Routine Computer Maintenance
Routine computer maintenance is a vital
step in keeping your system running smoothly and efficiently, however quite
often ignored. Lack of routine maintenance can cause any or all of the
following problems:
- System lockups
- Computer does not shut down
- Freezing of displays or mouse
- Slow or no access to internet
Lack of proper maintenance will make seem
like you have a problem with your computer hardware, but this may NOT be the
case at all. So if you think you may have a computer
issue, it may just be a matter of poor maintenance. Here are a few things that you should be doing on a regular basis (put a
reminder in your Outlook or calendar). Print this out for your
convenience. Before you Begin:
Make certain that all programs, especially anti virus software
(Nortons, AVG etc) are closed. Look
at the bottom on your task bar (down by the clock). If you see
any boxes down there....something is still open. Disregard the small icons just
to the right of the Start...these are "Quicklaunch" shortcuts
and they are not really running. Any icons by the clock ARE
running. You can right click on them and close. The speaker is ok to leave.
 Disable
your screensaver temporarily, you can change it back once you have completed
your maintenance.
- Windows 7: Right click on your
desktop and then Personalize. See screensaver on bottom right of
that window. Change to none.
- Windows XP: Right click on your desktop and click on
Properties.
You will see a Screensaver tab. Select it and change your current screensaver to
none.
For best
results do not attempt to use the computer in any way while you are doing
routine maintenance.
If after
you have done all of your maintenance and you
are still having computer issues, visit our
Online Support Center for additional
information.
What is does: Checks for
damaged areas on your hard drive.
How Often: At least every 2
weeks if you are a moderate computer user.
How:
 Open
Computer from start menu (WIn7) or My Computer
from desktop (WinXP) and RIGHT Click on the drive letter (if you have more than
one hard drive...do one at a time)
 Choose
Properties/Tools ...and click Check Now
 Make sure to check "Automatically fix errors"
and "Scan for and attempt....."
 Click
Start
| Defragmenting
your Hard Drive(s): |
What is
does: When using your computer
data become fragmented, or scattered on all over the hard drive. Defrag organizes
and consolidates the data on the drive so it is stored more inefficiently
allowing your system to run much cleaner and faster.
How Often: At least every week
How:
Open
Computer from start menu (WIn7) or
My Computer from desktop (WinXP) and RIGHT Click on the drive letter (if you have more than
one hard drive...do one at a time)
Choose
Properties/Tools ...and click Defragment Now
Follow
the prompts, note that it may take a while go make yourself a sandwich.
| Temporary Internet Files: |
What is does:
Every time you visit a website your browser stores the location of that
URL
temporarily in a "cookie". This is sort of like saving it in memory. Have you noticed that once you
visit a site, and then click on the BACK button how fast that page pops
right up? You did not have to wait for it to download all over again because a
copy was retained in browser history. Well, after a while you accumulate sometimes
thousands of these temp files and it is a good idea to purge regularly.
Something else that is stored is Form Data, usernames and passwords etc.
How Often: Once a week
for active Internet users. Once every 2 weeks for intermediate users. Once every
month for occasional users.
How:
(Win7
& WinXP) Open Internet Explorer
(the blue "e" icon) and click on the TOOLS menu at the top. If it is
not showing at the top look to the right of the screen for a drop down
called Tools/Toolbars/Menu Bar. This will turn on your menubar at the
top. Ok, click on Internet Options from the Tools menu and the window
that will appear will look something like this (Win7):
Under
the Browsing History (Win7) or Temporary Internet Files section
in (WinXP), click on Delete.
Don't worry these are only temporary or junk files which can be safely deleted,
this has nothing to do with any data.
Note above that you also have a Settings button. This allows you
to specify how much of your hard
drive space is used for temp files. This determines how much hard drive space
you would like to allocate for temp files. Unless you are a heavy graphics user or gamer you can set this to
300mb or less. If you find that it is not enough you can always set it higher.
See
the (Win7) screenshot below. You will have
several choices here, generally you want to click all of them to purge all
cookies and temp files.
If you choose to clear Form Data, Passwords etc this just means
will have to re-enter your login information the next time you visit a site
requiring a login, no big deal. This is a good practice anyway for security
reasons. Storing passwords and logins are what hackers live for. Don't ever
make it easy on them.
Click
Delete (Win7), or
OK (WinXP) after making your choices.
What is does:
When you delete something on your computer it is not actually removed
from your computer until the Recycle Bin is emptied!. It accumulates and takes up valuable hard drive space.
How Often: At least every 2
weeks
How:
On
your desktop you will see the Recycle Bin
Right click on it and choose Empty Recycle Bin
You can set the properties of your recycle bin see screenshot below
(Win7). Also note that the Recylcle Bin is
shared by ALL drives. You can allocate how much is used by each drive, OR
you can choose to not use Recylcle Bin at all so when you delete something
it really is GONE as soon as you hit delete. Warning here though sometimes
the Recylcle Bin comes in handy if you delete something by mistake allowing
you to bring it BACK from the dead.Just double left click on the Recycle Bin
and it will show you all the things that you have deleted. To UN delete it,
RIGHT click on the item and choose RESTORE. It will put it back in
the original location form where it was deleted.
| Keep Antivirus
& Spyware Updates |
What is does:
Antivirus / antispyware programs are absolutely useless unless the
definitions that are used by the program, are kept up to date. The
definitions are the database of acknowledged viruses and there are new ones
every day.
