Figure 4-6: Start Scanning screen As stated in the program, no changes will be made to your PC yet. It will simply scan your PC files and resources to figure out what should be optimized. Click Start Scanning to continue. Note If the program doesn’t detect an Internet connection or if it’s blocked by a personal firewall, you’ll be prompted to fix the Internet connection, as seen in Figure 4-7. Figure 4-7: Fix Internet connection prompt Step 4: Perform the Scan Sit back and let PC Pitstop Optimize scan your PC for typical file and system issues. You’ll be notified after the scan is done by a message under the scan- ning status bar, as seen in Figure 4-8. Chapter 4: Performing a Scan 27 09_068557 ch04.qxp 12/13/06 6:12 PM Page 27 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Figure 4-8: Scanning complete Click Next to continue. Step 5: Get Rid of Temporary Files Now you will be at the Temporary Files screen, as shown in Figure 4-9. Figure 4-9: Temporary Files screen 28 Part II • Optimizing Your PC 09_068557 ch04.qxp 12/13/06 6:12 PM Page 28 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. You need to identify which junk files you would like Optimize to remove, by checking or un-checking the applicable checkboxes: • Remove Internet Cache This deletes the temporary files created by Internet Explorer (IE) during web browsing. Remember, these are temporary files that aren’t needed after you are finished web surfing. These files can take up large amounts of space and should be removed periodically. Although you can clear the cache in Internet Explorer, Optimize uses a more thorough method that deletes files left behind by IE. Viewing Internet Explorer’s Cache If you are curious, you can view Internet Explorer’s cache: 1. Open Internet Explorer. 2. Open Internet Options from the Tools menu, as seen in Figure 4-10. Figure 4-10: Opening Internet Options continued Chapter 4: Performing a Scan 29 09_068557 ch04.qxp 12/13/06 6:12 PM Page 29 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. continued 3. Click Settings under the Temporary Internet Files section, as pointed out in Figure 4-11. Figure 4-11: Accessing the temporary Internet files settings 4. Click View Files , as seen in Figure 4-12. The Temporary Internet Files window will appear. Figure 4-12: Viewing temporary Internet files • Empty Recycle Bin This will empty your Recycle Bin to reclaim the disk space occupied by files you have initially deleted from your computer. Remember, files are not actually removed from the drive when you delete them. Instead, the files are moved to the Recycle Bin where you can retrieve them if you later decide that you should not have deleted them. 30 Part II • Optimizing Your PC 09_068557 ch04.qxp 12/13/06 6:12 PM Page 30 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. • Remove Temporary Files This deletes the temporary files that the Windows operat- ing system and other applications leave behind. Remember, these temporary files are not needed after the application exits or Windows is shut down. In many cases, however, the applications do not always clean up after themselves. Viewing Your Recycle Bin If you want to make sure you don’t need these “deleted files” any- more, you can view the contents of your Recycle Bin: 1. Go to your desktop. 2. Double-click Recycle Bin, as shown in Figure 4-13. Figure 4-13: Opening the Recycle Bin 3. The Recycle Bin will appear, as shown in Figure 4-14. You can view the files and restore them if necessary. Figure 4-14: The Recycle Bin Chapter 4: Performing a Scan 31 09_068557 ch04.qxp 12/13/06 6:12 PM Page 31 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. . Internet files • Empty Recycle Bin This will empty your Recycle Bin to reclaim the disk space occupied by files you have initially deleted from your computer. Remember, files are not actually removed. always clean up after themselves. Viewing Your Recycle Bin If you want to make sure you don’t need these “deleted files” any- more, you can view the contents of your Recycle Bin: 1. Go to your desktop. 2 4-6: Start Scanning screen As stated in the program, no changes will be made to your PC yet. It will simply scan your PC files and resources to figure out what should be optimized. Click Start Scanning