#1. Clone your hard disk
Making an exact copy of your hard disk means that in the event of a problem such as a virus infection, file corruption or even a complete system failure, you can restore everything exactly as it was. However, cloning needs to be carried out regularly so that the copy is not out of date.
Easeus Disk Copy is supplied as an ISO image that you burn onto a CD using a program such as CDBurnerXP and then use to your start your PC. You need two disk drives so the program can copy one to the other, either to clone the disk’s contents or to restore them from a copy. The free version of HD Clone works similarly and can copy 40GB of data in around 74 minutes.
#2. Partition your hard disk
Partitioning a disk involves dividing the space into two or more parts that are then treated as if they were two separate hard disks. It’s a useful way to keep large files, such as videos and music, on a separate disk where they are easy to find and won’t become fragmented.
Windows has its own partitioning tool for this purpose. Click Start, right-click Computer and select Manage. Under Storage in the left panel, select Disk Management, then right-click the disk and select Shrink Volume. This turns the free space at the end of the disk into a new drive. You can now format this and use it like a regular disk Note that this function is not available in Windows XP.
If you’re after a more sophisticated partitioning tool, there are powerful free programs available that offer additional features. Two of the best are Partition Wizard and Easeus Partition Master.
#3. Back up your hard disk
Cloning your hard disk is a useful way to back it up, but individual file and folder back-ups help you safeguard your documents, photos, videos and other files in the event of a PC disaster.
Back-ups are built into Windows 7 so if a problem occurs, you can simply right-click a file or folder and choose to Restore previous versions. However, a disk fault can destroy back-ups as well as the originals, so it’s essential to use either an external disk or an online service. GFI Backup is an excellent free tool that uses a wizard to guide you through the process of backing up files to CD, DVD. Blu-ray, USB memory sticks and more. Online storage service MozyHome gives you 2GB of back-up space for free so is worth signing up for.
#4. Defragment your hard disk
Over time, files on your hard disk can become split into small fragments, so Windows automatically defragments them to prevent your PC from slowing down. However, third-party tools do a better job and can even boost the performance of your PC a little. Auslogics Disk Defrag is one of the best options and it’s also available as a screen saver, which means it can optimise the disk whenever your PC is idle. Equally good is IObit Smart Defrag, which offers three different optimisation methods and can also work while your PC is idle, You can set how long the program should wait before it begins defragmentation and stop the process if you’re using the PC for something important.
#5. Compress your hard disk
If you’re running short of disk space, you can compress the disk contents so the files occupy less space, Click Start. Computer, right-click the disk and choose Properties, then tick the box to compress the drive. Be warned, though, that this has the unfortunate side effect of making it harder to recover from disk faults and to restore lost files.
A better way to save space is to right-click a folder, choose Properties, then Advanced, and select the option ‘Compress contents to save disk space’. You should create back-ups to save elsewhere in case there are problems. You can right-click a file or folder and choose Send To, then Compressed (zipped) Folder to create a zip file, but the free tools iZArc and PeaZip will compress files to an even smaller size.
#6. Check your disk for errors
It’s always a good idea to check your hard disk for errors after a program crashes and before you install new software or Windows updates. Click Start, Computer, right-click the disk and select Properties Click Check Now on the Tools tab and tick the option ‘Automatically fix file system errors’. The option to scan for bad sectors is only necessary once or twice a year, though.
Hard-disk manufacturers. including Seagate and Western Digital, provide free tools for checking your hard disk, but an alternative is to get SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology). All modern drives contain SMART and, if you install PassMark DiskCheckup. you’ll be able to view your disks health information at a glance - everything from its temperature to the time it takes to start up. In this way, you’ll get fair warning of when your hard disk might fail so you can replace it before that happens.
My favourite all-in-one system tool is WinUitilities Free. This comprehensive program has a clean user interface and features a disk cleaner. Registry cleaner, various file utilities and a good disk defragmenter. Other free programs I have tried and liked include Glary Utilities and TweakNow PowerPack - especially the Windows Secret module.
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