August is always an exciting month. Schools are back in session, and students are buzzing about the new year and seeing old friends. 

But not all excitement is good excitement. At EAST, we want to ensure that your school year always gets the best start possible. So your Technical Support Group team crafted this list of things you can do to make sure you start the year on the right foot.

*Note this guide assumes the following processes are being performed on Windows based PCs*

Run Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup is a Windows tool that assists with deleting unnecessary files. This can easily clear up several gigabytes worth of space while giving your system a marginal boost. Since this tool is included with your Windows operating system, simply type Disk Cleanup in the search box, and it should appear immediately.

Once it launches, select the items you wish to delete and run the program. Worth noting: selecting "clean system files" requires the user to enter admin credentials for that computer, but will clear up even more space.

Run an SFC scan

SFC or System File Checker is a command line tool that checks the integrity of critical Windows files. Over time, this file may become damaged or corrupted, so running a check once or twice a year can go a long way toward maintaining your computer's functionality. 

To run a scan, simply launch a command prompt as an administrator and run this command: sfc /snannow 

*Note this can take several hours depending on your system it is advised your run this scan at the end of the day to avoid workstation down time* 

Run a chkdsk scan

Whereas sfc /scannow checks the integrity of Windows files, chkdsk will inspect both logical and physical sectors of a hard drive for errors. chkdsk is also a command line tool, so running it is nearly identical to performing an sfc scan. 

To perform a chkdsk, open a command prompt and run this command: chkdsk /r. 

This scan will not only search for bad sectors on your drive, but recover any readable information as well. 

*Note this command will force you to reboot, as well as take several hours to perform, it is advised that you run this scan at the end of the school day to avoid workstation downtime*

Update

Last but certainly not least, make sure your apps and operating system are fully up to date. In Windows, open the search bar and search for Windows updates. Most applications will update automatically, but if you encounter individual programs that have a more involved update process, contact TSG.