To make files open quickly

1. Start Disk Defragmenter.
2. Click the drive you want to defragment.

Notes

• You can also start Disk Defragmenter by clicking Start, pointing to Programs, pointing to Accessories, pointing to System Tools, and then clicking Disk Defragmenter.
• To change the Disk Defragmenter settings, click Settings.
• While your disk is being defragmented, you can use your computer for other tasks. However, your computer operates more slowly, and Disk Defragmenter takes longer to finish. To temporarily stop Disk Defragmenter so you can run other programs faster, click Pause.
• During defragmentation, Disk Defragmenter must restart each time other programs write to the disk. If Disk Defragmenter restarts too often, you may want to close other programs while defragmenting your disk.

Understanding DLL Files

A dynamic-link library (DLL) file is an executable file that allows programs to share code and other resources necessary to perform particular tasks. Microsoft Windows provides DLL files that contain functions and resources that allow Windows-based programs to operate in the Windows environment.

DLLs most often appear as files with a .DLL extension; however, they may also have an .exe or other extension. For example, the Shell.dll file provides the Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) drag-and-drop routines that Windows and other programs use. The Kernel.exe, User.exe, and Gdi.exe files are examples of DLLs with .exe extensions. They provide code, data, or routines to programs running in the Windows operating system. For example, one of these files provides the "CreateWindow" function that programs use when a new window is created on the screen. In Windows, an installable driver is also a DLL. A program can open, enable, query, disable, and close the driver based on instructions written in the DLL file.

DLLs can be found in the Windows directory, the Windows\System directory, or a program's directory.

If you start a program and one of its DLL files is missing or damaged, you may receive an error message such as "Cannot find xyz.dll." If you start a program that has an outdated DLL file or mismatched DLL files, the error message "Call to undefined dynalink" might appear. If this happens, you must get a copy of the DLL file and put it in the proper directory before the program will run correctly.

To determine the origin of a DLL file

1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
2. In the Named box, type the name of the file you want to find—, for example "shell32.dll" (without the quotation marks)#151;click Local Hard Drives or the drive letter you want to search in the Look In box, and then click Find Now.
3. In the list that appears, right-click the file, click Properties, and then click the Version tab.

If the file is a Microsoft file, extract a new copy of the file. For information about extracting Windows files, see see Knowledge Base article number Q129605, "How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files."

If the Company Name referenced on the Version tab is different than Microsoft, contact the manufacturer for assistance.

This information is also available in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. If you would like to view this information online, see Knowledge Base article number Q87934, "Definition and Explanation of a .DLL File."

To check your disk surface, files, and folders for errors

1. Start ScanDisk.
2. Click the drive you want to check.
3. Under Type of test, click Thorough.
4. Click Start.

Notes

• You can also start ScanDisk by clicking Start, pointing to Programs, pointing to Accessories, pointing to System Tools, and then clicking ScanDisk.
• To change the settings ScanDisk uses when checking the disk surface, after step 3, click Options. Or, to change the settings ScanDisk uses when checking files and folders, click Advanced.
• To specify how ScanDisk repairs the errors it finds, clear the Automatically fix errors check box.
• For Help on an item in ScanDisk, right-click the item, and then click What's This?

To create more space for temporary Internet pages

1. In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
2. On the General tab, click Settings.
3. To create more space to store pages temporarily, move the slider to the right.

Using Disk Cleanup to free up space on your computer

You can run Disk Cleanup to help you free up space on your hard disk. Disk Cleanup searches your hard disk, and then lists temporary files, temporary Internet files, and unnecessary program files that you can safely delete.

Note

• You can also start Disk Cleanup by clicking Start, pointing to Programs, pointing to Accessories, pointing to System Tools, and then clicking Disk Cleanup.

Working with temporary Internet files

The Temporary Internet Files folder is the location on your hard disk where Web pages and files (such as graphics) are stored as you view them. This speeds up the display of pages you frequently visit or have already seen, because Internet Explorer can open them from your hard disk instead of from the Web.

Increasing the space you set for this folder can increase how fast previously visited pages are displayed, but decreases the amount of space available for other files on your computer. You can set the size of this folder, or empty it, to control how much space it uses on your hard disk.

Internet files are also stored on your computer when you make Web pages available for offline browsing. You can view these files without being connected to the Internet.

To learn about how Web pages are stored on your computer, click Related Topics below.