Computer Maintenance For Beginners
Computers slow down over time. They get bloated, infected and mistreated for years without any love.
PC shops/technicians make a bundle off of these sorts of problems. You take your laptop into ‘the shop’ and you get it back in a few days and $150 later it seems to be running faster. That’s great, and there will always be a place for that kind of service, but if you’re a little more conscious about your cash flow there are some basic steps you can take to keep your computer happy without costing you a cent.
There are 4 basic keys to keeping your PC (Using Windows) healthy and happy. Anyone can do this, even your mum – and it’s completely free.
1. Make sure you have at least 20% free space on your hard drive.
– You can go to ‘My Computer’ and click on your hard drive to see the amount of free space (or right click on the hard drive and go to ‘Properties’). If you have less than 10GB of free space you’re most likely in trouble. Clear some stuff off of your hard drive. If you have more than 1 hard drive then we’re talking about the system drive, normally called something like “Local Disk (C:)’.
2. Install an anti-virus program and have it run regularly (I recommend AVG)
– You can download AVG here (you want the FREE version)
AVG is a fantastic anti-viral program and doesn’t cost you a cent. It’s also competitive with all the top end (and very pricy) alternatives like Nortons and McAfee Anti-Virus. AVG will update its virus definition files automatically (just say yes if it wants to update something, it can’t be bad – the same goes for Ad-Aware.)
Note: you only ever want 1 anti-virus program on your computer. If you have more than 1 you’re going to get yourself into trouble. They don’t play well with each other!
3. Install an anti-malware/spyware program and have it run regularly (I recommend Ad-Aware)
– You can download Ad-Aware here (again you want the FREE version)
4. ‘Defrag’ your hard drive regularly.
– This is a big one. No one does this and it’s your PC technicians secret weapon for speeding up computers.
Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter
When it starts up click on the defragment button. A defrag will take a long time (hours normally) and it works best if you’re not using your computer while it works. Setting up a defrag first thing in the morning or at night is a good option.
If you’re using Windows Vista the provided defragmenter sort of sucks. It works fine but it’s slow and gives you no visual feedback. If you’re keen you can grab a program called Defraggler here which is much better. (Most people just use the standard Vista defragger, and thats fine.)
That’s it! That’s the majority of what your PC guy is doing when he takes your computer off your hands to speed it up. You can also sleep easy knowing you now have full virus and spyware protection.
Here is a schedule for a good PC owner (this is what I do):
– Defrag your hard drive once a month.
– Make sure your hard drive doesnt get too full. (remember, try and stick to 20% free space)
– Run a full virus scan using AVG once a week. (you can schedule this using AVG so that it starts automatically)
– Run a full scan using Ad-Aware once a week. (again, you can schedule this)
Darkside makes webpages, but I personally offer free technical support to individuals and businesses. Feel free to flick me an email if you run into trouble. ([email protected])