Gateway 200stm User Manual

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Chapter 14: Maintaining Your Computer
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Caring for your computer
To extend the life of your system:

Be careful not to bump or drop your computer, and do not put any objects 
on top of it. The case, although strong, is not made to support extra weight.

When transporting your computer, we recommend that you put it in a 
carrying case.

Keep diskettes, modular drives, and your computer away from magnetic 
fields. Magnetic fields can erase data on both diskettes and hard drives.

Never...

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Caring for your computer
www.gateway.com Recalibrate the battery X page 150
Clean computer case X page 226
Clean keyboard X page 227
Clean computer screen X page 227
Clean mouse X page 227
Maintenance task Immediately 
after purchaseMonthly When needed See... 

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Creating an emergency startup 
diskette
An emergency startup diskette is a diskette that contains critical information that 
you need to start your computer if Windows fails to start. You should create a 
startup diskette as soon as you get your computer.
To create an emergency startup diskette in Windows XP:
1Insert a blank diskette labeled Startup into the diskette drive.
2Click Start, then click My Computer. The My Computer window opens....

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Creating an emergency startup diskette
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4Click to select the Create an MS-DOS startup disk check box, then click Start. 
A message warns you that any information on the diskette will be erased.
5When you see the warning message, click OK. Windows copies files to the 
emergency startup diskette.
6When Windows finishes copying files, remove the diskette from the 
diskette drive.
7Slide the write-protect tab up to prevent the diskette from being erased or 
infected by viruses.
8Store your...

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Protecting your computer from 
viruses
A virus is a program that attaches itself to a file on a computer, then spreads 
from one computer to another. Viruses can damage data or cause your computer 
to malfunction. Some viruses go undetected for a period of time because they 
are activated on a certain date.
Protect your computer from a virus by:

Using the Norton® AntiVirus program to check files and programs that are 
on diskettes, attached to...

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Protecting your computer from viruses
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To scan for viruses: 
1Click Start, All Programs, Norton AntiVirus, then click Norton AntiVirus 2002. 
Norton AntiVirus opens.
2Click Scan for Viruses.
3Click the type of scan you want to make in the Scan area, then under 
Actions, click 
Scan.
Scan for
viruses
Scan 

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To remove a virus:
1If Norton AntiVirus finds a virus, follow all on-screen instructions to 
remove the virus.
2Turn off your computer and leave it off for at least 30 seconds.
3Turn on your computer and rescan for the virus.
To update Norton AntiVirus:
1Make sure that you are connected to the Internet.
2Click Start, All Programs, Norton AntiVirus, then click LiveUpdate - Norton 
AntiVirus
. The LiveUpdate wizard opens.
3Follow the on-screen...

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Managing hard drive space
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Managing hard drive space
Windows provides several utilities you can use to manage your hard drive.
Checking hard drive space
To check hard drive space:
1In Windows XP, click Start, then click My Computer. The My Computer 
window opens.
- OR -
In Windows 2000, double-click the 
My Computer icon. The My Computer 
window opens.
2Right-click the drive that you want to check for available file space, then 
click 
Properties. Drive space information appears. 

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Using Disk Cleanup
Delete unnecessary files, such as temporary Windows files, to free hard drive 
space.
To use the Windows Disk Cleanup program:
1In Windows XP, click Start, then click My Computer. The My Computer 
window opens.
- OR -
In Windows 2000, double-click the 
My Computer icon. The My Computer 
window opens.
2Right-click the hard drive that you want to delete files from, for example 
Local Disk (C:), then click 
Properties. The...

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5Click OK, then click Ye s.
Checking the hard drive for errors
The Error-checking program examines the hard drive for physical flaws and file 
and folder problems. This program corrects file and folder problems and marks 
flawed areas on the hard drive so Windows does not use them.
If you use your computer several hours every day, you probably want to run 
Error-checking once a week. If you use your computer less frequently, once a 
month may be adequate....