What You Can Find in a Blog Sidebar

<h1 style="font-size:20px;margin:0.25rem 0px;padding:0px 0px 0.5rem;border-width:0px 0px 1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(204,204,204);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></h1> <p class="Byline" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Most blogs contain sidebarmaterial. Most blogs are laid out in two or three columns, and the sidebar material typically appears in the second and/or third columns.</p> <p class="Remember" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Some blogs don't have sidebars at all, and on other blogs, you may discover additional elements beyond what you see listed here.</p> <ul class="level-one" style="padding:0px 1rem;margin:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> <b>Date-based archives: </b>Nearly every blog is archived as it's published, by date and by category. In the sidebar of a blog, you can usually access both archive methods.</p></li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> <b>Categorized archives:</b> By sorting each post into a category at the time it is published, a blog can create an archive organized by subject, making it easy for you to find the posts you're most interested in. Clicking a category link displays only the posts in that subject area, in reverse chronological order.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Blogroll:</b> A blogroll is a list of blogs that you find interesting or useful. By including blogs and Web sites the blogger likes to read, you can direct your readers to other interesting Web sites. And who knows? Those sites may return the favor, sending their visitors to your site.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Information about the author:</b>Because blogs are so personal, sometimes you want to know more about who's writing them. Many bloggers know their readers are curious and put together short bios and other information for readers.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>RSS feed link:</b> RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is a way readers can subscribe to your blog by using a newsreader, such as Google Reader. After a reader subscribes via RSS, she can read the latest updates via the newsreader rather than visiting your blog. This is helpful because it means your readers don't have to visit your blog several times a day to see whether you've updated it.</p> </li></ul>

What You Can Find in a Blog Sidebar

Most blogs contain sidebarmaterial. Most blogs are laid out in two or three columns, and the sidebar material typically appears in the sec...

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What You Can Find in a Blog Sidebar

<h1 style="font-size:20px;margin:0.25rem 0px;padding:0px 0px 0.5rem;border-width:0px 0px 1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(204,204,204);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></h1> <p class="Byline" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Most blogs contain sidebarmaterial. Most blogs are laid out in two or three columns, and the sidebar material typically appears in the second and/or third columns.</p> <p class="Remember" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Some blogs don't have sidebars at all, and on other blogs, you may discover additional elements beyond what you see listed here.</p> <ul class="level-one" style="padding:0px 1rem;margin:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> <b>Date-based archives: </b>Nearly every blog is archived as it's published, by date and by category. In the sidebar of a blog, you can usually access both archive methods.</p></li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> <b>Categorized archives:</b> By sorting each post into a category at the time it is published, a blog can create an archive organized by subject, making it easy for you to find the posts you're most interested in. Clicking a category link displays only the posts in that subject area, in reverse chronological order.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Blogroll:</b> A blogroll is a list of blogs that you find interesting or useful. By including blogs and Web sites the blogger likes to read, you can direct your readers to other interesting Web sites. And who knows? Those sites may return the favor, sending their visitors to your site.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Information about the author:</b>Because blogs are so personal, sometimes you want to know more about who's writing them. Many bloggers know their readers are curious and put together short bios and other information for readers.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>RSS feed link:</b> RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is a way readers can subscribe to your blog by using a newsreader, such as Google Reader. After a reader subscribes via RSS, she can read the latest updates via the newsreader rather than visiting your blog. This is helpful because it means your readers don't have to visit your blog several times a day to see whether you've updated it.</p> </li></ul>

What You Can Find in a Blog Sidebar

Most blogs contain sidebarmaterial. Most blogs are laid out in two or three columns, and the sidebar material typically appears in the sec...

