Put your PC in good order
Make sure your PC is fighting fit and running smoothly before diving into new pursuits.
Before embarking on your quest to explore new fun and productive ways to use your PC, start by giving your PC the once-over. Begin by checking your backups are working as they should – the box below reveals all you need to know. Once that’s done, run a few system checks to verify there are no underlying problems that might catch you out later. The quickest and easiest way to access these is Tweaking.com’s Windows Repair Tool – go to w w w. tweaking.com to download, install and run the latest version.
Start by focusing on the ‘Pre-Repair Steps’ tab where you can run through a series of standard Windows checks: a pre-scan for missing files and links, a disk check and finally a system file check. Windows Repair steps you through all of these – reboots may be required, in which case simply reopen the program when done and carry on. The checks have repair capabilities built-in, but if you find you’re suffering from a specific problem check out the ‘Repairs – Main’ tab to perform additional fixes.
You can also instruct Windows to run its own troubleshooters: open Settings and navigate to ‘Update & Security > Troubleshooting’ where Windows will provide a list of recommended options based on your PC’s recent behaviour. You can also scroll down the page to reveal a list of all available troubleshooters, allowing you to run them even if Windows doesn’t detect a problem.
CONSOLIDATE DISK SPACE
With Windows checked, your next step should be to clear out redundant files to free up disk space. There’s no need to install any third-party apps – navigate to ‘Settings > System > Storage’ where you’ll find an option to switch on Storage Sense, Windows’ own clean-up tool to keep your hard drives free from junk. It provides a handy overview of what types of files are taking up most space, plus by clicking on the relevant section (such as Apps & features, Temporary files or Other) will whisk you to the right part of Settings to review its findings in more detail and free up more space manually if required.
You can also configure Storage Sense to run automatically – either on a daily, weekly or monthly schedule, or whenever your drive runs low on free space. Choosing the latter option should ensure you don’t run it unnecessarily.