Computer Maintenance Guide
Computer Maintenance Guide
Do you get days where you feel like
tearing your hair out, because your Pc will not operate in the manner
which it did when you first bought it.
Believe me you are not alone, this happens to most of us, especially if
your Pc is a few years old and you have not given it the maintenance it
requires. Pcs need to be kept in good condition and from time to time
they have to be given a good clean out.
Most of the steps below are easy to
perform and will work wonders for your Pc. Make sure you perform
each task at least once per month. If your Pc is over a year old and you
have not carried out any kind of maintenance, the process could take
some hours to complete. Don’t worry, once you have carried out these
tasks for the first time, it should take only around half an hour the
next time you maintain your Pc.
Empty Recycle Bin
The first thing to do is empty your recycle bin, this may seem obvious,
but it is surprising how many people let the recycle bin clog up with
unwanted files. When you delete a file, it is stored in the recycle bin
folder, this gives you the chance to restore it later if you wish. Keeping
these files takes up hard disc space, so if you no longer require them,
delete them by simply right clicking on the recycle bin icon on your
desktop and selecting “empty recycle bin” from the drop down menu.
Uninstall Unused Programs
Over a period of time you will have loaded many programs from cd
discs and from the internet. You will most likely have many programs
which you no longer use. These programs are taking valuable hard
disc space and need to be deleted. You need to go through all your
installed programs and delete the ones you no longer require. To do
this go to your start menu, control panel then click on the add / remove
programs icon. You can now delete the programs you don’t use from
the window like this one below :
If you need to delete a program, click on the program name,
( Toshiba Console in this example ) and click on change/ remove.
Disk CleanUp
This feature is included in the Windows system and a disk cleanup
should be performed regularly. To access disk cleanup go to your start
menu, programs, accessories, system tools then select disk cleanup
from the drop down menu. You will be presented with a box like this :
After a short time disk cleanup will have scanned your Pc and
presented you with a box like this :
Make sure you tick the Temporary Internet Files box. Everytime you
view a web page the page is stored in this folder. If you have never
deleted the contents of this folder before, you will have a huge amount
of files saved in there taking up a massive amount of your hard disc
space. Deleting the contents of this folder will work wonders for your
internet surfing, it should be faster. Now let’s do a Defrag.
Defragging The Hard Disc
The reason we need to defragment is because when a program is
stored on the hard drive the fragments of files can get split up. When
you use a program your Pc has to search and find all the fragments
and join the whole lot together, which slows down the speed of your
Pc. Defragmenting finds all these files and puts them in their correct
place, making the program open much faster, putting less strain on
your Pc.
To carry out a defragment, go to your start menu as before, programs,
accessories, system tools and select disk defragment from the drop
down menu. You will be presented with a box like this :
Now click the defragment button and leave it to complete the process.
This can take hours if you have not done it before, doing it every
month will help speed the process up, the amount of time it takes will
depend on the size of your hard drive.
Empty The Prefetch Cache
The prefetch cache is something which is overlooked by most. Trying
to improve the time it takes a program to load, the windows system
guesses which files will be required next; these are loaded into a cache.
This action is known as prefetching. Over a period of time the prefetch
cache can become loaded with files which are no longer used. When
this happens it can slow down windows on start up.
Emptying this cache can help speed your Pc on start up. To do this,
click run in the start up menu and type “Prefetch” in the run box
which appears, click ok.
The result is a window with numerous icons. Paste over the icons and
delete. The cache is now ready to resume its work and will begin to
refill with files and links as required. Doing this will improve the
response of your Pc.
System Registry a quick note
The system registry is where all your windows settings are stored,
these settings change every time you add a program. There are
literally thousands of entries which control your Pc and the way it
behaves. Every time you install or uninstall a program there are small
traces of the program left behind. You are eventually left with entries
which will never be used, unused drivers and maybe spyware and
other malicious programs. All this leads to a slow Pc. I would not
advise tampering with the registry as this is a very complicated area if
you don’t know what you are doing. I would recommend using
Registry cleaning software. One of the better ones is Registry Fix
which includes a free scan and can be downloaded by clicking here.
Another is Error Doctor which is one of the top programs for cleaning
and repairing Pc registries, Error Doctor can be downloaded by
clicking here.
If you are going to use one of the programs above, do this after you
have carried out all the other steps. This will complete the process and
your computer will run in tip top form. I have a tip for you below:
Another Tip
It is always worth adding more memory to your computer. Some
computers really do need an extra boost in the memory department. If
you are running Windows Xp, you will need a minimum of 256mb of
Ram, even this may put a strain on your system if you are running any
kind of graphics or games. Upgrading to a 512mb card will really
speed up the processing power, if you have a laptop you can upgrade
to 1024mb on some models and this makes a huge difference to the
speed of your computer.
I’m a raw beginner with computers, what can I do?
If you are new to computers, or you just don’t understand any of the
technical jargon there is a software package that will do everything for
you. The software is reasonably priced for what it offers. You get full
internet support for the product, their staff will answer any of your
questions very quickly. You can see from the caption below what
features the software offers.
You can download Xp Repair Pro by clicking here
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