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What Elements You Can Expect in All Blogs

<h1 style="font-size:20px;margin:0.25rem 0px;padding:0px 0px 0.5rem;border-width:0px 0px 1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(204,204,204);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></h1> <p class="Byline" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Most blogs, no matter what topic they cover, look similar because the elements of one blog are common to all blogs. Look for these characteristics in blogs you come across on the Internet:</p> <ul class="level-one" style="padding:0px 1rem;margin:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> <b>Branding/logo header:</b> A <i>header</i>at the top of the blog displays the name of the blog, often using a logo or other visual element. This header is visible on every page of the blog.</p></li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> <b>Frequent updates:</b> Most blogs are updated a few times a week; some are even updated a few times a day. There isn't a schedule for publishing; theblogger simply updates the blog when it seems appropriate.</p></li><li> <p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Most recent posts:</b> Each time a blogger updates the blog, he creates a blog <i>post</i><i>,</i> or entrythat is added to the blog. At the top of the blog's home page, the most recent post is displayed. As you scroll down the home page, you see the next most recent post, and the next most recent post, and so on.</p> <p class="child-para Remember" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">New posts are always at the top, making it easy to find the latest, freshest information when you visit. The number of recent blog posts displayed on the first page of the blog is usually around a dozen, and to read older posts readers can visit the archives.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Permalinks:</b> Each time a post is added to a blog, it's placed on the home page. At the same time, a <i>permalink</i> page is created to contain only that blog post and its comments. (The word <i>permalink</i> is short for "permanent link.")</p> <p class="child-para Tip" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">Permalink pages are a big part of why blogs do so well with search engines — every post adds a new page to your Web site and is another opportunity for your blog to come up as a search result.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Comments:</b> Most (though not all) blogs allow readers to leave<i>comments</i> — short text messages — in response to blog posts. Comments really differentiate a blog from most Web sites, by encouraging interaction and conversation.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Archives:</b> Because a blog is updated so frequently, many blogs are sorted into a date-based archive so that readers can find older information easily.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Categories:</b> Blog posts can also be sorted by subject, or categories, allowing a blogger to blog about a number of different topics and readers to focus in on the topics that most interest them.</p> </li></ul>

What Elements You Can Expect in All Blogs

Most blogs, no matter what topic they cover, look similar because the elements of one blog are common to all blogs. Look for these charact...

Read more »

What Elements You Can Expect in All Blogs

<h1 style="font-size:20px;margin:0.25rem 0px;padding:0px 0px 0.5rem;border-width:0px 0px 1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(204,204,204);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></h1> <p class="Byline" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Most blogs, no matter what topic they cover, look similar because the elements of one blog are common to all blogs. Look for these characteristics in blogs you come across on the Internet:</p> <ul class="level-one" style="padding:0px 1rem;margin:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> <b>Branding/logo header:</b> A <i>header</i>at the top of the blog displays the name of the blog, often using a logo or other visual element. This header is visible on every page of the blog.</p></li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> <b>Frequent updates:</b> Most blogs are updated a few times a week; some are even updated a few times a day. There isn't a schedule for publishing; theblogger simply updates the blog when it seems appropriate.</p></li><li> <p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Most recent posts:</b> Each time a blogger updates the blog, he creates a blog <i>post</i><i>,</i> or entrythat is added to the blog. At the top of the blog's home page, the most recent post is displayed. As you scroll down the home page, you see the next most recent post, and the next most recent post, and so on.</p> <p class="child-para Remember" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">New posts are always at the top, making it easy to find the latest, freshest information when you visit. The number of recent blog posts displayed on the first page of the blog is usually around a dozen, and to read older posts readers can visit the archives.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Permalinks:</b> Each time a post is added to a blog, it's placed on the home page. At the same time, a <i>permalink</i> page is created to contain only that blog post and its comments. (The word <i>permalink</i> is short for "permanent link.")</p> <p class="child-para Tip" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">Permalink pages are a big part of why blogs do so well with search engines — every post adds a new page to your Web site and is another opportunity for your blog to come up as a search result.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Comments:</b> Most (though not all) blogs allow readers to leave<i>comments</i> — short text messages — in response to blog posts. Comments really differentiate a blog from most Web sites, by encouraging interaction and conversation.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Archives:</b> Because a blog is updated so frequently, many blogs are sorted into a date-based archive so that readers can find older information easily.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b>Categories:</b> Blog posts can also be sorted by subject, or categories, allowing a blogger to blog about a number of different topics and readers to focus in on the topics that most interest them.</p> </li></ul>

What Elements You Can Expect in All Blogs

Most blogs, no matter what topic they cover, look similar because the elements of one blog are common to all blogs. Look for these charact...

