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PC Preventive
Maintenance
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FrogIT Computing
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Most PC users do not think about
their computer having problems until they actually happen! Below is a list
below of Preventive Maintenance measures which can easily be carried out by
users themselves.
These measures can help reduce
breakdowns, maintenance costs and generally improve the lifespan of your PC or
Laptop.
Physical
Environment
All PC cases have air vents. These
are crucial for the interior airflow within your PC case and to keep your
components cooled to a safe temperature. Ensure that when you position your PC
none of these vents are covered, and have a reasonable distance between them
and any walls or other surfaces. -
Do not place your PC too close to
any heating or cooling source (eg. Radiators, direct sunlight, air
conditioners, etc). Excessive heat and cold can damage your
PC.
Ensure your PC is not situated
anywhere that builds up moisture. as its really bad for your internal
components.
Do not position your case directly
onto a carpeted surface. If you are not putting it onto a desk, then place
something underneath the case. The carpet can reduce air intake and increase
heat build up.
Do not smoke around your PC. You
think we are joking but you would be amazed at how much damage smoke causes
some of your PC's components.
Regularly vacuum around your PC
case to remove the potential build up of dust or dirt. This can clog up vents
and extraction fans to the point of destruction.
Always turn off the power to your
PC before moving it, even if you are only sliding it along the floor a
little.
Storage
Devices
Always
take regular backups of important data. This will be crucial if you
have a major crash. External Hard Drives or USB memory devices are inexpensive,
but very effective for backing up data. Remember it is not advised to backup
data onto CD/DVD media as these are not reliable enough. Store backups away
from your computer, preferably in another room or building
entirely.
Remove unnecessary programs from
your computer. This can either be done using an 'Uninstall' routine supplied
with it. Ensure that you know what you are removing and do not remove any
programs you cannot identify (they may be part of your system and needed). The
Disk Cleanup utility (free with Windows) is very useful for removing clutter
from your PC. We recommend that you run this once a month. Ensure that all of
the following options are ticked prior to running the cleanup: - Downloaded
Program Files - Temporary Internet Files - Offline Webpages - Recycle Bin -
Temporary Files - Webclient/Publisher Temporary Files Do not choose (tick) the
option to Compress Old Files this is unnecessary and may cause confusion at a
later date. Ensure that you run this utility for ALL hard drives on your
PC.
Disk Defragmenter is another
useful utility which comes free with Windows. As with Disk Cleanup, this should
be run regularly, but only about every three months. Please ensure that you run
the Disk Cleanup prior to running the Defragmenter. Once you choose to run it,
click the 'Analyse' button for a fragmentation report, this will tell you if
you need to actually defragment or not. Ensure you run this utility for ALL
hard drives on your PC.
The
Internet
The internet is a source of
numerous problems for PC users from Viruses, Spyware, Spam etc. Preventive
Maintenance is crucial to keep your PC running smoothly. - Ensure that you have
Anti-Virus software running at all times on your PC. This should be
automatically loaded when your PC starts up and set to automatically update
itself from the internet regularly. At reasonably regular intervals (or when
you think your computer is slowing down) run a full system scan manually from
your Anti-virus program. Check your Anti-virus program 'exceptions' list from
time to time. Sometimes a virus can amend this and it can prevent your AV
program from finding it. -
Whilst Norton and Macaphee are
widely used Anti-Virus packages, we at FrogIT recommend AVG as it takes up less
of your PC's resources and is much easier to use and better still there is a
free version! see our "free software" link.
Ensure you have
Anti-Spyware software running and updated regularly too. Again, a regular
manual full scan is useful - even if your software runs its own scheduled scan.
No matter what email system you use, whether it be Outlook, Outlook Express,
Windows Mail, Webmail, Mozilla, etc - ensure you use the email Rules
functionality to set up rules to catch spam emails and place them into your
junk folder. Unfortunately Spam is a pain in this day and age, and must be
dealt with as soon as possible to avoid it becoming a problem. Never click on
any email you cannot identify, and definitely never open a spam email. Opening
a spam email lets the sender know they have reached a 'live' person and it will
increase the number of spam emails you get.
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