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Maintenance of your computer, very
much like you car, is vital to it's longevity and how well it
performs. Also, much like your automobile, it can be a dramatic
exercise in frustration.
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I encourage you to have a local expert handy but there are
several steps that the average user can do to help keep a
computer working correctly:
Virus protection. If you connect to the Internet,
it is vital that you have a good virus program installed and
activated. You don't even have to pay for it if you are a home
user. An excellent virus vendor that offers a free version of
its program is Grisoft.com.
Click on the “free downloads” link. You'll have to
fill out a simple form. They do not spam you. I use this program
on my computers at home. It is essential with whatever brand you
choose that the program updates its virus definitions regularly.
Hard drive defragmentation. Your hard drive is the
storage device for files in your computer. They are stored in
chunks as space if found. As files get modified or deleted,
holes are created which are then filled with chunks from new
files. Over time, files get more and more fragmented. The end
result is that it takes longer and longer for your computer to
find all the pieces of files and everything begins to slow down.
Applications can start having problems and you may face lockups,
forcing reboots. To Defragment your hard drive(s) follow this
procedure: START>(ALL) PROGRAMS>ACCESSORIES>SYSTEM
TOOLS>DISK DEGRAGMENTER. This will bring up a window where
you can select the drive that you wish to defrag. Once selected,
you can click on ANALYZE and Windows will do its thing checking
the drive for you. A little note will appear telling you whether
or not you should do a disk defragment. If it recommends doing
so, then click on DEFRAGMENT. If it says that you're o.k., then
click on CLOSE. This procedure should be performed monthly,
weekly, or daily depending on how hard you work your computer.
There are some outstanding disk defragmenters on the market
which can be set to constantly defrag your PC so you never have
to think about it again. I use and recommend Diskkeeper.
A free version is available but it must be run manually.
Dust. Perhaps some areas of the world don't have a
lot of dust but here in southern California the inside of
computers gather dust which needs to be removed every so often.
The case must be opened and the dust blown out with pure
compressed air. Focus especially on removing the dust from the
fans and metal connectors. Cans of air are available at most
places where computer parts are sold., There are at least two
fans in your computer, one for the power supply and one for the
CPU. Dust builds up on the blades of the fans and on the
connectors between devices. If either of your fans stops
working, your computer may become fried, literally.
CD-ROMs, DVD players, and floppy drives also get dirty and must
be cleaned. CDs can be ruined by a dirty CD-ROM. Cleaners for
these are also available at most computer stores.
Spyware. Software, usually free, that poses as a
helpful program or even “ad-ware” but actually
installs files on your computer that watch and report your
surfiing and buying patterns to advertising providers is called
spyware. These programs are illegal or barely legal and can slow
your computer down, create lockups, and violate your privacy.
Cleaning tham off your computer is a complicated and serious
procedure. There are some cleaners that help but none of them
catches all of the offenders. One with a good track record is
Ad-aware.
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