drive is very sensitive to vibration and shock. Therefore, it is not recommended to use it while moving and subject it to movement during operation.

Do not allow the hard drive to overheat, as it may high temperature The wear of the hard drive mechanics, and especially its read heads, increases many times over, resulting in more frequent malfunctions and failures. The optimal temperature for a hard drive is 30 - 40 degrees Celsius. The maximum permissible temperature for almost all types of modern hard drives (HDD) is considered to be a temperature of about 65 degrees. You can monitor the temperature of the hard drive in the system using various utilities, for example HDDlife , AIDA .

4. Optimizing Windows XP

The world we live in is not perfect. We always have to choose between what is good and what is even better.

There is no doubt that Windows XP is a fast and beautiful operating system. But if you suddenly feel like games are running a little slow and apps aren’t opening fast enough, then this problem can be solved in two ways.

Buy a new video card, more random access memory, or better yet, a whole new computer.

Disable all unnecessary functions that waste your computer's resources.

Further recommendations are optional. Be creative with them and choose only those that are acceptable to you personally. By increasing your computer's performance, you simultaneously increase its service life by reducing the load on the processor, motherboard and video card. However, this will require sacrificing some decoration elements.

And one more piece of advice. Before changing default settings, create a system restore point. In case of undesirable consequences of the change, you can return to the original settings. The optimization techniques suggested below will in no way harm your computer, but suddenly you get something wrong, end up on the wrong tab and press the wrong button. Then, if desired, you can restore the previous state of the operating system.

To create a system restore point, run Start? All programs? Standard? Service? System Restore, select the Create a restore point option and click Next. In the Recovery checkpoint description field, enter any combination of characters (Fig. 4.1) and try not to forget it. Current time and the date will be added automatically.

Rice. 4.1. Create a recovery checkpoint.

Click the Create button. A window will appear on the screen with full name created control point. To cancel, press the Home button, to confirm - Close.

Let's start with the simplest. Run the Start command? Control Panel, in the window that opens, double-click the System icon and go to the Advanced tab. In the Performance area, click the Options button. In the Performance Options window that opens, on the Visual Effects tab (Fig. 4.2), you can set the switch to the following positions:

Restore default values;

Provide the best view;

Provide the best performance;

Special effects.

Rice. 4.2. Visual effects.

I recommend that you select Provide best performance, but you can leave some effects by setting the switch to Special effects and checking the boxes for the effects you want. After this, click the Apply and OK buttons to close the window.

Right click on free space Desktop and select Properties from the context menu. In the Properties: Screen window that opens, go to the Desktop tab and in the Wallpaper list, select No, and then click the Apply button. Click the Desktop Settings button and in the Desktop Elements window that opens, on the General tab, in the Desktop Cleaning area, uncheck the Clean the desktop every 60 days checkbox, and then click OK.

If you suddenly don’t remember whether the program icons you need or not are located on your desktop, then you can clean the Desktop manually. Click the Clean Desktop button and you will see the Clean Desktop Wizard window. Click Next - the window that appears will show shortcuts to rarely used programs.

If you find it necessary to leave some shortcuts, then uncheck the corresponding boxes. Click the Next button - the Desktop Cleanup Wizard will show only those shortcuts that will be sent to a specially created folder on the Desktop, from which, if necessary, you can return the shortcut back. Click Finish.

In the Properties: Screen window, go to the Screensaver tab and in the Screensaver area, select No, and then click the Apply button.

Note.

Most modern monitors use cathode ray tubes. The operating principle of their kinescope is the same as in a regular TV. The glass monitor screen is coated on the inside with a special layer called phosphor. The flow of electrons “bombards” it with enormous speed and is not all extinguished by the phosphor and protective coatings of the screen. Dark monitor screen – The best way preserve the luminous layer of the monitor and your health, since a dark screen requires less electron flow.

We remain on the Screensaver tab. In the Energy Saving area, click the Power button. In the window that opens, on the Power Schemes tab, in the Power Schemes area, select Home/Desktop, and then click the Apply button.

In the area Setting up the “Home/Desktop” scheme, from the lists Turn off the display, Turn off disks, Standby mode through and Sleep mode through, select never. Click the Apply button and close the window by clicking OK.

The question may arise: “What should I do if I need to step away from the computer for 10–20 minutes?” Then select the Shutdown line in the Start menu and click the Standby button:

You can exit standby mode by pressing any key on the keyboard or mouse button.

