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Basic
Computer Maintenance |
Written by:
Santana Holcomb
5 Star Support
Technician
First off you need to delete
all your trash, temp files, and files you no longer need. While in an ideal
situation these temp files are deleted when the applications close but they
aren’t. With poorly written programs, computer crashes, hanging programs
and improper shutdowns always leave unneeded temporary files on your hard
drive. These files pile up and start eating up hard disk space and start
impairing computer performance. If your computer is moving at a snail pace
then deleting the accumulated temp files may help to speed it up. You can
fix some shutdown and download problems by cleaning up your temp files. Do
the following:
- Start > Accessories
> System Tools > Disk Cleanup
- Select the drive you want
to clean. When it has finished, select the items that you no longer
want.
Recommend: Clean 'Downloaded
Program Files', 'Temporary Internet Files', 'Recycle Bin' and 'Temporary
Files'.
- Remove unwanted startup
items:
You might notice one day
unrecognized items in your task tray. If you have unwanted items starting
with windows it can and will slow down the boot process and they will take
up memory.
Do the following:
- Start Menu > Programs
> Startup. You will find programs in this folder, just delete the
ones you do not want to start with windows. Then move on to the
following:
- Start Menu > Run >
Type in: msconfig.exe [Enter] Click the Startup tab and uncheck
any items you don’t want to startup.
Recommend: If you are not
sure what it is leave it and do a Google search on it.
- Remove unwanted
applications:
You will have programs that
you installed that will install other programs that you might not know
about. Remove unwanted applications as they can overtime slow your system
down. You cannot uninstall an application by just deleting files. Do the
following to remove them:
- Start > Control Panel
> Add or Remove Programs. Here you can remove all programs that you
do not need or want anymore. Select the application and click the remove
button. This will uninstall the selected application.
Recommend: If you’re not
sure then leave it and do a Google search on it.
- Clean and Defrag your
registry:
With time your registry
becomes fragmented and bloated with obsolete and invalid data that causes
errors slowdowns and freezing of your system. Windows will try to load
things that do not exist any more because of invalid registry entries so it
then slows down your system leads to errors. Use Advanced Registry
Optimizer. Select all 3 of the programs options and run them. Be sure to
make a backup, just in case of a problem.
- Scan for adware and
spyware:
In general, you do not want
anything that relates to these topics on your computer. Adware is basically
ads that can be found in programs or on websites. This adware selectively
installs tracking software which is called spyware. This software runs
behind the scenes and sends information to home. It is constantly using your
memory, hard drive space and even your internet connection! Spyware has been
known to stop browsers from working and even rendering a computer useless.
Directions: Update this
program, immunize, and run it. When it has completed, remove everything it
has detected.
Directions: Update this
program and run it. When it has completed, remove everything it has
detected.
For those who do not know by
now viruses can render your files useless on your computer and can
corrupting your complete system. I do not think I need to go too deep
about this. Use your anti-virus to check your system regularly.
Recommend: That you use one
of the online scanner to check your system every other month. No one
anti-virus program will find all viruses but some do a better job then
others.
- Defrag your hard drive or
hard drives as the case maybe:
Your computer writes to the
first available area on your hard drive. Then over time your files start to
be rearranged on your hard disk or fragmented as most will say. When
your hard drive is fragmented and you try to load a program it may have to
get 1 file from the inside of the hard drive, 1 file from the middle, then
maybe 1 from the outside. This will cause a slower running system. When
defrag your hard drive it tries to put the files back in order by organizing
them in similar groups. That way the hard drive is hunting all over looking
for them and that speeds up your system. Do the following:
- Start Menu > Programs
> Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter/Check Now.
- Select the drive you want
to defrag. When it is done you can close the window or select another
drive to defrag.
Recommend you defrag at
least once a month
- Clean your computer case:
Dust is a problem that
affects everyone no matter where you live and even more if you live in a
area where the dust is bad. If you have not cleaned the inside of your
computer case in 6 months or longer than you need to get right on it.
Dust build up is the number 1 computer killer/ problem causer in my humble
opinion. Buy yourself a can of compressed air. Buy a 1 inch paintbrush
for brushing off things.
Recommend: Start by
unplugging your system from it’s power source. Then start from the top and
brush all the dust off that you can with the paintbrush and work your way
down to the bottom of the case. Brush all the dust into a pile and use
a piece of paper as a dust pan and remove the dust. Then take the can of
compressed air and blow out your cd drive and floppy drive then start
from the top again and blow the system down to the bottom of the case.
Stop every 10 seconds or so and take a damp cloth and wipe the dust up on
the bottom of the case Keep it up until you have all the dust cleaned up.
Use a Q-tip or pencil to block the fan blades so they do not turn while you
blow them off.
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