Task Card for Computer Cleanup

Step-by-Step Instructions for

Windows Vista

(Rev. 11-12-07)

Creating Icons for Disk Cleanup and Defragmenter

Begin by clicking the “Start” button in the lower right corner.

Then click “All Programs” highlighted in red.

Next, click “Accessories”, highlighted.

Click “System Tools”, highlighted.

Right-Click on “Disk Cleanup”, then click on “Send To” and finally on “Desktop (create shortcut)”.

Repeat this for “Disk Defragmenter”. All highlighted.

Go back to the desktop. Locate the two new shortcuts for Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter.

On an empty area of the desktop, perform a Right-Click. Left-Click on “New” and then on “Folder”. All highlighted.

Rename the folder “Cleanup”. Do this by clicking slowly two times to activate the naming function.

Once “Cleanup” is typed in, hit Enter on the keyboard.

Next, drag the two shortcut icons into the “Cleanup” folder.

Do this by dragging each one with the mouse until the icon hovers over the folder.

The folder will highlight, and then you can drop the icon into the folder.

Disk Cleanup

Double-click the Disk Cleanup icon. It will begin by calculating how much to clean.

This can take a while depending on how much cleanup needs to be done.

Don’t hit “Cancel” unless you intend to run it later.

Once loaded, check all boxes to get rid of all unnecessary files.

Then click “OK” to start the cleanup process.

The program may prompt you to make sure you really want to do this.

Simply click “Delete Files” to continue.

Wait patiently for this to finish.

This may take anywhere from a few minutes to a half hour depending on the amount of files being deleted.

This program will close itself when finished.

That’s it, Disk Cleanup is completed!

Disk Defragmenter

When you open Disk Defragmenter it will scan your hard drive. This takes a minute or two.

It’s recommended that you run Disk Defragmenter on a schedule.

The “Modify Schedule” button will allow you to set a specific time for this program to run.

We recommend that you set up a weekly time when you are not usually working on the computer to do this.

Although you may work on your computer while it defragments, your computer may run slightly slower.

Once set, it will complete the operation on its own. This feature will only work if the computer is on at this time!