How to automate basic PC maintenance

You can automate the disk maintenance that needs to be done to ensure the stable operation of Windows, thanks to Windows tools.

In order to maintain the performance level of Windows, we need to perform some maintenance on your hard disk at regular intervals. These maintenances, which are necessary for proper PC use, often do not come to our minds. However, thanks to the “Schedule Tasks” feature of Windows, it is possible to automate these routines.

Automate disk cleanup

One of the important ways to get rid of temporary internet files or temporary setup files on your system is to use Windows’ disk cleanup tool. After you automate this feature with the method we will explain below, your system will periodically delete temporary files.

To open disk cleanup settings:

• Start the command prompt by typing “ cmd ” in the Start menu in Windows 7 and in the search screen in Windows 8 .
• Enter the following command on the command line: cleanmgr.exe /sageset:1
• After this command, Disk Cleanup Settings window will open.
• Select the files you want to be deleted regularly from the list and close the window.

To automate disk cleanup using the schedule tasks feature:

• Click on the first option by typing “schedule tasks” into the Start menu in Windows 7 and in the search screen in Windows 8.
• Click on the “ Action ” tab in the menu bar of the window that appears and launch the “ Create Basic Task… ” option.
• “Simple Task Creation Wizard” will appear. By following this wizard, determine the details such as the intervals at which the transactions will be made.
• Check the “Start a program” option in the Action section.
• In the window that will appear, enter the command “ cleanmgr.exe ” on the Program/command line and the command “ /sagerun:1 ” on the arguments line and save.

As a result of this process, the temporary files on your system will be deleted at the time intervals you specify.

Automate disk error checking with schedule tasks

Disk cleanup isn’t the only area where Schedule tasks is available. The schedule tasks feature can also be used for your system to periodically check for disk errors for you. For this:

• Click on the first option by typing “schedule tasks” into the Start menu in Windows 7 and in the search screen in Windows 8.
• Click on the “ Action ” tab in the menu bar of the window that appears and launch the “ Create Basic Task… ” option.
• “Simple Task Creation Wizard” will appear. By following this wizard, determine the details such as the intervals at which the transactions will be made.
• Check the “Start a program” option in the Action section.
• In the window that will appear, enter the command “ fsutil ” in the Program/command line and the command “ dirty set C: ” in the arguments line and save. If the Windows files are in a different location than C, edit the command line accordingly.

After this process, the system will identify your disk as “dirty” and will perform a general scan at the next system startup. In order for these processes to be completed quickly, it is necessary to create a second scheduled task that will restart the system whenever the disk is marked as “dirty”.

• Repeat the above operations until Program/command comes to the t line.
• Enter the command “ shutdown.exe ” on the program/command line and the command “ /r ” on the arguments line and save.
• To prevent this process from starting while you’re doing something important, enter the Task Scheduler Library and double-click the last task you created. Increase the duration of the “ Start task only when computer is idle for ” option on the Conditions tab .