Fortunately, the newer anti virus programs update
automatically anytime you are connected to the Internet. If you have an older
anti virus program that has not been updated for a while, you are NOT
PROTECTED. Do something about it today.
If your program is not up to date,
you will NOT get any warnings that you are infected! Do NOT think you are
all set, you are exposed. Think about it.. If you do not have an updated
virus program to warn you about it, that just means that you don't know
about it, but you could have a virus. This is a commons false sense of
security. If you had no anti virus program at all for example, of course you
would never get a notice that you are infected. When in fact you could be
badly infected but you have no warning system in place to notify you about
it.
How Often: Daily.
How:
Take
inventory of what program you have currently installed. If you have none,
stop right here, go to BestBuy or similar store and buy a name brand anti
virus program such as Norton's right now. If you have every been infected by
a virus you would know that it is not a fun position to be in and ALL of
your data is at risk.
Once
you have the antivirus program installed that is really all there is to it.
You just have to keep it updated (yearly subscription, cheap just do it) and
confirm the date of when it was last UPDATED. This is automatic when you
first install it but you should spot check this regularly.
Which program should you choose?
This is a popular question but a personal choice. If you stay with the well
known names like Norton's, Microsoft, AVG etc you can never go wrong. Also
there may be different versions of each one for example, antivirus only, or
a full internet security suite (antivirus and firewall).
Misconception about Antivirus programs:
They will make my computer slow...WRONG. It is not the antivirus program
that slows down your computer it is the firewall software that does it.
If you have high speed internet you have a hardware firewall built into your
router. That said you do not need a software firewall (internet security
suite mentioned above) on top of that. THIS is where people go wrong. They
have too much firewall protection and they fight each other, this is what
slows down your internet NOT the antivirus portion of the program.
Also, Windows has a firewall built in as well. If that is also turned on you
would have 3 firewalls on at the same time, hence the problem.
Bottom line: Get an antivirus
program ONLY not one with the internet firewall included like Nortons 360
etc. If you already have N360 you can turn OFF the firewall portion of you
choose and leave the antivirus only.
To Pay or Not to Pay, that is the
question: With Nortons and the like, you will pay yearly for updates
but a very reliable program and worth every penny of the $39 or whatever a
year for that security. As of 2011 you now have an option by Microsoft
called
Microsoft Security Essentials. It includes antivirus and spyware
protection, automatic updates and by the way...its FREE. A beautiful
thing.
What is does:
In a Windows environment if you do not keep your operating system up to date you are asking for trouble. Microsoft
releases Windows updates and security patches regularly. You will not be notified when an update is due
unless your computer is set for Automatic Updates in Windows (see
Change Settings option in image below on left side). During the process of
doing Windows updates, Microsoft scans your computer and looks for any updates to
the operating system, drivers for devices you have installed etc and install for
you. It is important to keep these things up to
date to avoid system crashes, viruses vulnerabilities, or incompatibility issues.
How Often: At least every 2
weeks
How:
Go
to Microsoft's Update page.
In Windows 7 you may see a windows like this if your computer needs updating.
Click
on Check for Updates. Microsoft
will check your system to see which updates you need, download them and install
them Just follow prompts.
Note that if you are using a
Multiple
Display QuadStation system you do NOT want to update any video card
drivers during this process. Also as of this writing (10.2.11) Internet
Explorer v9 is still a bit problematic, stay with version 8 for now.
Verion 8 is what currently comes with Windows 7.
| Shutting Down Your Computer
Regularly: |
What is does:
Contrary to what you may have heard it is VERY important to shut down
your computer regularly. Why? When using your computer, with
every key stroke you are generating another form of unnecessary temporary files,
called TMP and CHK files among others. The ONLY time these files are
purged out of your system automatically, is DURING the Shut Down process. If you never shut
down this process does not take place and your computer becomes a storage unit
for thousands of temp files which slow your system down.
Another reason for
shutting down is pure logic. Think about the wear and tear on your machine. Would
you leave your car running for days or weeks at a time without shutting it down?
Probably not. Get into the habit of shutting your computer down every few days
before you know it it will be your new routine. It has the chance to purge temporary files and it will
make your system last much longer!
How Often: Every few days at least.
How:
If we have to tell you how to do this you are in
trouble...give us a call!
In Windows you have a utility called the Task Scheduler which can
come in handy for scheduling routine maintenance on a regular basis. Click on Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Task
scheduler. It will automate most of the above processes based on a schedule that you set.
Give it a try, it is very easy to do.
If you have any questions about routine
maintenance gives us a call we will be happy to talk to you about it.
800.346.0732
Need a Multiple
Display Computer? Click on the image below to see all of our QuadStation
Systems below:
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