Have you ever opened a filing cabinet and couldn't find the file or folder you were looking for? The same thing can happen to your computer when your hard drive becomes fragmented. To keep all of your files in the right place, optimizing your hard drive regularly is highly recommended. You can do this with Windows 8 built-in hard drive optimizing utility, Defragment and Optimize Drives.

Standard hard drive optimization in Windows 8

1. Go to the Start menu.
   
2. Right-click the Start menu background to bring up the app commands.
3. Select 'All apps'.
4. Scroll to the 'File Explorer' tile and left-click on it.
5. Left-click on 'Computer'.
6. Right-click the hard drive that you want to optimize, and then click 'Properties'.
7. Click the 'Tools' tab, and then, under 'Optimize and defragment drive', click 'Optimize'.
8. Select the drive you want to defrag and click on 'Optimize'.

Or

1. Go to the Start menu.
   
2. Right-click the Start menu background to bring up the app commands.
3. Select 'All apps'.
4. Scroll to the 'Control Panel' tile and left-click on it.
5. On the upper right side of the Control Panel, there is a 'View by:' pull-down menu (the default is Category). Left-click on the arrow to the right and select either 'Large icons' or 'Small icons'.
6. Left-click on 'Administrative Tools'.
7. Double left-click 'Defragment and Optimize Drives'.
8. Select the drive you want to optimize and click on 'Optimize'.

Advanced hard drive optimization in Windows 8

1. Open a Command Prompt with Administrative privileges (click here for instructions)
2. Use the following command-line syntax(s) and parameter(s) to run DEFRAG:

DEFRAG <volumes> | /C | /E <volumes> [<task(s)>] [/H] [/M | [/U] [/V]]

Where <task(s)> is omitted (traditional defrag), or as follows: /A | [/D] [/K] [/L] | /O | /X

Or, to track an operation already in progress on a volume:
DEFRAG <volume> /T

Keeping your hard drive free from errors is essential to the performance of your Windows 8 computer. When it comes to computer repair, this is one of the first things I do. So, if your experiencing problems opening an application or file, it may be time to check your hard drive for errors with Windows 8 built-in disk checking utility, CHKDSK (Check Disk).

There are two ways to run CHKDSK, standard, and advanced. Here are the procedures for both.

Standard hard drive error checking in Windows 8

1. Go to the Start menu.
   
2. Right-click the Start menu background to bring up the app commands.
3. Select 'All apps'.
4. Scroll to the 'File Explorer' tile and left-click on it.
5. Left-click on 'Computer'.
6. Right-click the hard drive that you want to check, and then click 'Properties'.
7. Click the 'Tools' tab, and then, under 'Error-checking', click 'Check Now'. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
8. Select 'Scan drive'.

Advanced hard drive error checking in Windows 8

1. Open a Command Prompt with Administrative privileges (click here for instructions)
2. Use the following command-line syntax(s) and parameter(s) to run CHKDSK:

CHKDSK [volume[[path]filename]]] [/F] [/V] [/R] [/X] [/I] [/C] [/L[:size]] [/B]
[/scan] [/spotfix]

The /I or /C switch reduces the amount of time required to run CHKDSK by skipping certain volume checks.

During the course of using your Windows 8 computer, you may need to run some commands from the Command Prompt. But most of them require you do it with Administrative privileges. Here's how to open a Command Prompt with Administrator privileges in Windows 8.

A Command Prompt in Windows 8 with Administrator privileges

Using a mouse
1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Right-click the Start menu background to bring up the app commands.
3. Select 'All apps'.
4. Right-click the 'Command Prompt' tile to bring up the app commands.
5. Select 'Run as administrator'. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Using a keyboard
1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Press the Windows logo key + Z to open the app commands.
3. Press Enter to select 'All apps'.
4. Use the arrow keys to navigate to the 'Command Prompt' tile.
5. Press the Application key to bring up the app commands.
6. Use the arrow keys to navigate to 'Run as administrator' and press Enter. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Using touch
1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Swipe up from the bottom of the Start menu to bring up the app commands.
3. Select 'All apps'.
4. Scroll to the 'Command Prompt' tile and press and hold it to bring up the app commands.
5. Select 'Run as administrator'. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

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Packt Publishing

Is your network connection running slow? Or maybe your Internet browser isn't allowing you to go to specific websites? Installing/uninstalling applications or viruses/malware/spyware can add unwanted entries into the network protocol. If so, it may be time to reset your network adapter inside of Windows 8.

Command Prompt with administrator privileges in Windows 8

Windows 8 has a built-in administrator tool, Network Shell (Netsh), that allows you to configure and monitor network adapters on your Windows 8 computer. Netsh can completely reset your network adapter back to its default state. It can also reset the Windows Firewall in Windows 8. All you need is a Command Prompt with administrator privileges.

How to open a Command Prompt with administrator privileges in Windows 8

To use Netsh, you will need to open a Command Prompt with administrator privileges. There are a few ways to do this:

Using a mouse
1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Right-click the Start menu background to bring up the app commands.
3. Select 'All apps'.
4. Right-click the 'Command Prompt' tile to bring up the app commands.
5. Select 'Run as administrator'. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Using a keyboard
1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Press the Windows logo key + Z to open the app commands.
3. Press Enter to select 'All apps'.
4. Use the arrow keys to navigate to the 'Command Prompt' tile.
5. Press the Application key to bring up the app commands.
6. Use the arrow keys to navigate to 'Run as administrator' and press Enter. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Using touch
1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Swipe up from the bottom of the Start menu to bring up the app commands.
3. Select 'All apps'.
4. Scroll to the 'Command Prompt' tile and press and hold it to bring up the app commands.
5. Select 'Run as administrator'. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Netsh commands for resetting your network adapter in Windows 8

The following is a list of the Netsh commands you can use at a Command Prompt with administrator privileges to reset your network adapter in Windows 8.

netsh advfirewall reset Restores the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security policy to the default policy. The current active policy can be optionally exported to a specified file. This command returns all settings to not configured and deletes all connection security and firewall rules in a Group Policy object.

netsh branchcache reset Resets the BranchCache service. Flushes the local cache. Every configuration parameter of BranchCache will be reset to its default value.

netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt Resets TCP/IP and related components to a clean state.

netsh int ipv6 reset Resets IPv6 configuration state.

netsh winsock resetResets Winsock Catalog to a clean state. All Winsock Layered Service Providers which were previously installed must be reinstalled. This command does not affect Winsock Name Space Provider entries.