If you run the Start command? Shutdown while holding down the Shift key will change the Standby mode to Hibernate. You can exit sleep mode by turning on your computer again. Why then do you need sleep mode? Then, the loading time is halved, all windows remain open, the settings of the user who was working before going into sleep mode are loaded, and information is saved in RAM.

Right-click on the Start button and select Properties from the context menu. In the window that opens, on the Start Menu tab, set the switch to the Classic Start Menu position. The Configure button becomes available. If necessary, we customize the appearance of the Start menu, but you can also immediately click the Apply button.

In the Control Panel window, double-click the Folder Options icon. A window of the same name will open, in which, on the General tab in the Tasks area, set the switch to Use regular Windows folders. By doing this we get rid of unnecessary elements, but this does not deprive us of the ability to change the appearance of folders.

Right-click on the icon of a folder and select Properties from the context menu. In the window that opens, go to the Settings tab and click the Change icon button at the bottom. A window will open (Fig. 4.3), in which we double-click the icon we like. After that, click the Apply button in the folder properties window.

Rice. 4.3. Select an icon for the folder.

Note.

It's worth changing the folder icon if you have 20 folders in one folder containing different information - this makes it easier to navigate through them.

In the Control Panel window, double-click the Folder Options icon. In the window that opens, go to the View tab and check the Do not cache thumbnails checkbox (we will get rid of miniature copies graphic files), as well as the switch Hidden files and folders to the Show hidden files and folders position. If children work on the computer, then it is better not to install this switch.

Click the buttons Apply to all folders, Yes and OK.

Note.

Some programs (for example, Microsoft Word) work with copies of documents. The computer hides these copies. After finishing working with a document, temporary files are destroyed, but if the program fails and the document is restored, temporary files are not always deleted. In Microsoft Word, temporary files are marked with ~$. Other programs may have different signs, but that doesn't matter. The important thing is that if the switch is set to Do not show hidden files and folders, then you do not see these files, therefore, you can only delete them together with the folder in which the document was created (if it is not a system folder). If the switch is set to Show hidden files and folders, then you will immediately notice that an incomprehensible hidden file, and you can delete it.

In the Control Panel window, double-click the System icon. In the window that opens, go to the Remote Use tab (Fig. 4.4).

Rice. 4.4. Remote use.

In the Remote Assistance area, uncheck the Allow sending an invitation to remote assistance box and click the Apply button.

Note.

Checking the Allow sending an invitation to remote assistance checkbox is needed if the computer is broken, but the system can be booted, and one of your Internet friends will fix the problem, provided that both users have Windows XP installed and the same mail program. What will happen to the computer if the connection to the Internet is interrupted during repairs, see the instructions for use Remote Assistance nothing is said.

In area Remote control desktop, uncheck the Allow box remote access to this computer. Click the Apply and OK buttons.

Note.

Selecting the Allow remote access to this computer checkbox allows the owner (and makes it easier for other users) to access files on this computer.

On the Advanced tab in the System Properties window, click the Error Report button. The Error Report window of the same name will open (Fig. 4.5), in which we set the switch to the Disable error reporting position and leave the But notify about critical errors checkbox selected. This will help to some extent get rid of the appearance of windows asking you to connect to the Internet and send an error notification to Microsoft. But at the same time, you will be aware if something serious and not very pleasant happens to your computer, and you will be able to take appropriate measures.

Rice. 4.5. Disable error reporting.

On the tab Automatic update In the System Properties window, uncheck the Perform system update checkbox.

In the Control Panel window, double-click the Scheduled Tasks icon. In the Advanced menu, select Stop scheduler. It is better to run all prevention programs manually (see section “Hard disk maintenance”).

Disable or delete any unnecessary user accounts.

In the Control Panel window, double-click the User Accounts icon. In the window that opens, click on the link Change user logins and uncheck the Use welcome page checkbox. Click the Apply settings button and close the User Accounts window.

Execute the Start command? Execute. We will see the Program Launch window (Fig. 4.6).

Rice. 4.6. Program Launch window.

Enter the word Prefetch in the Open line. Prefetch is Windows folder XP, which stores logged files to optimize the most frequently called programs. Over time, a lot of these files accumulate, and if you delete some programs, then links to them will still be saved in this folder. It would be a good idea to clean the contents of the Prefetch folder once a month, but you should do this after defragmenting your hard drive.

