Improve Your Performance: Microsoft Safety Live

This is not a "required" step. If you have a brand new computer, there is no need to follow these instructions today. However, Clean Up and Tune Up are both tools you should run at least 3 times a year, before each semester begins, for example.

Microsoft offers a free, web-based service to help you diagnose and improve the overall perfomance of your Windows computer. The Clean Up scan will search your hard drive for unncessary temporary files that may have been left behind as a result of installing and uninstalling programs, etc. Tune Up "defragments" your hard drive. When you add, move, or delete documents or software applications, your files are often spilt into many parts that are scattered about the hard drive. Tune Up puts all of those pieces back together again, which in turn will help your computer run faster. If you are following all of the steps on this Disinfect & Protect web site, there is no need to run the Protection scan.

This service is still in the Beta (testing) phase of development. The is fully functional, but you may experience an occasional "bug" in the system.

  1. Open Internet Explorer.
  2. In the address bar type safety.live.com. Click Go.
  3. Click Clean Up.

  4. Click Clean Up Scan.

  5. Read the license agreement, then click Accept.

  6. Click Install Now. This will install a plug-in for Internet Explorer that allows the website to scan your computer, and is safe for you to install.

  7. Click Install.

  8. Click Launch Scanner.

  9. Wait for the scan to complete, then expand each section by clicking the + to the left of the names and check each box. Click Next.

  10. The next page will be a summary of what files were cleaned from the computer. Click Next.

  11. Click Done and you will return to the safety.live.com home page.

  12. Click Tune Up.

  13. Click Tune Up Scan.

  14. Be sure all boxes are checked. Click Next.
  15. Click Done.

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