Read more »

Use Comments to Interact with Blog Readers

<h1 style="font-size:20px;margin:0.25rem 0px;padding:0px 0px 0.5rem;border-width:0px 0px 1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(204,204,204);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></h1> <p class="Byline" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Comments are what make blogsdifferent from a Web site. The opportunity to interact and converse with the creator of a Web site and with other readers is almost unique to blogs. Visitors to a blog can leave a comment on each post.</p> <p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Sometimes, visitors comment in response to what they read; sometimes, the message is a suggestion or question. Because any reader can leave a comment, comments are even left about other comments.</p> <p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Blog posts often include a linkdirectly underneath each post indicating how many comments have been left. Clicking this link takes you to a page that displays the post, any comments that have been added, and a form you can use to leave your own comment.</p> <p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">After a comment has been made, it appears in the comments area, usually labeled with the comment writer's name, along with the date and time the message was left. Not every blog allows comments. Many popular bloggers find that they're overwhelmed by the sheer volume of responses they get and must turn off comments because they can't keep up with them. All bloggers should be so lucky to have that problem. For most bloggers, comments are an important way of developing a dialogue with readers.</p> <p class="Tip" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Keep comments turned on in your blog. They're an easy way to involve your audience in your topic and to get valuable feedback about what you're doing with your blog.</p> <p class="Warning" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Unfortunately, spammers are able to take advantage of comments as easily as they are of sending you unwanted e-mail. If you keep comments turned on, you'll get unwanted comments with commercial messages. Some comments may even be offensive, just as spam e-mail sometimes is. If you decide to allow comments on your blog, be sure to read them and delete inappropriate messages.</p>

Use Comments to Interact with Blog Readers

Comments are what make blogsdifferent from a Web site. The opportunity to interact and converse with the creator of a Web site and with ot...

Read more »

Use Comments to Interact with Blog Readers

<h1 style="font-size:20px;margin:0.25rem 0px;padding:0px 0px 0.5rem;border-width:0px 0px 1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(204,204,204);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></h1> <p class="Byline" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Comments are what make blogsdifferent from a Web site. The opportunity to interact and converse with the creator of a Web site and with other readers is almost unique to blogs. Visitors to a blog can leave a comment on each post.</p> <p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Sometimes, visitors comment in response to what they read; sometimes, the message is a suggestion or question. Because any reader can leave a comment, comments are even left about other comments.</p> <p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Blog posts often include a linkdirectly underneath each post indicating how many comments have been left. Clicking this link takes you to a page that displays the post, any comments that have been added, and a form you can use to leave your own comment.</p> <p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">After a comment has been made, it appears in the comments area, usually labeled with the comment writer's name, along with the date and time the message was left. Not every blog allows comments. Many popular bloggers find that they're overwhelmed by the sheer volume of responses they get and must turn off comments because they can't keep up with them. All bloggers should be so lucky to have that problem. For most bloggers, comments are an important way of developing a dialogue with readers.</p> <p class="Tip" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Keep comments turned on in your blog. They're an easy way to involve your audience in your topic and to get valuable feedback about what you're doing with your blog.</p> <p class="Warning" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Unfortunately, spammers are able to take advantage of comments as easily as they are of sending you unwanted e-mail. If you keep comments turned on, you'll get unwanted comments with commercial messages. Some comments may even be offensive, just as spam e-mail sometimes is. If you decide to allow comments on your blog, be sure to read them and delete inappropriate messages.</p>

Use Comments to Interact with Blog Readers

Comments are what make blogsdifferent from a Web site. The opportunity to interact and converse with the creator of a Web site and with ot...

