You need to run Check Disk once a week or two to keep your file system healthy.  

Here's how:

• Open My Computer by double-clicking on it's icon on the desktop.

• Right-Click on the hard drive to defragment.  A menu pops up.  Select Properties.

• Select the Tools tab.

• Click "Check Now"

• Check the box "Automatically Fix File System Errors".

• Click Start.

• Answer Yes to the prompt that asks you if you want to run the check disk when you restart your computer.

• Restart your computer.

Check Disk will now run when your computer restarts.

Technical Information:

Check Disk checks your hard disk for problems that inevitably occur such as:

• Cross-linked files
  Two files are using the same space on the hard disk.  Check Disk makes copies of the two files in separate locations.

• Lost clusters
  There is data on the disk that the computer can no longer access.  This data should be deleted because it is taking up space that should be made available to files. 

These problems can be caused by a number of things, such as:

• Power failure or turning off the computer without properly shutting down.
  Windows does not always save your data to your hard disk right away.  It uses random access memory (RAM), which is much faster than your hard disk, as a temporary storage area, and then "flushes the cache" when necessary to store data to your hard disk.  Any data that is temporarily cached in RAM will be lost or corrupted if the computer is powered down unexpectedly.

• "Locking up" or "Freezing"
  The operating system may become unstable and fail to properly store your data for a number of reasons:

  • Too many programs running at once
  • Ill-behaved programs or programs performing illegal operations
  • Absence of a surge protector for your computer's power supply

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