Disabling unnecessary system services that consume computer resources will increase Windows performance XP. The average user does not need 50% of system services enabled by default. Naturally, there is a completely understandable desire to turn them off.

Keep in mind that some system services depend on other services, so be careful when changing standard settings. If a service is disabled, services that depend on it will not be able to start. But remember also that if you have disabled a service, you can also enable it.

Take a sheet of paper and write down all the operations performed, since in the window below there is no Set to Default button, and if you have the necessary records, you can return everything to its place. In addition, I will give some explanations on the purpose of system services.

So, to open the Services window (Fig. 4.7), in the Control Panel window, double-click on the Administrative Tools icon, and then on Services.

Rice. 4.7. Services.

System services can be in three modes:

Auto – services are automatically started when the system starts;

Manually – for the service to start working, the user must start it;

Disabled—the service cannot be started either automatically or manually.

The list of services may vary depending on the components selected during system installation and on additional installed programs.

To switch operating modes, double-click on the selected service and in the window that opens, on the General tab, from the Startup type list, select Auto, Manual or Disabled. If you click on a service once, a description of the service's purpose will appear on the left side of the Services window. To display this description, you must select the advanced view of the window. To do this, there are Advanced and Standard tabs at the bottom of the window.

If you double-click on the selected service, then in the window that opens, on the Dependencies tab, you can find out what programs or components this service depends on.

Let's look at which services can be disabled and which are best left enabled.

DHCP client. Allows the computer to automatically obtain the necessary network settings(network address, gateway, name server addresses) from the DHCP server. If there is no network (neither local nor Internet), then this service can be disabled, but Windows XP connects to the Internet just fine even without this service.

DNS client. Allows for of this computer DNS names in the address and places them in the cache. If there is no network and directory service Active Directory is not used, this service can be disabled.

MS Software Shadow Copy Provider. Manages shadow copies obtained using Volume Shadow Copy. We disable this service.

NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing. Allows verified users to access Work Windows desktop using NetMeeting. Turn it off.

Plug and Play. Many services depend on it. Leave unchanged (Auto).

Telnet. Allows a remote user to log on and run programs, supports a variety of TCP/IP Telnet clients, including computers running UNIX systems and Windows. Turn it off.

Windows Audio. Control sound devices for Windows programs. Leave unchanged (Auto).

Windows Installer. Installs, removes or restores software. Leave the startup type to Auto.

Automatic update. Includes download and installation Windows updates. Turn it off.

WMI Performance Adapter. Provides information about performance libraries from WMI HiPerf providers. Turn it off.

Wireless setup. Provides automatic setup 802.11 adapters ( wireless networks). Turn it off.

Internet Firewall. Prevents service intrusion on a home or small office network. Leave the value Auto.

Web client. Allows Windows programs to create, access, and modify files stored on the Internet. Leave unchanged (Auto).

Secondary login. Allows you to run processes as another user. If there is only one user account on the computer, this service can be disabled.

Auto-connection manager for remote access. Creates a connection to a remote network when a program accesses a remote DNS or NetBIOS name or address. Turn it off.

Dispatcher logical drives. Detect and monitor new hard drives and report volume information hard drives Logical Disk Manager management service. Leave unchanged (Auto).

Shipping Manager. Manages synchronous and asynchronous file transfers between clients and servers on a network. If there is no Internet connection, then disable this service. If there is Internet, then leave the startup type as Auto.

Print spooler. Loads files into memory for later printing. If there is no printer, then disable this service. If there is a printer, then leave it unchanged (Auto).

Remote access connection manager. Creates network connection. If there is no Internet connection, then turn it off. If there is Internet, then set the startup type to Manual.

Remote Desktop Help Session Manager. Manages Remote Assistance capabilities. Turn it off.

Network DDE Manager. Manages dynamic data exchange (DDE) network shares. Set the startup type to Manual.

Security Account Manager. Stores security information for account local user. Turn it off.

Access to HID devices. Provides universal access to HID devices (Human Interface Devices). If you do not have HID devices, then the service is disabled by default, and if you do, then you should not change the settings.

The event log. Provides support for event log messages generated by Windows programs and system components. Leave unchanged (Auto).

Performance logs and alerts. Manages the collection of performance data from local or remote computers. If desired, this service can be disabled.

Secure storage. Provides secure storage of sensitive data. If desired, this service can be disabled.

Tools Windows management. Provides common interface and an object model for accessing operating system management information. Leave unchanged (Auto).

