Basic PC Maintenance For The Novice:
Prevention Is Key
Contributed by Jennifer Goldman
Contrary to popular belief, in most cases, you don’t need to be an IT professional to keep your personal computer running smoothly on an ongoing basis. Unfortunately most manuals that come with PCs tend to focus almost exclusively on how to set up the equipment, sometimes neglecting to discuss continual maintenance altogether. Fortunately, there are some basic computer maintenance measures that even a novice can take in order to enhance the performance, speed, and life span of his or her PC.
If your computer keeps freezing or crashing, you might want to consider whether you have too many programs running at one time. What you may not realize is that a lot of computer software programs start up automatically when you reboot your computer. Check for icons on the far right and/or far left part of the toolbar at the bottom of your screen. If you see one that you don’t recognize, point your mouse to it and the name of the program should come up. If you see the name of a program that you don’t currently wish to have running, right-click on the icon and choose exit or close from the list of options. Minimizing the amount of programs you have running at once will allow your computer to work faster and may keep it from repeatedly crashing.
Also in the name of maintenance, periodically look through the files and programs on your hard drive. Delete all unnecessary programs and files, as they are merely a waste of the space your computer needs to operate functions properly.
In a similar vein, perform an occasional disk cleanup. You can run a disk cleanup by choosing the Disk Cleanup tool available in Windows®’ accessory folder. In doing so you’ll get rid of useless files and free up valuable memory.
It’s also important that you periodically scan the hard disk of your computer so you can locate and eliminate errors. If you don’t, you’ll be placing the main memory center of your computer at risk. Microsoft® has built a program exclusively for this purpose. It’s called ScanDisk Since running ScanDisk can take a long time, and you can’t use any other computer programs while you’re doing it, you’ll need to set aside an hour or two to run ScanDisk when you’re not using your PC. Send all temp files to the trash bin before running ScanDisk.
Defragmenting your hard drive is another necessary part of properly maintaining your personal computer. The reason for defragmenting is to close up space between data that is scattered, or fragmented, on your hard drive. When data on your hard drive is fragmented, it takes a lot longer for your computer to search down that information and retrieve it. Therefore, defragmenting your hard drive will allow your computer to run more efficiently. It will also help ensure the longevity of your hard drive by sparing it from having to strain itself searching for hard-to-find files.
Protect your PC from nasty viruses by installing and running an anti-virus software program. Viruses can be potentially disastrous to your computer system, even causing it to totally crash. But that doesn’t have to be. By implementing most anti-virus software you can scan your entire hard drive for viruses and eliminate them.
Additionally, by installing and regularly running anti-spyware programs, you search for and block spyware that allows outsiders to track your Internet usage. There are also combination spy and adware scanning programs available. Adware programs can bombard you with unwanted pop-up messages, invade your privacy by tracing your browser activity, and seriously impede the functioning of your computer, so you’ll want to protect yourself against them.
Installing a firewall will protect you against outsider’s access to other information stored on your computer.
This last tip may come as a surprise to some. Keeping your computer equipment clean can help prevent serious problems. Computer monitors give off magnetic fields that have a tendency to attract dust. A build up of dust that makes it way inside the monitor can eventually cause a monitor to overheat. Similarly a failure to gently blow the dust out of the inside of your hard drive can result in a buildup of a dusty substance comprised of dust, hair and other debris in the environment. This gooey stuff can actually cause a circuit to short, potentially creating serous damage to your processor. So remember to clean your computer inside and out, at least every two weeks. It will save you a lot of money and heartache.
Although regular maintenance of your PC—as detailed above—will ideally eliminate serious mishaps, to be on the safe side, you should back up your files on the hard drive every couple of weeks. You may also want to consider copying your more critical files to disk.
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About the Author:
Jennifer Goldman is a freelance writer, editor, and proofreader living in Denver, Colorado.
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