Thursday, 26 June 2014
Wednesday, 18 June 2014
How to maximize storage space on your Windows tablet
How to maximize
storage space on your Windows tablet
One of the unfortunate hallmarks of affordable
Windows-based tablets is limited storage space. It is not uncommon for
low-priced tablets to come with only 32GB or 64GB drives.
A large chunk of that space is taken up by the
Windows operating system and any preinstalled applications. Luckily, there are
plenty of things you can do to rid Windows tablets of unneeded data to stretch
that storage space as far as possible.
Delete Temp File and Prefetch Data
Windows accumulates temporary and cache files
like it's in an episode of Hoarders, filling your limited storage with old
items you probably don't need. Performing a disk cleanup will delete a good
chunk of the junk data stored in the Windows temp folder. To get rid of it all
though, you’ll have to delete it manually.
Windows is notorious for amassing tons of junk
data over time. Delete it to reclaim storage space on your tablet.
Restart your tablet, and when Windows has
fully loaded, close or exit from any applications that placed an icon in your
system tray (usually by right-clicking on its icon and choosing close or exit)
to ensure they’re not using any temporary files.
Next, click on the Libraries shortcut in your Taskbar, select This PC from the left column in the resulting window,
and then double-click on your C: drive. Double-click on theWindows folder and delete all of the files in the Prefetch and Temp folders (C:\Windows\Prefetch and C:\Windows\Temp). As long as you have restarted and don’t
have any applications running, deleting the contents of these folders should
have no ill effects.
Finally, go back to the root of the C: drive and navigate to the C:\Users\[Your
User Name]\AppData\Local\Temp\ folder and delete everything in there as well.
If you haven’t taken the time to purge old
prefetch and temp data from your system, you may be surprised by how much space
it was taking up.
Purge Your Download Folder
Download folders are often the junk drawers of
computers. They are often chock full of installers that will never be used
again. Navigate to your Downloads folder (My Documents > Downloads) and
delete any files you don’t absolutely need.
Make sure to empty the Recycle Bin too: The
files in the Recycle Bin aren't actually deleted until you empty it.
Shrink Your Paging File
Shrinking your paging file is a quick and easy
way to free up some storage space.
By default, Windows creates a paging file
(also known as a swap file or page file) on the drive that it is installed on,
which acts somewhat like additional RAM. It stores bits of data for
applications that are running in the background. The paging file dynamically changes
size based on how large a file Windows thinks it may need.
Many users like to disable their paging files
altogether to regain all of the space used by the files. Not having a paging
file can cause problems with some applications though, so instead of disabling
it completely, you can simply shrink it.
Go to the Start screen, swipe from the right
of the screen (or click Search on the bottom-right of the screen) to open the search panel and
type Advanced in the text box. In the search results, click View advanced
system settings.
In the resulting window, click on the Settings button in the Performance section at the top.
Click the Advanced tab in the Performance Options window that opens, and click Changein the “Virtual Memory” section at the bottom.
When the Virtual Memory window opens, note the
current size of your paging file in the line at the bottom labeled 'Currently
allocated.' Whatever the number is, cut it in half. Tick the radio button
labeled 'Custom size,' and enter that number into the 'Maximum size' field.
Enter 16MB for the initial size. Then, click on the Set button, and click OK in all of the other windows that remained
open.
You may be prompted to restart the system when
you’re done.
Put It In The Cloud
Many cloud-based storage providers offer up
multiple gigabytes of free storage space just by signing up for an account.
Microsoft’s own OneDrive service (formerly known as SkyDrive) is already
integrated into Window 8.1. If you’ve got non-critical personal files taking up
storage space on your tablet, move them to the cloud and reclaim that space. It
is also recommended that you back up that data to a thumb drive or other backup
solution.
Perform a Disk Clean-up
By performing a Disk Cleanup and purging old
restore points and other system files, we were able to free up about 3GB of
space on a relatively new, hardly touched Surface Pro 3.
Running Windows’ built-in Disk Cleanup utility
with its default options deletes some of the temporary data, log files, and
installers that Windows can build up over time, among many other things. If you
dig a bit deeper into its menus, however, you can also purge shadow copies of
system files, error dumps, and old system restore points that can consume a ton
of space.