Source uninterruptible power supply. Controls the operation of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) connected to the computer. Let's disable this service.

Client for tracking changed connections. Supports links between NTFS files that are moved within a computer or between computers in a domain. If you have a FAT32 file system, then disable this service.

Distributed Transaction Coordinator. Coordination of transactions spanning multiple resource managers such as databases, message queues, and file systems. Leave the startup type to Auto.

Remote procedure call (RPC) locator. Manages the RPC name service database. Leave the startup type to Auto.

Routing and remote access. Offers routing services to organizations in local and global networks. For the average user this feature is useless. Let's turn it off.

NetBIOS support module over TCP/IP. Includes support for the NetBIOS service over TCP/IP (NetBT) and NetBIOS name resolution in the address. Leave unchanged (Auto).

Smart card support module. Provides support for legacy smart card readers (non-Plug and Play). Turn it off.

Computer Browser. Maintains a list of computers on the network and provides it to programs upon request. Turn it off.

Annunciator. Sends administrative alerts to selected users and computers. Turn it off.

Definition of shell hardware. Leave unchanged (Auto).

Task Scheduler. Allows you to customize your schedule automatic execution tasks on the computer. Turn it off.

NT LM Security Support Provider. Provides security for programs that use remote procedure calls (RPC). Turn it off.

Work station. Provides support for network connections and communications. If there is no Internet connection, then disable this service. If there is Internet, then leave it unchanged (Auto).

WMI driver extensions. Provides exchange of control information with devices. Leave the value Auto.

Server. Provides support public access to files, printers and named pipes over a network connection. Turn it off.

Exchange folder server. Allows you to view the pages of (your) exchange folders on remote computers. Turn it off.

Serial number of the portable media device. Receives serial numbers portable media devices connected to the system. Turn it off.

Network login. Supports end-to-end identification of account login events for a domain computer. Turn it off.

Network connections. Manages objects in the Network folder and remote network access. Leave the value Auto.

COM+ event system. Support for system event notification service. Leave the value Auto.

IMAPI CD burning COM service. Managing CD burning using IMAPI (Image Mastering Applications Programming Interface). Leave the value Auto.

Logical Disk Manager Administration Service. Configures hard drives and volumes. Set the startup type for this service to Manual.

System Restore Service. Performs system recovery functions. Leave unchanged (Auto).

Windows Time Service. Controls date and time synchronization across all clients and servers on the network. Turn it off. We wanted to synchronize time with Internet servers - we turned on this service, and then turned it off again.

Image Upload Service (WIA). If you do not have a scanner or digital camera, you can disable this service.

Indexing service. Indexes the contents and properties of files on the local and remote computers. Turn it off.

SSDP Discovery Service. Enables discovery of UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) devices on your home network. UPnP devices are very rare. Let's disable this service.

Error Logging Service. Allows you to log errors for services and applications running in a non-standard environment. Turn it off.

Network Location Service (NLA). Collects and stores information about network location and configuration. Turn it off.

Messaging service. Sends and receives messages translated by administrators or the alert service. Turn it off.

Application level gateway service. Leave the value Auto.

IPSEC Services. Manages IP security policy. Turn it off.

Cryptography services. Leave unchanged (Auto).

Terminal Services. Allows multiple users to connect interactively to a computer, and also displays the Desktop and applications on remote computers. Turn it off.

Smart cards. Controls access to smart card readers. Turn it off.

Fast user switching compatibility. Manages applications that require support in a multi-user environment. If you are the only user on the computer, then this service can be disabled.

Help and support. If you do not use Windows Help, you can disable this service.

Removable memory. Turn it off.

Telephony. Leave the value Auto.

Themes. If you have disabled Desktop themes, you can disable this service.

Volume shadow copy. Controls the creation of shadow copies (checkpoints) of disk volumes that are used for backup and recovery or other purposes. Leave the value Auto.

Notification of system events. Logs system events. Leave unchanged (Auto).

Remote procedure call (RPC). Provides mapping between endpoints and other RPC services. Leave unchanged (Auto).

Remote registry. Allows remote control registry on your computer. Turn it off.

Universal PnP device node. Supports generic PnP host devices. We leave it unchanged.

Application management. Provides software installation services such as assign, publish, and delete. We leave it unchanged.

Background intelligent transfer service. Uses network bandwidth reserves for data transmission. Turn it off.

If you are afraid to disable a service, then set its startup type to Manual. The computer will boot when any service is disabled, but not all programs will work.