Read more »

Use Blogmapping to Show Where You're Blogging From

<h1 style="font-size:20px;margin:0.25rem 0px;padding:0px 0px 0.5rem;border-width:0px 0px 1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(204,204,204);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></h1> <p class="Byline" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><i>Blogmapping</i> (or feed mapping) is a service that displays the geographic locations of bloggers on a mapping system, such as Microsoft Live Map or Google Maps. You can map your location based on your ZIP or postal code. You also may add your Web site address and RSS feed so that potential readers can easily reach you.</p> <p class="Tip" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">One great thing about this kind of service is finding bloggers in your own neighborhood, so you can turn your online relationships into offline friendships.</p> <p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Some blogmapping services also allow you to create <i>tag </i><i>clouds</i> (a visual representation of the keywords used to describe yourblog posts) and keywords so that you can easily view the subject of the blogs on your map.</p> <p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Just think of all the great blog posts you can write about meeting and getting to know other bloggers in your neighborhood, thanks to your blogmap!</p> <p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">You can put a blogmap on your blog using one of these blogmapping tools:</p><ul class="level-one" style="padding:0px 1rem;margin:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"> <li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;line-height:24px"><a href="http://www.csthota.com/blogmap" style="color:rgb(1,69,138)">FeedMap</a></p></li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;line-height:24px"> <a href="http://www.frappr.com/" style="color:rgb(1,69,138)">Frappr</a></p></li></ul>

Use Blogmapping to Show Where You're Blogging From

Blogmapping  (or feed mapping) is a service that displays the geographic locations of bloggers on a mapping system, such as Microsoft Live...

Read more »

Use Blogmapping to Show Where You're Blogging From

<h1 style="font-size:20px;margin:0.25rem 0px;padding:0px 0px 0.5rem;border-width:0px 0px 1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(204,204,204);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></h1> <p class="Byline" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><i>Blogmapping</i> (or feed mapping) is a service that displays the geographic locations of bloggers on a mapping system, such as Microsoft Live Map or Google Maps. You can map your location based on your ZIP or postal code. You also may add your Web site address and RSS feed so that potential readers can easily reach you.</p> <p class="Tip" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">One great thing about this kind of service is finding bloggers in your own neighborhood, so you can turn your online relationships into offline friendships.</p> <p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Some blogmapping services also allow you to create <i>tag </i><i>clouds</i> (a visual representation of the keywords used to describe yourblog posts) and keywords so that you can easily view the subject of the blogs on your map.</p> <p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Just think of all the great blog posts you can write about meeting and getting to know other bloggers in your neighborhood, thanks to your blogmap!</p> <p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">You can put a blogmap on your blog using one of these blogmapping tools:</p><ul class="level-one" style="padding:0px 1rem;margin:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"> <li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;line-height:24px"><a href="http://www.csthota.com/blogmap" style="color:rgb(1,69,138)">FeedMap</a></p></li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;line-height:24px"> <a href="http://www.frappr.com/" style="color:rgb(1,69,138)">Frappr</a></p></li></ul>

Use Blogmapping to Show Where You're Blogging From

Blogmapping  (or feed mapping) is a service that displays the geographic locations of bloggers on a mapping system, such as Microsoft Live...

