PC Maintenance and Improving Performance

PC Maintenance and Improving Performance

by:
Shawn Shellenbarger

Once you bring your personal computer home from the store or receive
it in the mail there is no one around to offer basic personal
computer maintenance tips for cleaning up and improving performance
of your computer. Maintenance and cleaning up of your PC should
be part of a regular routine to ensure that you don't have any
long-term problems with the computer. Unfortunately most basic
computer users may not understand the mechanics of a computer
or may feel intimidated with the maintenance. There are really
simple steps anyone can take to ensure that your computer will
continue working at the level it did when you first pulled it
out of the box.
One of the first files to become acquainted with on your computer
is the System Tools, located under the Start Menu, then Programs,
and Accessories. The System Tools houses basic maintenance tools
like Disk Defragmenter, Disk Cleanup, Backup, Scheduled Tasks,
and System Information and ScanDisk on some Microsoft Windows
computers. Strange that these files are located in Accessories
because they really are the key to keeping your system running
correctly and helping to improve performance as the computer ages.

On a regular basis you want to go to My Computer and then right
click on the Local Disk (C Drive) and open up the Properties.
This allows you to see how much space you are using and how much
you have left to use on your computer. Under Tools in this area
you can usually perform a scan of the disk. If you cannot run
a disk scan from here, your Microsoft should have a disk scan
available under the System Tools. It is important to run this
disk scan to determine if there are any errors or problems running
on your computer and the disk scan will repair those potential
problems. Some experts recommend doing a thorough disk scan the
first time and then a basic disk scan up to once a week to keep
your computer performing at top conditions.

After this it is important to regularly perform a disk cleanup,
which is located either under Properties under the C Drive, or
under System Tools. Be aware that both the disk scan and the disk
cleanup can take quite a bit of time and it is best to before
these maintenance tools when you will not be using the computer.
Set a routine with yourself like performing the disk clean up
and disk scan on Saturday night while you are watching movies
with your family. After a disk cleanup, it also helps to regularly
perform a disk defragmentation. A computer hard drive will begin
to fragment over time, which means that programs that once worked
in conjunction have become separated over time and may not be
in the proper place to work well on your computer. This can slow
down processes or make using certain programs difficult. Using
the disk defragmenter can pull together those pieces again and
return things to working order.

Basic maintenance routines that will ensure your computer runs
at peak performance start with simply getting rid of files you
do not use. If you have old word documents, software programs
you have not used in a long time, or pictures and music you are
not using, delete them from your computer. Remember that once
you delete them, they do not automatically disappear, but instead
go to the recycle bin and it is just as important to empty the
recycle bin as it is to delete old files.

Old internet files can also cause your computer to slow down.
Often with a Disk Cleanup there will be an opportunity for you
to get rid of temporary internet files, but you can also get rid
of them on your own by going to your Temporary Internet files
in Microsoft Explorer. Click on Tools then Internet Options, General
Tab, Temporary Internet Files, and Delete Files. As well, take
time to clean out any other temporary files you may have acquired,
like downloads from the internet. Depending on the model of your
computer, the temporary files could be in different locations,
but most often when you go to Disk Cleanup and scan there will
be an option to get rid of temporary files as well.

One of the other helpful and easy ways to maintain your computer's
performance is to always run your protection programs, use a personal
firewall when accessing the computer, and always install software
updates available for Microsoft and protection programs. Keeping
up on regular maintenance and setting a routine for updates on
the computer will ensure that your computer performs the way it
was intended to when you first brought it home.

About the author:
Shawn Shellenbarger
Maximum Software
http://www.PCPowerSuite.com

http://www.SpywareSnooper.com

http://www.PCBugDoctor.com


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