If you want your computer to serve you well for a long time, then you will need a minimum of effort. Once a week you need to clear your hard drive of unnecessary information.

Open the My Computer window, right-click on the C: drive and select Properties from the context menu. The properties window for your disk will open (Fig. 4.8).

Rice. 4.8. Properties of drive C:

In this window, on the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button.

The program will analyze the state of the hard drive and provide information. You can check all the boxes.

Delete temporary Internet files.

Removes all program files downloaded from the Internet (ActiveX controls and Java applications).

Temporary files.

Temporary offline files.

Temporary error reporting files.

Basket.

Offline files.

If you want to view files prepared for deletion, select any line (for example, Recycle Bin). The Description area will contain explanatory text and, if the Recycle Bin is not empty, the View Files button will be available. After reviewing the information of interest, click OK. As a result, unnecessary data will be deleted from the hard drive.

You should check your hard drive for errors at least once a week.

In the properties window for drive C: (see Fig. 4.8), go to the Tools tab.

In the Disk Scan area, click the Run Scan button. The Check Disk window will open (Figure 4.9).

Rice. 4.9. Disk Check window.

In the Check disk options area, select the Automatically repair checkboxes. system errors and Scan and repair bad sectors. Click the Start button. Before starting the disk check, you must end all processes, otherwise the program will ask you to restart the computer (Start? Shutdown? Reboot).

After checking the disk, a message about corrected errors will appear on the screen. Click OK and Windows XP will load. If no faults were detected, the operating system boots immediately and you can begin defragmenting the disk.

Attention!

Disk defragmentation is the easiest way to improve your computer's performance.

The information on the hard drive is constantly changing. During operation, the operating system overwrites some files, which leads to documents or programs being split into separate fragments stored in different areas of the disk. Fragmentation also occurs during the process of deleting or adding files and programs. Significant fragmentation slows down data access and reduces the overall performance of the operating system. To collect the files of one program in the same place, you should defragment the disk.

You should also understand that data located at the beginning of the disk is slightly faster to access than data located at the end of the disk. Windows analyzes how often you work with a particular program, and during defragmentation it places the most used applications at the beginning of the disk. It is necessary to defragment your hard drive at least once a week.

In the properties window for drive C:, on the Tools tab, in the Disk Defragmentation area, click the Run defragmentation button. The Disk Defragmentation window opens (Fig. 4.10).

Rice. 4.10. Disk Defragmentation window.

To start the process, just click the Defragmentation button. The program will analyze the disk and begin defragmentation, upon completion of which you will be able to view the report and see the state of the disk before and after defragmentation.

Often, independent actions by an inexperienced user to optimize a computer lead to the opposite result - some program begins to work more slowly, and something does not want to start at all. To make the user's life easier and save his time, many programs have been created that will carry out actions aimed at optimizing the computer with less risk to the operating system.

If you don't try to change the settings yourself, you will never learn anything and will never be able to use your computer 100%. However, any of your actions must be meaningful; you must understand what you are doing and why. If you don’t understand something, then entrust the task to a program specially created for this purpose. Do not try to immediately change 1000 settings and install 20 optimization programs, otherwise you will not understand the cause of random errors and will not be able to troubleshoot problems. The main thing is that you don’t need to be afraid of anything. The worst thing that threatens you is reinstalling Windows XP. You must also understand that every installed program To optimize the computer's operation, it will itself consume computer resources and take up space on the hard drive. Before you decide to install any program, think about whether you need it?

The WinBoost program (Fig. 4.11) will perform all actions to optimize and change the external Windows view XP for you. You only need to uncheck or check the appropriate boxes.

Rice. 4.11. WinBoost program window.

After installation, WinBoost will test the operating system and make the necessary changes, but you can change the settings as you wish.

The registry is the operating system's database. All programs installed on a computer enter the necessary information into the registry. However, after uninstalling these programs, the registry entries remain, and a large amount of unnecessary information can slow down your computer. Therefore, the registry should be cleared of unnecessary entries.

Unfortunately, Windows XP does not have hardware tools to clean and optimize the registry. You can, of course, manually remove unnecessary information using the Registry Editor (Fig. 4.12). Does it open when you run the Start command? Run, enter regedit in the Open line and click OK.

Rice. 4.12. Registry editor.

The registry contains five root sections (branches), which are displayed on the left side of the window as folder icons.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT – information about file types registered in Windows.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER – settings of the current user.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE – information related to the computer: drivers, installed software and its settings.

