How to Maintenance Your Computer System

Most machinery and its hardware like cars and lawnmowers require maintenance to keep them running at their peak performance. Computer systems and their hard drives are no different; they require routine maintenance to prevent and/or correct problems to keep them running at their maximum performance. At minimal Computers 101 recommends that you do the following suggestions to be safe online, to keep files safe and to keep your computer system running at optimal performance.

The following are guidelines to upkeep the performance of your computer system. Please note that these tips are for non-commercial computer systems as business may need more protection and an in-depth disaster recovery plans.


First things, the following are do’s and don’ts and suggestion software to run on a daily basis:
1. Turn Off Computer Properly
Never, turn your computer off with the power switch until Windows has done a complete shutdown. Whenever possible, recover from crashes by pressing the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys at the same time. Then press them again to reboot your computer.
2. UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply)
Purchase a UPS or a battery backup for your computer. This will keep your computer from crashing during power outages; especially if you leave in the Rio Grande Valley where we have a surplus of surges thanking our electrical company for this. A crash of this type may vary from no damage to a complete loss of your hard drive (all your files).
3. Virus Protection
A computer virus or malware is computer program written by a computer programmer with the purpose of interrupting computers by erasing information on their hard drive and causing other problems. Anti-Virus programs that protect computers against viruses, like Norton AntiVirus or McAfee VirusScan, are available at most computer stores. If you have a high speed Internet connection it is imperative that you have a virus protection software like those I mentioned above.
4. Personal Firewall Software
If you have a high speed Internet connection it is imperative that you have a firewall program. Firewall software keeps those who want to gaining access to your system (pictures, website history, important files or etc). You really do not want someone else running your computer. I suggest you purchase Norton's Personal Firewall program. Your firewall should boot up with your computer to protect it from invasion.
5. BACKUP!
Backup, backup, backup, all files you cannot afford to lose to at least two different physical drives. You may backup the data to a CD R, DVD R, Flash Storage, External Hard drive and etc. This will give you an extra copy of your files in case your hard drive is damaged. Next store these medias in a fireproof location or a different location from the computer system in case of an accident. Backup as often as possible; do not wait until tomorrow.

Finally, for the average user, our Course of Action suggestions are to be performed every 2-3 months.
1. Uninstall unused programs
Remove and uninstall programs that you do not use. These programs clutter up your drive and take up valuable space. And I do not mean deleting the shortcut on your desktop; you must use the uninstall function of Windows for the program to be removed safely and completely.
2. Clean out temporary files
While you are running programs, your computer will write information that it does not immediately need into temporary files. Installation files will also expand themselves into the temporary folder. You can delete these temporary files safely by using the Disk Cleanup option in your System Tools
3. Repair a Hard Drive
Over time, hard drives can become damaged, effecting their performance. Fortunately most of the hard drive damage is caused by normal wear and tear and is not serious. You can diagnose and correct most hard drive problems with a hard drive repair program. Microsoft Windows comes with a built-in hard drive repair program.
4. Empty your recycle bin
Once you've emptied your drive of cluttering, unnecessary programs; empty your recycle bin to remove what has been placed there in the process
5. Scandisk/Defragmentation
Run Scandisk and Defragment at least every three months. This will keep your hard drive optimal and prevent crashes. If possible purchase Norton Utilities and use it to keep your hard drive healthy as well. Over time, a hard drive can become fragmented, and instead of storing a file in the same location it begins storing parts of it all over. When the computer needs to read a fragmented file, it must read several different parts of the hard drive instead of just one. Hence taking longer to locate and process files.

The following are great links that have additional tips for maintaining your systems.
Microsoft link to “Maintain your system with Windows XP”


PC World link to “Hardware Tips: Complete PC Preventive Maintenance Guide"