PC MAINTENANCE TIPS
One of the most important keys to a happy
computer (and user) is maintenance. Consistent maintenance. Below we
list some if the routine maintenance items that should be performed on
your computer. Call the PC Tech to schedule some or all of these
recommended maintenance tips.
• Dusting/Cleaning: We're not just talking
about wiping off the top of the box with a feather duster, but a
throughough dusting of the PC innards. It's best to use compressed air
to blow out the insides of the computer. Be sure to do this outside so
the dust can blow free. Dust can cause a variety of problems with the
tiny components in your PC, one of them is heat, a killer of silicon
based chips. Recommended service intervals depends on how dusty it is
where you live, but at least two times per year. Remember to clean your
floppy, CD and DVD drives too.
• Component Reseat: Typically when you are
dusting your PC out, it's good practice to reseat the components inside
the computer. These components are the various PC cards, memory chips,
CPUs, other PC boards or cables that are inserted onto a connector on
the mother boards or other parts of the computer. Over time, the
metallic connections on these cards can become oxidized and performance
degradation or problems may arise. Never use rough abrasive material to
clean these surfaces as the coated materials are very thin.
• Operating System Updates: We'll only
refer to the various Microsoft Windows operating systems here. If you
don't know what a "Critical Update" is, then you really need to give us a
call! When operating systems are released, they are not perfect. So
after a period of time, users will report problems back to the
manufacturer. These problems are commonly referred to as "bugs". The
manufacturer will then release a service pack or hot fix to resolve
these problems. Microsoft has two levels of updates; Critical Updates
and Recommended Updates. It is very important for the security and the
function of your PC to download and install these important updates
whenever and as soon as they are released.
• Drivers, Peripheral, PC & Software Updates:
Although not always necessary, but to keep your PC in tip-top shape and
up to date, it's a good idea to update various drivers, peripheral, PC
and software components. This allows you to have the current, most up to
date software or firmware from the manufacturers of the various devices
and programs on your PC. Note: sometimes when updating these
components, operating behaviors or procedures may change.
• Anti-Virus / Ad-Spyware Updates: This
should be at the top of my list, only because of the tremendous effort
of others to spy or infect your computer with some nasty, frustrating
bug. The time it takes for a unprotected computer running windows XP
when connected to the internet to become infected is 20 minutes!!! That
was an article published in 2004 by CNET. Read it here. I'm sure today
it's much faster. BE SURE TO UPDATE YOUR ANTI-VIRUS/AD-SPYWARE PROGRAMS
ON A WEEKLY BASIS!!!! ESPECIALLY IF YOUR AN EMAIL JUNKIE OR WEB
SURFER!!!! More on this topic under the Virus/Spy-Adware topic in the
left menu.
• Hard Drive Defragmentation: Picture your
PC has a huge filing cabinet. Typically everything is in an order of
sorts. But if your like me, after time, the "T's" get mixed up with the
"B's", the "D's" with the "K's" and so on. Soon it's a filing nightmare,
and takes countless time to find anything. Your PC's hard drive is just
like that messy filing cabinet. It is always reading (pulling) and
writing (filing) data. After a period of time, the files are located all
over the hard drive. This is called fragmentation, fragments (pieces)
of data files all over the hard drive. All MS Windows operating systems
come with a defragmentation utility, albeit slow, it helps keep your PC
files in a nice order, thus making the PC a little faster and smoother.
Depending on usage, you should "defrag" at least twice per month. Note:
the PC Tech recommends a defragmentation software called DiskKeeper from
Executive Software.
• File Cleaning: After time and usage, your
PC will collect alot of various, unneeded files. To help keep hard
drive space to a maximum or to just get rid of these files, you should
clean these files off your computer every so often. MS Windows provides a
tool called Disk Cleaner that gets rid of most of these files. Other
files such as "Cookies" need to be deleted manually.
[/b]
One of the most important keys to a happy
computer (and user) is maintenance. Consistent maintenance. Below we
list some if the routine maintenance items that should be performed on
your computer. Call the PC Tech to schedule some or all of these
recommended maintenance tips.
• Dusting/Cleaning: We're not just talking
about wiping off the top of the box with a feather duster, but a
throughough dusting of the PC innards. It's best to use compressed air
to blow out the insides of the computer. Be sure to do this outside so
the dust can blow free. Dust can cause a variety of problems with the
tiny components in your PC, one of them is heat, a killer of silicon
based chips. Recommended service intervals depends on how dusty it is
where you live, but at least two times per year. Remember to clean your
floppy, CD and DVD drives too.
• Component Reseat: Typically when you are
dusting your PC out, it's good practice to reseat the components inside
the computer. These components are the various PC cards, memory chips,
CPUs, other PC boards or cables that are inserted onto a connector on
the mother boards or other parts of the computer. Over time, the
metallic connections on these cards can become oxidized and performance
degradation or problems may arise. Never use rough abrasive material to
clean these surfaces as the coated materials are very thin.
• Operating System Updates: We'll only
refer to the various Microsoft Windows operating systems here. If you
don't know what a "Critical Update" is, then you really need to give us a
call! When operating systems are released, they are not perfect. So
after a period of time, users will report problems back to the
manufacturer. These problems are commonly referred to as "bugs". The
manufacturer will then release a service pack or hot fix to resolve
these problems. Microsoft has two levels of updates; Critical Updates
and Recommended Updates. It is very important for the security and the
function of your PC to download and install these important updates
whenever and as soon as they are released.
• Drivers, Peripheral, PC & Software Updates:
Although not always necessary, but to keep your PC in tip-top shape and
up to date, it's a good idea to update various drivers, peripheral, PC
and software components. This allows you to have the current, most up to
date software or firmware from the manufacturers of the various devices
and programs on your PC. Note: sometimes when updating these
components, operating behaviors or procedures may change.
• Anti-Virus / Ad-Spyware Updates: This
should be at the top of my list, only because of the tremendous effort
of others to spy or infect your computer with some nasty, frustrating
bug. The time it takes for a unprotected computer running windows XP
when connected to the internet to become infected is 20 minutes!!! That
was an article published in 2004 by CNET. Read it here. I'm sure today
it's much faster. BE SURE TO UPDATE YOUR ANTI-VIRUS/AD-SPYWARE PROGRAMS
ON A WEEKLY BASIS!!!! ESPECIALLY IF YOUR AN EMAIL JUNKIE OR WEB
SURFER!!!! More on this topic under the Virus/Spy-Adware topic in the
left menu.
• Hard Drive Defragmentation: Picture your
PC has a huge filing cabinet. Typically everything is in an order of
sorts. But if your like me, after time, the "T's" get mixed up with the
"B's", the "D's" with the "K's" and so on. Soon it's a filing nightmare,
and takes countless time to find anything. Your PC's hard drive is just
like that messy filing cabinet. It is always reading (pulling) and
writing (filing) data. After a period of time, the files are located all
over the hard drive. This is called fragmentation, fragments (pieces)
of data files all over the hard drive. All MS Windows operating systems
come with a defragmentation utility, albeit slow, it helps keep your PC
files in a nice order, thus making the PC a little faster and smoother.
Depending on usage, you should "defrag" at least twice per month. Note:
the PC Tech recommends a defragmentation software called DiskKeeper from
Executive Software.
• File Cleaning: After time and usage, your
PC will collect alot of various, unneeded files. To help keep hard
drive space to a maximum or to just get rid of these files, you should
clean these files off your computer every so often. MS Windows provides a
tool called Disk Cleaner that gets rid of most of these files. Other
files such as "Cookies" need to be deleted manually.
[/b]