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How to Fix Your Computer Hard Drive

<h1 style="font-size:20px;margin:0.25rem 0px;padding:0px 0px 0.5rem;border-width:0px 0px 1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(204,204,204);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></h1> <p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">The hard disk drive in your computer has a limited life expectancy. If you're unlucky, your drive will die suddenly. If you're lucky, it will break down slowly over a long period. Make no mistake, though: Someday, your hard drive<i>will</i> die. That's why it's important to check its health regularly and keep it in the best possible shape. Fortunately, you can do several things to check and maintain your drive:</p> <h2 style="margin:0.25rem 0px 1.25rem;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:19px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Defragment the hard drive with Windows' defragmenting tool</h2><p style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"> For most users, the main hard drive is designated the C: drive; it contains Windows, your applications, and your data. This drive has the most storage. Here's how to defragment your hard drive:</p><ol class="level-one" style="padding:0px 1rem;margin:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"> <li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">Choose Start→All Programs→Accessories->System Tools→Disk Defragmenter.</p><p class="child-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> The Disk Defragmenter dialog box appears.</p><img alt="image0.jpg" height="400" src="http://media.wiley.com/Lux/70/211870.image0.jpg" style="vertical-align: bottom; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto !important;" width="409"></li> <li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">Select the drive that you want to defragment.</p><p class="child-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> Most people will choose the C: drive. You may also see a much smaller D: drive, which likely contains the files to restore your computer to factory settings. You don't want to alter anything on this recovery drive.</p></li> <li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">Click Defragment (Windows XP) or Defragment Disk (Vista and Windows 7).</p><p class="child-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> <b></b>The defragmenter analyzes the disk for degree of fragmentation and then begins the defragmentation process. In Windows XP, you see a graphical display that represents the hard drive before and after defragmentation. In Vista and Windows 7, you see a countdown of the percentage of defragmentation completed.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">Choosing File→Exit (Windows XP) or click the Close button(Vista and Windows 7).</p><p class="child-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> The Disk Defragmenter closes.</p></li></ol><h2 style="margin:0.25rem 0px 1.25rem;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:19px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Tidy up computer space with Disk Cleanup</h2> <p class="Tip" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:24px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">How often you should run the Disk Cleanup utility depends on your habits. If you do a lot of Internet browsing, and disk space is running low, run the utility. Otherwise, every few months is probably often enough.</p> <ol class="level-one" style="padding:0px 1rem;margin:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> Choose Start→My Computer or Start→My Computer.</p><p class="child-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">The My Computer/Computer window appears.</p></li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> Right-click the drive you want to check and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.</p><img alt="image1.jpg" height="400" src="http://media.wiley.com/Lux/71/211871.image1.jpg" style="vertical-align: bottom; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto !important;" width="294"><p class="child-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> <b></b>The drive's Properties dialog box appears.</p></li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">Click the General tab, if it isn't already open. If you want, check the Compress This Drive to Save Disk Space check box.</p> <p class="child-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"><b></b>This option compresses old files that you haven't used for a while.</p></li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> 4.<b></b>Click the Disk Cleanup button.</p><p class="child-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">The system churns away for a while, examining your drive and calculating how much garbage it can locate. Finally, the Disk Cleanup dialog box opens, indicating how much junk is sitting around in places like the folders for downloaded program files, temporary Internet files, and the Recycle Bin, and suggesting files to delete.</p> <img alt="image2.jpg" height="400" src="http://media.wiley.com/Lux/72/211872.image2.jpg" style="vertical-align: bottom; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto !important;" width="305"></li> <li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">Clear the check boxes next to any files that you want to keep; check the check boxes next to any additional files that you want to clear off the disk.</p> <p class="child-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">For most users, it's best to delete only the recommended files. If you choose to go further, click each file and read its description before proceeding.</p> </li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">Click OK.</p><p class="child-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px"> Windows asks you to confirm that you want to delete these files permanently.</p></li><li><p class="first-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">Click Yes (Windows XP) or Delete Files (Vista and Windows 7).</p> <p class="child-para" style="margin:0.75em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:24px">The files are deleted.</p></li></ol>

How to Fix Your Computer Hard Drive

The hard disk drive in your computer has a limited life expectancy. If you're unlucky, your drive will die suddenly. If you're luc...

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