If you??™re serious about cooling, there are a number of liquid cooling systems
that promise to keep hot systems cool. But they??™re expensive, they work in
large desktop PCs only, and they don??™t necessarily reduce noise.
Hard Disk
Your hard disk is more than just a storage device; it??™s used to hold your
operating system and to supplement your system??™s memory. The speed and
health of your hard disk is one of the most important factors in your computer??™s
performance, not to mention its reliability and security. Yet it??™s also
the one component that requires the most attention and often is the most
neglected. Awww.
The following topics all deal with different aspects of your hard disk and
how you can get Windows to use it most effectively. Later in this section,
you??™ll find tips on upgrading and repartitioning your hard disk, to allow you
to keep your disk and its data in tip-top shape.
A Defragmentation Crash Course
The best way to ensure maximum performance from your drive is to
regularly??”weekly or biweekly??”defragment it (also called optimizing).
Figure 5-8 shows how frequent use can cause files to become fragmented
(broken up), which can slow access and retrieval of data on the drive, as well
as increase the likelihood of lost data. And the fuller the drive, the more serious
defragmentation becomes.
Hard Disk | 243
Performance
The good news is that Vista defragments your drives automatically; by
default, it??™s scheduled to run at 1:00 a.
Pages:
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349