Cheap Computer Maintenance Tips

- Part 1 -

Computer maintenance is critical to the smooth running of your computer.

Computers have become such an important part of our day-to-day lives, that we have to take care of them.

You should immediately put a preventative maintenance program in place for your computer.

Preventative maintenance will help to protect your computer from possible breakdowns and extend its life.

Preventative maintenance means that you will perform scheduled maintenance cleaning, checks and updates on your computer to prevent system problems instead of waiting until your computer breaks down.

Unfortunately, computer maintenance is ignored by most computer users. The general practice is to use the computer until it is broken and then it is either repaired or replaced!

Advantages of Computer Maintenance

Listed below are some of the advantages of having a scheduled maintenance program for your computer:

• Data Protection:
  There is a very high risk of possibly losing your data if you do not perform preventative computer maintenance. Without maintenance, your computer is susceptible to breakdowns.

• Saves Time:
  When your computer stops working, you have to either repair it or replace it. You will definitely be losing valuable manhours with whichever of these options you chose.

• Saves Money:
  The cost of repairing or replacing your computer can be costly. Spending a few hours each month performing computer maintenance tasks will be worth it.

• Better Performance:
  Maintenance will help to keep your computer in good working condition.

Computer Maintenance Tools

These are tools that are included with your computer operating system that will help to enhance its performance and extend its life expectancy. Some of these are listed below:

Disk Cleanup, ScanDisk and Disk Defragmenter:
Keeping your computer running at top performance involves having your hard drive in excellent condition. Note Do Not Defragment Solid State Drives (SSDs).

Click here to learn how to keep your Hard Drive running smoothly.

Backup:
It is extremely important to create backup copies of any data on your computer that you cannot afford to lose and this cannot be emphasized enough. You should backup your files on a regular basis. Here are some of the ways that you can lose your important data:

• Hard drive failure.
• Deleting in error.
• Virus infection.
• File system corruption.
• Software failure.

To reduce the possibility of data loss, you should perform regular computer maintenance. Here are some methods that will allow you to perform backups:

• Removable Storage Drives (CD-RW, DVD-RW).
• Tape Drives.
• Additional Internal Hard Drive.
• Removable Hard Drives.
• External USB Drives.
• USB Flash Drives.

I would not recommend using floppy disks (as a method of backing up your data) since they are slow and do not have the capacity for storing large files.

If you are using Windows XP Professional and up to Windows 10, you can learn how to backup and recover your information by using the Backup Utility provided.

Here are some backup tips:

• Keep a set of backup rescue disks for your operating system.
• Keep a backup copy of your original software.
• Backup as quickly as possible after creating a document that you cannot afford to lose!

Computer Maintenance will save you money and time

Empty Your Recycle Bin:
Empty Recycle Bin to free up hard drive space. To Perform:
On your computer's desktop, right click on your 'Recycle Bin' icon, select Empty Recycle Bin. Exit Recycle Bin.

Empty Your Internet Cache:
Whenever you surf the Internet, your computer will store web pages along with images in a temporary Internet cache. This allows you to be able to recall and access information at any time. But, the disadvantage is that it will 'eat' up your hard drive space. You should, therefore, periodically delete this by following the instructions provided in the 'Help' files within the program.

Empty Your Mail Boxes:
The messages that are left in your e-mail boxes will take up needed space. Periodically empty these by following the instructions provided in the 'Help' files within the program.

Uninstall Unused Programs:
Unused programs will clutter your hard drive. Use the Windows 'Uninstall' feature of your O/S.

Install Antivirus Software (with Firewall Protection):
You should ALWAYS keep your virus checker and firewall enabled and updated for complete virus protection. Click here to view my Antivirus Guide

Create an Emergency Boot Disk:
This is a very important computer maintenance procedure. You should create an emergency boot disk as soon as possible after getting your computer. This is a disk that has critical information that you will need if Windows fails to start.

An emergency boot disk will allow you to load your operating system if your hard drive crashes. This will enable you to try to recover the data from your hard drive. Read about Windows 10 Recovery here.

Upate your Windows Operating System:
You should continuously update your Windows Operating System with the latest Windows Security patches. Flaws in the Microsoft Windows Operating System could put your computer at risk to worms and viruses.

Click here to read about Microsoft Update. It scans your computer and provides you with a selection of updates tailored just for you. On the Windows Update web page, click on 'Check for Updates', then follow the instructions.

P.S. You can also access Microsoft's Product Support Services by clicking here.

Purchase a UPS:
UPS means an Uninterruptible Power Supply. A UPS incorporates a surge protector and backup power. In case of a power loss, it will allow your computer to shut down in an orderly way by allowing you to save your work. It will also protect it from low and high voltage, voltage spikes and brownouts. Click here to view my Surge Suppressor and UPS Emergency Backup System Guide.

Computer Maintenance protects your computer from Adware and Spyware

Remove Adware and Spyware:

Adware and spyware are programs that are installed on your computer without your knowledge or permission by individuals so as to keep track of your Internet activities. They then use the information that they collect for advertising and possibly fraudulent activities.

These programs use up your valuable computer resources and, if allowed to continue, might cause your computer to shut down and could even result in your computer behaving in an unusual manner.

There are a number of free anti-malware software that are available. Listed below are some of the best that you can try. Even though these software are free, they can compare favorable with paid versions:

http://www.malwarebytes.org - Malwarebytes is a site dedicated to fighting malware. Malwarebytes has developed a variety of tools that can identify and remove malicious software from your computer. When your computer becomes infected, Malwarebytes can provide the needed assistance to remove the infection and restore the machine back to optimum performance. Click here to download.

http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html - SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition is 100% Free and will detect and remove thousands of Spyware, Adware, Malware, Trojans, KeyLoggers, Dialers, Hi-Jackers, and Worms. SUPERAntiSpyware features many unique and powerful technologies and removes spyware threats that other applications fail to remove. Click here to download.

SpyBot - Search & Destroy - This is free software that searches your hard drive for spyware and adware. It can also detect keyloggers, trojans, browser hijackers, registry irregularities and security leaks. This program's database is continuously updated. Click here and go to their Web site for more information.

Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition - This is software that will scan your hard drive and gives you removal alternatives. The program's database is also continuously upated. We encourage you to visit the Lavasoft Web site by clicking here for more information.

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Click here to go to Part 2 - Other important
Cheap Computer Maintenance Tips.

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Click here to learn how to keep your hard drive running smoothly

Click here to go to Part 1 - Learn how to keep the inside and
outside of your cheap computer clean.

Click here to go to Part 2 - Learn how to keep your
computer peripherals clean.

Click here to learn to build your own cheap computer
using cheap computer parts.

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