Basic Maintenance

Update Microsoft Windows Vista.
Click the Start button, click All Programs, and click Windows Update.
The Windows Update window appears.
Click Check for updates.
If there are any updates available, follow the instructions to install those updates

Run a Disk Cleanup
Click Start, type disk, and click Disk Cleanup from the list of programs that appears in the start menu above.
The Disk Cleanup Options window appears.
Click All files on this computer.
The User Account Control window appears.
Click Continue.
The Disk Cleanup for (C:) window appears.
Check all boxes except Setup Log Files and click OK.
The Disk Cleanup window appears.
Click Delete Files to permanently remove the files.

Delete the Temporary Internet Files
Click Start, and type internet options.
The Internet Options icon appears in the search results.
Click Internet Options.
Click Delete.
The Delete Browsing History window appears. Click the Delete Files button in the Temporary Internet Files section.
The temporary Internet files are deleted.
Click Close and then OK.


Defragment the hard drive
Click the Start button, and click Computer.
The Computer window appears.
Right-click Local Disk (C:) and left-click Properties.
The Local Disk (C:) Properties window appears.
Click the Tools tab, and click Defragment Now...
The User Account Control window appears.
Click Continue.
The Disk Defragmenter window appears.
Click Defragment Now.


Run the Disk Error Checking Utility

Click the Start button, and then click Computer.
Right-click the hard drive you want to scan, and then click Properties.
The OS Properties window appears.
Click the Tools tab and the Check Now button.
The User Account Control window appears.
Click Continue.
The Check Disk window appears.
Click to select the boxes next to:
Automatically fix file system errors
Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors
Click Start.
This process can take up to an hour or more, depending on the size of the drive.