Computers have become a basic necessity. People use them all day, every day – for work, education or leisure. Despite the high quality of service that a computer can offer, it can also get really messed up. Is your computer in tip-top shape right now? Computers also need proper maintenance and sometimes, repairs. Like people, computers also need to relax once in a while to continue producing good results. An owner cannot expect his computer to work properly if she has not checked or cleaned the hardware and software. Unfortunately, computers cannot perform the maintenance all by themselves. The owners who use them would have to do that job.
One should also consider how often the computer is cleaned. Doing it daily, weekly, or monthly would be too tiring and redundant. Most computer experts suggest that cleaning is best done quarterly, when there is just the right amount of "stuff" to clean, but also not too much. Also, cleaning on a quarterly basis gives the owner something to look forward to every three to four months. It can actually be a fun and rewarding experience, to have a computer working well!
There are many ways in which one can clean a computer. Anyone can do it, so here are a few key points and handful pointers for your quarterly computer maintenance checklist.
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Check Your Software. As with any kind of cleaning, you always have to start from the inside out. First you must work with the software of the computer. This will only require some clicking, deciding, and a lot of presence of mind.
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Backup Your Files. Of course, before doing any major overhaul to the computer, one must make sure that all the important files are backed up. You will never know when you might press a wrong key, click a wrong button, or remove an important piece. It is always best to make sure that all files are safely copied onto a flash drive or hard drive.
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Run a Virus Check on Your Drives. Also, it would be wise to check if your computer and backup drives are clear of viruses. It is also highly suggested to follow your backup plan before doing any maintenance. After all, it is always better to be safe than sorry.
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Sort Your Files. After making sure that you already have a backup, you may now sort the files by deleting the useless ones which have just been taking up space. Make sure to think twice before deleting files. Once you are one hundred and one percent sure that the files you have deleted would be of no further use, you may now clear out the recycle bin or trash can. There is no use in deleting files if they would all be stored in the recycle bin and still occupy space in the computer. One quick tip is you can use the search bar to find all files greater than 10MB. Files that are really large should be considered on the delete list. You should not delete files in your WINDOWS directory, but files in any TEMP or TMP directories are candidates for deletion.
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Organize Your Files. If you want to feel extra neat after deleting, organize the files left. Most people just save everything in the Documents folder until it gets out of hand. Or worse on your desktop where files are really hard to find and organize. Arrange your files in folders and label them properly. This way, you will have an easier time locating files and working with them. Now, you can organize the programs installed in the computer. Uninstall those that you do not even recognize and update the ones that you think are important. Let go of the old to give way for the new.
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Run a Complete Virus Scan. Just to make sure, you could also do a complete virus scan. The computer could have acquired different types of viruses, some you may not even know of. This will give your computer a cleaner internal system which would surely be ready for a fresh start. Malware and viruses can slow your computer down tremendously so use good up-to-date anti-virus software.
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Clean Your PC. An equally important part of the quarterly computer maintenance checklist is the hardware of the computer. Use cans ofcompressed air that you can get at your local office supply store to clear out vents, especially around fans. On laptops these vents, if not clear, can actually cause your laptop to overheat and shutdown. Give these vents a few sprays and watch the dust bunnies fly! It's hard to break anything with compressed air. You will be surprised how dusty and grimy it can get, especially if you have pets.
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Clean Your Peripherals. It is quite easy to dust off the keyboard, the screen, the outside of the CPU etc. The challenge is cleaning the inside. If you think you have a heavy hand or are prone to innocently breaking small objects, it is best to seek assistance from a professional. However, if you are confident enough to do it yourself, then just make sure to be really careful but also tough on the dust. Either way, clearing the dust is very important because the accumulated dust may cause hardware malfunctions and even complete breakdowns. The compressed air is really handy here.
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Consider Switching to Cloud Apps. Cloud applications offer several advantages: no software to download or install. These apps are developed and updated regularly. You can switch many of your software solutions to the cloud. Personal email is one we highly recommend to consider: Switch Outlook to Google's Gmail or Microsoft's Outlook.com. Apps for email marketing, accounting, invoicing, word processing, document storage and for virtually every other office need are available. By keeping your data on the cloud, you can protect them from virus and malware attacks and of course have an automatic backup.
Anyone can make their own version of the quarterly computer maintenance checklist – these are just the basics. What matters most is that the computer is clean, well taken care of, and ready for more fun and productivity.
