Computer Maintenance Tips

A confused computer

Basic Computer Maintenance Tips

This tutorial will review a few of the important tips for keeping your computer and workstation up to speed.

Defrag your computer
When you save a file, your computer sometimes stores different parts of it in different areas of your hard drive depending on where it finds room. This can slow down the opening of your files because the computer is trying to locate different parts of the drive to reassemble it. Also fragmented files can cause additional wear and tear on your computer because the disk drive arm that reads and writes information on the drive moves more often.

The rule of thumb for DISK DEFRAGMENTER is to run it at least once a month. Here's how: Click on Start button, select Programs>Accessories>System Tools>DISK DEFRAGMENTER. You will be prompted to use the drop-down list to select one or all of your hard drives. Click OK to start and once the process starts you can click>Show Details to get a cluster-by-cluster view of the program's progress. Or you can minimize the window and do something else. If you write to the hard drive it will start over in the background without bothering you. NOTE: If you have Win98 and the DISK DEFRAGMENTER finds an error on your disk it will not run the defragmenting program, you must first run SCANDISK to repair the problem and then run DISK DEFRAGMENTER again. This is not the case for Win2000 and newer operating systems.

The Windows Operating System creates a mass of temporary files and cached files, to speed up the performance of your computer. They do a good job but there are usually too many of them so they can clutter up your hard drive. When you run it, DISK CLEANUP checks for only files that can be safely deleted.

Click on the Start button, select Program>Accessories>System Tools>DISK CLEANUP. The program will first run a check on the hard drive and then open a window so you can choose your options. (Win98)

If you are not sure you will remember to do all of this and/or if you would like to have the computer schedule your maintenance, try the Maintenance Wizard.

Click on Start Button, select Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Maintenance Wizard. Select Express Setup and Click Next. Choose one of the daily time slots for tune-ups. Click on Next and the Wizard lists the 3 tasks to be performed.

Have you ever found your mouse cursor "sticking" or behaving in a jerky, unpredictable manner? Time for a cleaning! Do this when your computer is off. Turn your mouse over on its back. You should see a circular plastic piece surrounding a rubber ball in the bottom. Turn the plastic piece (usually clockwise) and take it out.

Remove the ball. Put it someplace where it won't pick up extra dirt. The ball tends to stay clean even when everything else is dirty, but double-check. Remove hair, dust or lint by lightly pressing office tape to it and quickly pulling the tape off.

The challenge is inside your mouse. You'll probably see dark marks on the center of each roller. Very gently scrape the dirt off with tweezers or a similar object. Take care not to damage the fine wires surrounding the rollers.

When done, simply replace the ball and slide the plastic piece back into place. Before testing your mouse, make sure that your mouse pad is clean and on a flat surface. Your pointer should now be "good to go"!

We should all have installed on our workstations at school a program called Norton's Antivirus edition. In the right bottom corner of your computer is an icon that looks like a yellow shield. At least every other week you should open it up and run the "Live Update" and scan your c drive. If we are warned by the Tech staff of a recent virus strain on the rampage, run it immediately. Always remember to be careful when opening attachments. Be sure they are from a legitimate source, the virus can be tricky.

At home it may be different, but everyone should have an anti-virus software. There are many to choose from, the most common programs are Norton's and McAffee, both can purchased online and renewed on a yearly basis. The nice thing about online live update, you are prompted when updates have been downloaded or if there is a particular virus to be on alert for. Many anti-virus programs offer free updates, but some will charge you a slight fee for the updates. Also, if you have an older version of an anti-virus program, you may have to pay to upgrade to a more current version in order to be fully protected from the many new viruses that appear every day. Consider the investment that you make in anti-virus software as an insurance expense.

When you get a message at school to update your Virus definition, it simply means it will update your system with the latest solutions to remove new viruses. Go to your Norton's Anti-virus protector, the yellow shield icon, click on it, the program will open and click on "Live Updates."