A computer is a huge financial investment. New models come out every year, but most people only want to buy a computer once every three to five years. Here are a few things you can do throughout the course of your computer’s lifetime to keep it running like new as long as possible.
Create Backup Disks. “When you get a computer the very first thing people should do, that they never do, is create the backup disks,†explains Niall Cargill, an IBM certified IT specialist with ten years of experience. Nowadays computers don’t come with back up disks anymore. They come with all the necessary software on it already. When you first turn the computer on it will ask you if you want to create back up disks. “Create those!†says Cargill. “When you first get the computer that is the fastest it will be. If you see it slow down over time and you ever want to clean it up and get it back to where it was new, you’ll have those disks and you can go back to your starting point.â€
Put anti virus software on the computer. Many people are hesitant to add anti virus software to their computers because they aren’t always up to date. Also it can also slow down your computer because every time you open a file or download a file the anti virus software takes a look at that file before you take a look at it. But its still worth the investment says Cargill. “Even though anti virus software can’t keep up with all of the virus threats out there, it is better than nothing,†he says. In addition to scanning your files it looks at what is going on in memory and it monitors your email before you even open it. Best Buy will install anti virus software on your computer for free. If you use Windows, you can install AVG for free. If you are using a UNIX system try Clam AV, says Cargill. Symantec, McAfee, or Norton will run on Windows or Macs.
Take precautions visiting websites and opening emails. Anti virus email can only do so much. The problem is when a new virus comes out the company may not patch that virus for a week depending upon how widespread it is. This is why you need to take precautions in between your anti virus updates. Don’t open executable files unless you know the person, you know exactly what they sent you, and you trust that person. Also be cautious with PDF files. If you go to a website that asks permission to download an Adobe file on your computer be sure you know and trust the people that run that website.
Read pop-up windows closely. Don’t just click OK to close pop-up windows as fast as possible. Clicking the “OK†button could be dangerous. It could allow some Active X component or Java applet to run on your system and install whatever. These can be good or harmful to your computer. “It is all about using common sense when you are doing stuff online,†says Cargill. “You really need to read that message. Sometimes they try to get tricky with the pop up windows. If you hit cancel it might still install the virus.†Instead hit the Esc (escape) button on your keyboard. Esc will close the window no matter what they’ve done with Java script to cover up the buttons.
Be careful when you install programs on your computer. “Be wary about what you install,†says Cargill. “Read everything in every window that it shows you.†For example, as you attempt to install a program, like Java or Flash, because a website says it needs them to run, be careful because it might encourage you to install an unnecessary program on your computer like Yahoo Toolbar, Google Desktop, or an anti virus software. Although they are not dangerous, these programs can take up memory space and slow your computer down even more.
Don’t install more than one anti virus software on your computer. The mantra two is better than one doesn’t apply to anti virus software.
The second anti virus software will add more overhead to your computer and slow you down even more than the first will. “The two [programs] will complain about each other and have a little anti virus fight,†says Cargill. “McAfee may detect something that Symantec is doing and think that it is virus-like activity and try to quarantine it. As soon as McAfee tries to quarantine Symantec, Symantec will think a virus is trying to remove it and try to quarantine McAfee. Then your computer gets [stalled] and you don’t know what happened.â€
Clean up your desktop and temp files from time to time. Frequently delete programs, documents and other stuff that you don’t need. “A lot of people will load stuff on their computer and never bother to delete it,†says Torrence Davis, editor-in-chief of thebitbag.com and a tech support manager at the Harvard Law School. “It’s like having a house full of garbage and never taking it out. ” Before computer owners had to dig in directories and delete temporary internet files, different cookies, and temp files created when you installed or ran something. It was all done manually. Now, Windows 7 has gotten better about it. You can go into control panels and tell it to clean up your temporary files.
- In Windows 7, go to control panel, then admin tools, and press the free up disk space button. It will scan to find out where it can delete files and then show you how much space you’ll save. Then it will give you the option to delete files or not. “The thing to keep in mind is that it will only clear temporary files in places that windows knows about,†says Cargill. Some applications store their temporary files in the directory that the application runs in.†In those cases, you’ll just need to know that about the application and clean it up yourself manually.
Defrag your hard drive once every couple of weeks. When you are constantly writing moving, creating and deleting files to your hard drive, those files aren’t written or
deleted in one continuously line. One file could be written all over your hard drive. To access one file, the system has to look all over the drive to gather the bits for that file before it will open it up. “The more fragmented your hard drive is, the longer it will take to access files,†says Davis. “By defragging you take all of the little parts of that file and put them together in one location.†Doing this will help the drive load files faster. Some people may not have to do it that frequently. If you are a basic user who accesses email and Microsoft Office and you don’t add a lot of content to your hard disk you may not have to do that. But if you are a power user and you are constantly adding large content to your hard drive, like videos, photos, and games, then you will need to defrag often to keep your system fast and organized.- To defrag your hard drive. Go to “My Computer.†Right click on your local disk. Scroll down to “propertiesâ€. Click on the “Tools†tab and then press the “Defragment Now†button. Be patient it can take a long time depending on how much fragmentation you have and how fast your computer is.
Dust your computer display, keyboard, mouse, and vents. When dust and dirt builds up in your system it can block or slow down your fans, which means your system can overheat. Buy a can of compressed air to blow away dust. Pay particular attention to fans and vents on LCD monitors and around the laser on your mouse. “I maintain the keyboards and mice more than any other part of my computer,†says Davis.
Clean Spills Right Away. If you eat or drink near your computer the first thing to get ruined is the keyboard. If you spill liquid on your lap
top keyboard don’t just let it dry out while you continue to use the computer. Turn off the computer and unplug the power. Give it about two to three days to dry, turn it upside down on a towel. You might ask ‘who has time to wait that long?’ “If you don’t give it time to dry and you turn it on while it is still wet you are not going to have a laptop anymore,†says Davis. “It’s two to three days or no laptop at all. When it is dry you can use it again.â€- If you spill coffee or another drink that has lots of sugar and milk then the keys will get sticky once it dries. If you own a PC you can replace the keyboard or thoroughly clean it your self by taking out all of the keys and cleaning the inside of the keyboard with cotton swabs and alcohol. If it is an Apple computer you will need to send it in to Apple because changing keyboards is much more difficult on a Mac, says Davis.
Don’t worry about shutting down your computer every night. Despite what your friendly neighborhood conservationist might think, Davis says you can leave your computer on 24 hours a day, seven days a week without suffering any consequences. In fact, it is better to leave your computer on power save mode, he opines, because shutting down and powering up a computer sends a large amount of electricity through the power supply, motherboard, CPU, and other components which could damage them. Turning the computer off and on continuously is not good for the device. “Do they shut servers off every night?†Davis asks. “No. Those are network managers running those servers. They know what is good for their hardware. If they don’t shut servers down every night, why do you have to shut your desktop down?” Still, to save money on the electricity bill he suggests that employers advise workers to shut down their computers if a company has more than a couple hundred computers.