Note: Deleting system restore points makes it much
harder to fix problems later. While you may reclaim some space by doing away
with restore points, you are also effectively doing away with one of the
operating system's safety nets.
If you are absolutely positive you don’t need
your older restore points, click on theLibraries shortcut in your Taskbar. Select This PC in the left column of the resulting window,
right-click on your C: drive and select Properties from the menu. In the resulting window, click on the Disk Cleanup button, and in the window that pops up, click
on the button labeled 'Clean up system files.'
The window will close while Windows calculates
how much space will be freed up. When it pops back up, click on the More Options tab, and then click on the Clean Up… button in the “System Restore and Shadow
Copies” section at the bottom.
Once a confirmation prompt opens, click the Delete button, and then click back to theDisk Cleanup tab. Tick all of the boxes in the list and
click OK.
Run CCleaner
If your tablet is running an x86 or x64
architecture version of Windows—not Windows RT—CCleaner is a great utility for routine maintenance.
Note: If you’re not sure which architecture version
of Windows you’re using, open the Control Panel and click on System. In the resulting window, look for the label
named “System type.” The Windows architecture version—x86, x64 or RT—will
displayed to the right.
CCleaner will rid Windows of a ton of junk
data from temp folders and various caches, and it’ll do the same for many
popular browsers and applications as well.
Download and install CCleaner and launch the
application. On the Cleaner menu, you’ll see tabs for Windows and Applications.
Read all of the items that CCleaner will purge from the operating system and
various applications. Tick each checkbox for each item you want removed (I
typically tick everything except the "Wipe Free Space" option).
If you're unsure, click Analyze and CCleaner will do its best to guess for you. Hit Run Cleaner when you're ready.
If your system is fairly polluted, it may take
a while for CCleaner to finish.
About Windows 7
About
Windows 7
On this page:
Introduction
Windows 7 is not an
upgrade to Windows
Vista, but an entirely different operating system. With it, you can
expect greater functionality in communication, multimedia, and security,
including improved, streamlined User Account Control (UAC) performance with
fewer prompts. The interface introduced with Vista, Windows Aero, uses 3D
graphics and other high-end visual effects.
System requirements
The minimum hardware
requirements for Windows 7 as specified by Microsoft, as well as further
recommendations from UITS, are listed as follows:
- 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit
(x64) processor
UITS recommends: A dual-core (Core 2) processor
- 1 GB of system memory (32-bit)
or 2 GB of system memory (64-bit)
UITS recommends: 2 GB system memory
- A graphics processor that is
DirectX 9-capable with Hardware Pixel Shader v2.0 and WDDM Driver support
- 128 MB of graphics memory
UITS recommends: 256 MB graphics memory; non-integrated video card
- 40 GB of hard drive capacity
with 16 GB free space (32-bit) or 20 GB free space (64-bit)
UITS recommends: 80-100 GB capacity
- DVD-ROM drive
- Audio output capability
- Internet access capability
Windows 7 at IU
Both 32- and 64-bit
editions of Windows 7 are available to students, faculty, and staff on disk at campus
bookstores for $20 plus tax.
Note: In order to
install Windows 7 from these disks, you must already have an earlier Windows
version installed on your computer. If so, you can do a clean install, which includes
formatting the hard drive; if you have Vista or Windows 7, you can upgrade to
Windows 7 Ultimate.
Windows 7 versions and
upgrades
IU students, faculty,
and staff will install and use Windows 7 Ultimate; IU departments will use
Windows 7 Enterprise.
- If you are using any version of
Windows 7 or Vista except Enterprise, you can upgrade to
Windows 7 Ultimate. For example, if you purchase a new computer from an
outside retailer, it might be shipped with Windows 7 Home Premium; you can
upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate if you wish.
- Departments that use Vista
Enterprise can upgrade to Windows 7 Enterprise. If you have Vista
Enterprise for personal use, you cannot upgrade that to Windows 7
Enterprise, but you can do a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate, which
will format your hard drive and remove your previous version of Windows.
- For all other versions of
Windows, migrating to Windows 7 will require a clean install.
- Your upgrade path must be
consistent with your system type (i.e., you cannot upgrade from Windows
Vista Ultimate 32-bit to Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, or from a 64-bit to a
32-bit operating system).
- The 64-bit version will not run
on a 32-bit computer.
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