HKEY_USERS – settings for all users.

HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG – information about the configuration of Plug and Play devices and the configuration of a computer with variable hardware composition.

The final element of the registry tree are parameters (keys).

Attention!

Incorrectly changing or deleting information in the registry can lead to serious problems.

A novice user should not change values ​​in the registry; it is better to use specially created programs.

Utilities for working with the registry can be divided into the following categories.

Editors. Allows the user to edit the registry.

Programs for diagnosis and treatment. Scan the registry, find and correct errors.

Optimizers. Defragment the registry.

Monitors. Monitor changes in the registry.

Multifunctional programs.

The RegClean utility (Figure 4.13), which was created by Microsoft, finds and deletes incorrect registry settings located in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT section.

Rice. 4.13. RegClean program window.

Let's launch the program. The scanning process will begin. Once completed, two buttons will be available.

Cancel – refuse to make changes and exit the program.

Fix Errors – agree with the changes made. The program will create a file in which all changes made will be displayed. If your computer is unstable, you can restore the previous registry values ​​by double-clicking on this file. The file is located in the same folder where the program itself is installed. Close the program by clicking the Exit button.

The Registry Defragmentation utility physically defragments the operating system's system registry, removes unnecessary entries left after uninstalling applications and programs, corrects the linear structure of the registry, and also optimizes the registry, which improves the performance and stability of the computer.

The Ad-aware utility (Fig. 4.14) checks the memory, system registry and hard drive of the computer for the presence of spyware. Most often, such tracking programs are installed along with free applications, downloaded from the Internet.

Rice. 4.14. Ad-aware program window.

Spyware does not harm your computer, but only collects information about what you do, what programs you use, what sites you visit, and what equipment you have installed. The information obtained can be used to create websites and programs that most closely meet consumer needs. In general, this is not so bad, but who likes to know that someone is spying on him all the time? In addition, disk space and RAM are wasted, and the speed of the modem is reduced.

While browsing the Internet, move your mouse pointer to the icon located on the right side of the taskbar (in the notification area) that displays the connection status. On the tooltip you can see how much information you have received and transmitted. If you haven't used by email, then who transmitted such a volume of data?

The Ad-aware program is easy to manage and does not require special settings. Open the program and click the Start button. You can choose from three scanning modes.

Quick system check - uses the settings installed by the program itself. I recommend using this mode.

Default Settings - By selecting this option and clicking the Configure button, the user can change the scan settings at their discretion.

Select drives/folders – by selecting this mode and clicking the Select button, the user can limit the scope of scanning by specifying the folders required for scanning.

Select Quick system scan, check the Detailed view checkbox and click Next. The scanning process will begin, lasting from 3 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the hard drive and the amount of information. The Summary area will display the following information:

Processes found;

Registry keys found;

Registry values ​​found;

Files found;

Folders found.

After the scan is completed, you will be able to see how many objects have been scanned and detected. Click Finish. Go to the Scan Results window. If you double-click on the file name, the Details window will open, where the following information is located:

Manufacturer;

Object type;

Location;

Last accessed;

Risk level;

A comment.

Check the boxes next to all found objects and click the Quarantine button. The Enter archive name window will appear, enter the name and click OK. The next window will ask you to confirm your decision - click OK, Next and OK. Let's go back to the original tab.

Note.

Quarantining means that detected objects will not be deleted from the hard drive, but will be isolated by the program from the operating system. If problems arise with the operation of your computer, all quarantined objects can be easily restored.

Try to use programs to optimize and prevent the operating system, allowing you to rollback or quarantine suspicious files and programs.

Let us pay attention once again to Fig. 4.14 and click on the Open Quarantine-list link – quarantined objects will be available. You will be able to see the following information.

File name. If the list of quarantined objects has been replenished several times, it is convenient to navigate by the name of the saved files.

Size. Shows how much space the file takes up on disk.

Date of creation.

Total objects. The number of isolated objects in the file.

Right-click on the saved file (archive). You can select the following from the menu that appears.

Archive recovery. By selecting this item, you can restore the archive.

Delete archive. Deletes the selected archive.

Delete all archives.

We select what we consider necessary and close the Ad-aware program.

Not all programs installed on your computer without your knowledge are as harmless as spyware. There are also viruses. Computer viruses- These are pest programs written by programmers specifically to harm others (or others).

