Remove unused shortcuts from the desktop – this won’t uninstall the programs they link to, but it will help to keep things tidy and organised. Finally, drag-and-drop relevant files into your folder.
Named New Folder by default, you can rename your archive simply by typing over the highlighted text. To ensure this happens, open File Explorer, go to the Documents folder and create a new folder by right-clicking in some white space on the right and choosing New, then Folder. Keep documents off the desktop:ĭocuments should be stored in relevant folders, not on the desktop.
With Windows 10 search is great, as the box is right there on the Task bar. If you need to find a file in a hurry, enter its name into the Start menu Search box. They’ll help you find files and folders quicker, regardless of the state of your PC- or laptop’s hard drive.
Clean up and organise your desktopįinally, here are some tips to make your life easier when using Windows. You can reverse this process at any time by clicking on the item and right-clicking, then selecting Enable. Now click on the programs you don’t want to start with your PC, right-click, and select Disable. One of the results will be Defragment and Optimise Drives. But if you aren’t sure and you want to check the status of- or manually defrag your drive open Search and type in Defragment. So if you haven’t changed any settings, you shouldn’t need to defrag. In Windows 10 defragmentation is automatic and your computer will sort itself out every week thanks to the scheduled task: Optimise Drives. Defragmenting an SSD doesn’t make sense as the technology is completely different, so don’t do it!
This in turn makes each access of the hard drive (and therefore the running of your PC) ever so slightly quicker.ĭon’t defrag if your PC has an SSD. This then takes longer to read, when Windows calls upon your hard drive to find out information.ĭefragmenting or compacting that data the operating system removes the gaps between packets of data, moving it all closer to the middle of the disc. The idea is that as data is saved and resaved to the spinning disc in your hard drive, small packets of information are deposited in random places all over the platter. Select the top option and you can then use it to sort the list of installed programs by size to quickly find those apps using up the most disk space.ĭefragging your hard drive is a way of speeding up your PC or laptop in Windows – in principle, at least. Just open the Windows Start Menu and search for Add or remove programs. Next, remove any programs you don’t use – again Windows has its own tool for this. Just check the tickboxes to select the ones you want to clean then click OK. As we said, it’s usually a mixture of downloaded, temporary internet, and other files that are in the Recycle Bin. Disk Clean-up will now examine the drive and give you options of which content to remove. Select the Disk Clean-up program at the top of the list, then choose which drive you want to fix. Just type Disk Clean-up in the search box next to the Windows Start button. Windows has built-in cleanup functions to create more space: they do so by emptying the Recycle Bin, and removing temporary and other files you no longer need.
When it comes to the intensity of the process, the software allows you to choose how thorough it can be.Removing as much junk as possible will help to restore your device’s responsiveness.
It can also clean up disk partitions, ensuring that your storage is truly free from junk and other files. In addition, it can also shred a large number of files, thus giving users the option to focus on deleting one file at a time or delete everything all at once. This is perfect for users who handle confidential files and documents on an ongoing basis, as it deletes every trace of it in your computer, keeping it safe from hackers or malicious actors. ShredIt can shred everything in your computer, including files, folders, disk-free space, files that you’ve already deleted, hard drives, external hard drives, USB, and more.
As the name implies, the tool shreds information, ensuring that no one, even you, can access them again. If you want to permanently delete your files with the intention of not seeing and reading them again, ShredIt is the one you need.