Basic Computer Maintenance Tips
Computer hard drives gather an amazing amount of data during use, and it's a good idea to maintain and delete certain data. Failure to do so can lead to decreased processing speed and delays in opening programs or loading large files. Following are some tips on how to maintain your Windows-based machine. Note: Take caution when following the steps below - do not uninstall necessary system files. Most programs with the label Microsoft and Windows are necessary and should not be removed. Program Choices: By visiting Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs, you can view all of the programs on your computer. Delete any programs you no longer use. If you have multiple programs that perform the same task, identify one program you like and uninstall others. For instance, if you have four or five different programs used to play DVDs, uninstall the ones you don't like as much as the primary. Using one program for each task greatly reduces wasted space on your hard drive. When making a new PC purchase, there are programs pre-loaded that you may never use. Identify these programs and uninstall them before loading any other data onto your new machine. Background Programs: There are always programs running in the background, meaning there will not be a window showing you that the program is open. They may have a Taskbar Icon associated with them, on the bottom right corner of the screen. Ensure you have as few programs as possible running in the background. One method to reduce this number is by going to Start > Run. Type in "msconfig" and a screen will pop up showing you a few tabs. Check the "selective startup" option in the General tab, then go to the Startup tab. There will be a list of tasks with checkboxes next to the ones that are set to run on startup or restart. Be very careful which programs you uncheck in this list, but uncheck obvious choices, such as "QuickTime," "iTunes," "AIM," etc. Then learn more about what's okay and not okay to uncheck by researching online. This reduces initial load time when starting up and keeps the machine running more smoothly. Toolbars and Program Access: Many companies advise you to install toolbars and other unnecessary items on your machine. Yahoo! and Google are two examples. There is rarely a need to have these programs open every single time you open a web browser, let alone running constantly, so it's adviseable to disable or uninstall them. In Internet Explorer, right-click in one of the gray areas near the toolbars, and go to "Customize." Sometimes the third-party toolbars will be listed right there for you to uncheck; sometimes it takes another visit to the Add/Remove Programs menu in order to fully uninstall these items. This is a matter of sacrificing performance for very minimal added convenience. The Add/Remove Programs menu and msconfig option are related; maintaining both lists allow for more control over what is on your machine and when it is allowed to run. Data Maintenance: Equally important to Program maintenance is Data maintenance. Windows does not store data very efficiently; as such, using the Defragmenter option every month ensures data is efficiently distributed on your hard drive and therefore more accessible. Use the following path: Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter. Allow this process to run uninterrupted until it is finished. The proper storage of data is also important. If you use, download, and/or move large amounts of data regularly, invest in a backup hard drive to store your data. You can even choose to use a secondary hard drive as your main data source, with your C: drive used merely as a place to park your operating system and programs. This additional data drive can be external or internal, but internal is cheaper, and faster in terms of data transfer, while only requiring a few minutes to install. Note that laptops are more complicated to open and modify, so the best option here is an external drive. Finally, knowing which data to delete on a regular basis is helpful in keeping unnecessary data off your machine. Internet Explorer has several methods of dealing with temporary files downloaded from the internet. To delete them, use the Tools menu, go to Internet Options, and stay in the General tab. In IE version 6, there will be a few buttons to use here; "Delete Cookies," "Delete Files," and "Clear History." In IE version 7, there is one button to "Delete All." There are similar options on Mozilla and other web browsers. Unfortunately, there are even more places where small bits of data are stored. The paths to some of these locations are as follows (for IE): C:\Temp C:\TMP C:\Documents and Settings\[your user name here]\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\ C:\Documents and Settings\[your user name here]\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5 Under the Content.IE5 folder, there will be several subfolders. On a regular basis, delete all of the data in these folders. Certainly feel free to research for even more locations you can use to clean out unnecessary data. Additional Tips: - Most are familiar with the Windows Recycle Bin. Deleted files are kept here, so ensure the Recycle Bin is cleaned out regularly by right-clicking and deleting.
- Be sure to avoid password management programs. While convenient, these also run in the background, using valuable RAM and possibly slowing other applications. Most individuals manage their user accounts with only a few passwords. A password-protected Excel or Word file with which to store your important passwords is adviseable.
- Browse smartly by staying away from sites that may drop unwanted spyware onto your system. Use "HijackThis" (found online) or an AntiVirus program such as AVG for preventive maintenance. Norton's is best avoided as it has become far too bulky an application.
- Most desktops are built in a modular design, meaning one can buy PCI cards, hard drives, CD and DVD-ROM drives at a variety of vendors, and install them very easily. Tips on particular types of hardware can easily be found online (such as jumper settings for hard drives). Take advantage of this modular design by upgrading components of your system with high-quality parts. This includes hard drives; it's never a bad idea to get a new one if you feel you've outgrown the one you have or if it is more than five years old.
Written by Frank U.
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