Viruses can be in program files and become active when these files are launched. After loading into RAM, such viruses begin to multiply and corrupt or destroy various data located on the computer. Such viruses sometimes remain on the hard drive for months and do not reveal themselves until you run the infected programs.

When copying information from your friends, do not forget to check the recorded data for viruses before installing it on your computer, since your friends may not even suspect that their files are infected with a virus.

Boot viruses infect your computer through boot sectors disks while the computer boots from the disk.

Viruses cannot be activated by copying files or programs. For example, if an infected document created in Microsoft program Word, then until you open this file, the virus will not be initiated.

Place all data received from the Internet in a specially created folder and do not open it without checking for viruses. However, it is safer to install antivirus program, which will check your mail and all information received from the Internet.

Currently, the Doctor Web program is very popular (Fig. 4.15).

Rice. 4.15. Doctor Web program window.

As soon as you open the Doctor Web program, a scan of processes occurring in RAM will begin. For a more detailed check, you need to select the desired object.

Disc 3.5 (A:). All information recorded on floppy disks must be checked before copying to the hard drive.

Disk (C:). you can check all hard disk or by clicking on the “+” icon, select the required folders for scanning.

CD-RW drive (D:). Checking CDs in the drive.

To select an object to check, you must click on the selected object. After this, you will see a red dot on the selected object, and the image of a standing red man on the right will change to a walking green man.

Click on the image of a walking green man or press the key combination Ctrl+F5. The scan will begin. By default, the program is configured in such a way that it will not perform any actions with infected files, but will only find them. To delete or disinfect infected files, you need to right-click on the name of the object and select one of the following items from the menu that appears.

Cure:

– Remove the incurable;

– Rename the incurable;

– Move the incurable.

Delete.

Rename.

Move.

The Doctor Web program does a good job of searching for viruses, but it does not treat them very well, it mainly removes them. Unfortunately, such a function as quarantine is not provided, but removing an important system file operating room Windows system XP won't allow it.

Doctor Web for Windows includes the following components.

Doctor Web Scanner – antivirus scanner with graphical interface. The program runs at the user's request or according to a schedule and scans the computer for viruses.

SpIDer Guard is an anti-virus guard (also called a monitor). The program is constantly located in RAM, checking files on the fly and detecting manifestations of viral activity.

SpIDer Mail is an email anti-virus guard. The program intercepts calls from any computer email clients to mail servers using the POP3 and SMTP protocols, detects and neutralizes email viruses before receiving letters mail client from the server or before sending the letter to the mail server.

Automatic update module.

If, after reading this section, you decide to install all the programs described, then it would be more reasonable to install a software package created by one company. The most popular package is Norton from Symantec. This company has developed programs for registry optimization, defragmentation and disk cleanup, antiviruses, programs that check Windows for errors, and many other useful programs that allow you to keep the operating system in working order. But we should not forget that any installed software uses computer resources.

For anyone who has dealt with computers, it is obvious that hard drives (HDDs) are their most valuable part. Billions of these non-volatile, direct-access storage devices today store almost all of the data created by humanity. Despite the development of competing technologies (flash memory, etc.), magnetic recording retains its leading position. The reason for this is half a century of industry effort and multibillion-dollar investments, which have brought modern hard drives to volumes and speeds that until recently seemed fantastic (1.5 TB and 100 MB/s, respectively; RAID technologies increase these figures several times more).

At the same time, the reliability of magnetic storage devices cannot but surprise, given the highly complex electronic and mechanical design, low price(a few rubles per gigabyte!) and far from ideal operating conditions. No more than 2% of railways fail per year budget class; more expensive corporate models are even 2-3 times more reliable. Often, failures are caused by factory defects - an inevitable companion of mass production, but the “sins” of users also play a significant role. Many drives fail prematurely and break due to careless transportation, erroneous installation, unfavorable operating conditions, and finally, neglect of early signs of problems.

1.

Buy your wheels from a legitimate dealer that offers a full factory warranty (usually 3 or 5 years). Doubtful places (radio markets, etc.) are a refuge for gray imports that are not supported by the manufacturer and have, at best, a short seller’s warranty. There you can also run into a used or repaired disk: it often looks like new, but you shouldn’t expect reliable operation. The rate of failures and failures of such drives is much higher, and the chances of losing your data are therefore high. It is problematic to hand over a low-quality copy at such “points”.

