Optimizing Your Files for better performance

You defragment your hard drive, scandisk regularly and clear out those nasty temporary files.

Good for you.   But you can do more to tweak and improve certain files on your computer. 

There are many programs where a lot of information is saved in one single file.  Examples of these programs might be:

• Quicken

• Microsoft Money

• ACT contact manager

• Winfax Pro Fax Software

• Quickbooks

• Microsoft Access files

This list is just a beginning.   Ultimately, all of these programs can be considered database programs.  Each individual piece of information is not an individual file, like a word processing document.  Rather, each piece of information, is one record within the database file.

Most database type programs use additional files (called index files) to help organize the information.  You can look at the information alphabetically, by date, by check number or by various pieces of information sorted in various ways.  You can even choose to view a specific group of these pieces, say all checks written after 9/1/2000 or all people in a specific area code or zip code.  The index files allow you to speed up this look up process.

Database files have there own type of recycle bin that needs to be emptied.

These database-type files can become quite large and can store massive amounts of information.  But because each piece of information represents just one part of the file, the file can become bloated.

 If you delete just one piece of information, that one piece may not be deleted. It may be "marked" or "tagged" for deletion, but not really deleted.  Similar to your recycle bin.  Until you empty the recycle bin, the information is still there, taking up space.

If you change some of the information, say a person's last name, address or area code (the person got married and moved) the related index file also gets changed also.  This happens automatically and you normally don't have to worry about it.  The index file that once new that Mary Jones lives in Los Angeles, must now know that Mary Smith now lives in San Francisco. 

Database files need defragment and scandisk utilities

The defragment and scandisk utilities of windows serve to clean up and reorganize the pieces of the puzzle that make up the hard drive on your computer.  Your database-type files can benefit from similar utilities.

• The index files can get corrupted and need to be rebuilt.  (A database defrag)

• The deleted information needs to be permanently removed (A database recycle bin)

Optimization, Verifying, or  Rebuilding ... its almost the same thing but with a different name.

Fortunately, most of the programs include these utilities.  They may refer to the utility by different names, but the results are the same. 

• The database is "defragmented" and "scandisked"

• The database "recycle bin" is emptied

• The related index files may be rebuilt so that all the information can be found quickly and properly

The results are the same as they are for the rest of your computer: Improved Performance

• The files may take up less hard drive space

• The information can be found faster

So how do I know if I need to do this and how do I do it?

If you use any of the programs listed above or use a program similar to it, you can assume that you are using some type of database filing system.

• Go to the program's help screen or technical support website and search for topics such as:

  • Optimize

  • Rebuild

  • Verify

  • Purge Records

  • Packing the database

• Print or copy the specific instructions from the help screen.

• Back up your data and restart your computer before starting any of these procedures.  Backing up is just a good habit to get into.  Restarting your computer gives it a nap and refreshes the memory that may have leaked over time.  This provides the maximum amount of memory to the program that is optimizing, rebuilding or verifying your information.

• Start the utility as indicated in the instructions.

Specific Programs with known utilities

(check back regularly for additional known utilities)

• Quicken uses a validate feature

•  File Operations-Validate from the File Menu.
  
  

• Quickbooks uses condense, verify and rebuild features

• File Utilities from the File Menu
  
  

• Winfax Pro uses an optimize feature

• Search help for the optimize feature or DELFIX utility program and print out this information
  
  

• AOL can clean up your Personal Filing Cabinet

• Click Compact PFC from the My Files menu
  
  

• ACT 4.0 contact manager uses several utilities to fix or repair the database

• Search for Database Maintenance and follow the instructions.

• Microsoft Access uses repair and compact utilities for database optimization.

• Repair the database from Tools, Database Utilities, Repair Database

• Compact the database from Tools, Database Utilities, Compact Database