Installing DVD drive

Installing a DVD drive requires alot of basic steps in health and safety. Firstly we must turn the power off and place the computer tower on an anti static mat so we do not damage the motherboard. I then had to remove the casing and attach the DVD drive.

I have added a picture below taken when i did this task:

Range of utility software currently available

When doing this task there was a range of utility software available to me on the Microsoft Windows i will name some and give a brief description of each and what they do.

Disk Cleanup
The Disk Cleanup tool allows the user to free up disk space on there hard disk by selecting files that we can delete that have no use to us such as temporary internet files. After it selects files we can delete it gives us options on what we can delete.

System Restore
System Restore records changes we make to the Windows system files and registry. If we delete something vital which will cause the computer to be instable and crash we can then use system restore to undo those changes and return those files back to how they were.

Disk Defragmenter
When we install a program onto our computer the files realted to that program can be broken up over multiple locations on our hard disk which is called fragmentation. When this happens our computers become very slow when we use the disk defragmenter utility it rearranges the files closer together so the program can be opened much quicker.

Back up tools
Back up tools is another useful system utility which allows us to copy files/folders to be stored as a backup incase the files are lost or damaged from a virus or have become corrupt.

Task scheduler
This software allows the user to create task which automatically operate without human interaction when they are set. Its used widley to save alot of time with regular task such as virus scan etc.

setup a schedule to start an application of your choice every time you logon

(Proof of creating a scheduled task can be found on the observation sheet)

Many of us use scheduled tasks this is because it saves us time having to open the same program over and over again each time we log on. By adding a program to scheduled tasks you can have tools such as disk cleanup, or virus scan.

There are many more benefits than those above such as once the task has been set it will continue to do it everytime you log on. However you need to control the ammount of tasks you set up to run or it can seriously hault your computers performance for example if you choose high CPU programs such as defrag, virus scan and disk clean up to start on log in the computer will be extremley slow and the RAM may not be able to run anything else as it cant cope with the ammount of CPU beeing used at once.

Below is an example of begining to setup a task.

install and configure a software firewall

(Please refer to Observation sheet for proof of installation and configuration of a software firewall)

We all use firewalls to keep hackers and worms from accessing our computers. As the internet is a public network any computer connected to the internet can connect to another computer so we must have a firewall to stop people or viruses gaining unauthorised access to our computer.

Benefits of a firewall is it will shield your computer from unauthorised access from hackers which attempt to steal your personal information such as bank details, pin codes etc. Firewalls run in the background and have little to no effect on your computers performance which is also a great advantage.

Below is an example of a software firewall

install and configure AVG anti-virus software

(Please refer to the observation sheet as proof of installation and configuration of AVG)

AVG is an anti-virus software program many people use it as it is free to download and is reliable at protecting your computer against viruses, trojans and other malicious software.

AVG's main advantages is that it is free but it also has regular updates to eliminate new viruses which have been created therefore making it less likley that your computer will get infected.
However AVG is not the smallest of programs when running anti-virus scans it can take up alot of CPU therefore slowing your computer down if your doing other tasks. (When running scans etc)

Below is an example of AVG

installing Flash Player 10

(Please refer to observation sheet as proof of installation of flash player 10)

Many if not all of us use our computers for multimedia purposes such as watching/creating videos, playing games etc therefore we need software such as Flash Player this is why majority of us have this software.


The benefits to us and our computers is Flash Player gives us the ability to view media content that is Flash based (Such as videos, games and animations) This software effects our computers by making games, videos etc run faster, smoother and in better quality.

Backing up files/folders to a CD via compression software

Copying files to a CD is a useful way to keep a backup of your valuable files you need to keep, however as the CD has a small limited storage capacity you will be limited to a small ammount of files unless you use compression software.

The reason why we use compressions software such as winzip is it has much more advantages than simply compressing a file. Winzip enables you to transfer entire folders onto a CD by converting the file to a zip file, whereas you cannot burn folders so this will save the user alot of time.

Because CDs have a small sotrage capacity we use software called compression software which has a number of advantages and benefits to us by usuing compression software you make the file much smaller therefore beeing able to fit more files onto a single CD and having the ability to copy entire folders which will save the user alot of hard disk space.

Below is a much older version of winzip

Disk defragmentation on a hard disk

Disk Defragmentation is one of the most useful system utilities on your computer which is why it is so widley used the defrag process refines all files on your hard disk to make it run more faster and efficiently it makes the files more compact on your hard disk, this allows the computer to locate the file faster on your hard disk. Whereas before the computer would have to search through the entire hard disk.

Benefits to this is your computer will be much faster at loading files, programs etc especially if you havent defraged before/regulary.

Below is the disk defragmentation program on vista

Formatting a floppy disk

Formatting a floppy disk is done to completley empty the floppy of stored data. Data is stored on a magnetic medium in a floppy disk deleting these files do not fully remove them all as some backups may be stickied on the magnetic medium.

Formatting a floppy disk brings no benefits to the computers performance itself, it will only benefit the floppy with much more space.

When formatting a floppy disk this screen will show:

Copying and deleting files

Copying and deleting files are basic actions we all do on our computer systems each action can effect your computers performance both negativley and positively (Very small change). Deleting a file will remove that data from your hard drive giving you more space, however copying a file will replicate that file causing it to take up twice the size originally.

I will now point out the effects and benefits of each:

Deleting a file can have a small or big effect on your computers performance it all depends on the size of file you delete. People will delete files for many reasons such as the file beeing corrupt or containing spyware or simply the file having no more use to the user. Deleting files benefit your computer by increasing the free space on your hard drive therefore your computer will run smoother.

Copying files allow the user to replicate a file, people use this task for many reasons such as keeping a back up copy or keeping an original copy of a file. Howvere copying a file will duplicate that file onto the hard drive therefore taking up twice the original space therefore leaving you with less disk space. However copying files leaves you with many benefits such as having a backup compy incase the original becomes corrupt or lost.

Creating a folder

Creating folders the reason why we all create folders is because its an effective way to keep our files organised on our computer as overtime we will have thousands of files on our system. This saves the user alot of time having to hunt down a single file as they can name folders and put files in them giving them the ability to find the folders with the relevant files in them. Creating new folders has a minimal effect on the computers performance it mostly benefits the user.

Below is a screenshot of me creating a folder:

You can create a new folder by clicking File>New>Folder or simply right clicking on your mouse.