At the same time, there are also officially restored (refurbished) discs on the market. This business is carried out by specialized companies that license repair technologies from manufacturers. There is no need to be afraid of their products: the reliability is not much inferior to the original, there is a guarantee and technical support. The price is quite attractive, so “refarb” takes its place in the budget segment.

2.

The choice of brand and model of disk is of particular importance. Every manufacturer experiences failures when a new family is released onto the market crude, with flaws in the design and firmware and a high percentage of defects. Technological development usually takes 3-5 months, so the first buyers take a significant risk. It is more practical to choose a model that has been in production for at least six months, even if it is not so advanced in technology.

The Internet is very useful here: in addition to the extensive technical information, user opinions are available on thematic forums and in guest books of computer companies. If the model you are interested in has problems over and over again, then this is a reason to think about it. The lack of reviews is equally alarming. In general, other people's experience is the best teacher...

3.

Care must be taken when transporting the disk to the installation site. Provide protection from accidental shocks and falls (at a minimum, a corrugated plastic box, preferably thick foam rubber or bubble wrap), as well as from static discharges and strong electromagnetic fields. In the cold season, exposure in transport packaging for 12-20 hours is required; This takes longer than usual, but it is necessary for the complex structure to have time to reach an equilibrium state.

4.

Installing a disk into a system unit is generally simple, but requires care. It is important to prevent mechanical damage and static discharges, reduce the risk of vibration and overheating. If the hard drive is installed in addition to or instead of a previously installed drive, then the easiest way is to take a closer look at the installation features and repeat them. The disk is secured in the coldest place of the basket with four symmetrically located screws or two slides.

Its orientation (horizontal or vertical, with the lid or electronics facing up) is generally unimportant for reliability. Manufacturers do not recommend installation at an angle - the deviation from the vertical or horizontal should not exceed 5°. However, it is worth taking into account “second order” effects. Thus, the disk undergoes factory marking and testing in a horizontal position with the lid up, and the adaptives formed in this case ( fine settings microprograms) are written to ROM. In other words, it is in this position that the temperature and stress gradients are closest to the parameters at which servo marks were applied and formed adaptive information. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the drive will operate most stably and efficiently in this orientation. In addition, when the electronics are positioned upward, there are known cases of wear debris falling out of the engine, which led to damage to the nearest plate and head. In a vertical position, the disk is cooled better due to convection, and, contrary to popular belief, the bearing is not in danger.

Then connect the power cable and interface cable. Needless to say, all manipulations are carried out without power. system unit and with protection against static discharges. When connecting, strictly observe the orientation of the connectors (this is especially important for the Parallel ATA interface), insert the connectors tightly and without distortion. The flat PATA cable must not have any jams, sharp bends or tension - otherwise errors in data transfer, failures and slow operation of the disk are possible. If you have the slightest doubt about the quality of the cable, replace it with a new one. Remember that the cable is asymmetrical: only the black connector should be connected to the HDD, and to the controller ( motherboard) - blue or other bright color.

As for the power connector, it must fit tightly onto the drive plug to avoid voltage drop across the contacts and malfunctions. To do this, sometimes you have to crimp and clean the contact sleeves in Molex connectors, and you have to secure the SATA connector with a drop of hot-melt adhesive.

5.

To ensure that the operation of the hard drive does not cause problems, it is necessary to monitor its power supply, cooling, mechanical protection, and also regularly monitor its condition using diagnostic programs.

Modern hard drives are a true miracle of technology, incorporating hundreds of technologies and thousands of patents. They can be quite reliable if you consciously select them for the tasks at hand and use them correctly. The vast majority of railways easily survive the upgrade and are written off in working condition. The user’s task is to avoid gross mistakes and recognize dangerous symptoms in time, which the recommendations provided will help with.

Alas, nothing lasts forever, and with all the precautions, disks sometimes fail. In this case, you need to have a backup copy of your valuable data; fortunately, there are now enough backup technologies to suit every taste and budget. With the current conveniences, even inexperienced users will be able to save their “information” without unnecessary problems.

Discs have not only a glorious present, but also a great future. The theoretical limits of recording density and exchange speed are an order of magnitude greater than current figures, so the industry has room to grow. Competing technologies (solid-state, optical and others) are also actively developing. However, a revolution in data storage is not yet in sight: SSD drives flash memory is claimed only by some market segments (primarily from the mobile applications), and other developments are still far from mass implementation. Hard drives are not in danger of oblivion...

Additional information on the topic of this article can be obtained from the following sources:

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