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Simple tips to keep your computer running at peak performance and avoid unnecessary repairs. A word from that legal guy - PuterVill provides all information contained here as a service and can not be held responsible for any action taken on the part of any individual that may result in damage to any person or equipment. In plain words if you do not feel competent to follow any procedure get help from a qualified technician.
Dust build up is the number one cause of computer malfunction. Before any cleaning or work is performed make sure your computer is shut down and unplugged. On a desktop model you can generally see the main fan, use a clean soft brush (paint brush or the dust brush that came with your dust pan works great) to remove dust from this area and any vents regularly. Do the same with a laptop, it is also wise to use the brush on the keyboard of a laptop as well. Air vents are very important on any electronic equipment, you may want to dust them all regularly. Never use an electric vacuum cleaner on your computer or most electronic equipment.
Be careful of canned air. Canned air is great to clean electronics when sprayed from the inside out. So many people grab the can and spray it directly on the air vents, this simply forces the dirt to the inside where it can cause overheating of components and even the death of your equipment. Always read directions and turn off any equipment before using canned air or doing any other cleaning.
If you are going to connect your computer to the Internet: Make sure you have a good anti virus program installed, updated and running. We have all used "AVG" (close new window to return) by "Grisoft" for years - it is easy and free - it is also one of the best available in my opinion and even scans all of your email at "OutLook Express" outgoing as well as incoming.
You should also install and use a spy ware detection program, "Ad-Aware" (close new window to return) by "LavaSoft" is another old friend here at PuterVill, it is also easy to use. Spyware is often totally harmless, for example our web site counters use tracking software to give us demographic reports that allows us to better serve our web visitors - there is no personal information contained in these reports we are told what search engine or link you used to find us or the words used to search for us. There is some Spyware that is used to bowl you over with advertisements both in the form of Internet pop-up windows and unsolicited email commonly called Spam. These can be a real nuisance but for the most part they will not do any real damage. There is some spyware that can invade your privacy, even do harm to your computer and some of the more sophisticated ones can steel your bandwidth and slow down your Internet speed. By running Adaware every time you use the Internet you do not have to try and figure out what is good or bad, just get rid of it all and don't worry.
You may want to consider a "Fire Wall" as well - if you use "Windows XP" and use "Windows Updates" (close new window to return) Which I strongly advise everyone to do no matter which operating system you use since "Windows Me". In addition your computer manufacturer quite possibly provides free updates which you should take advantage of! "Windows XP" "Service Pack 2" contains a free and excellent fire wall - that is again easy to use. You would not go out in below zero weather without a coat - don't expose your computer or it's users to viruses or spy ware that at the very least can send your computer to it's knees and quite possibly kill your hard drive.
Be aware every time you open a page on the Internet it is downloaded to your computer.
Be very careful downloading anything off of the Internet. If you do want to download some additional programing:
- If you are using "Windows Me - XP" open "System Restore" "Create a restore point". If something should go wrong it is easy enough to go back to "System Restore" and return your computer to it's original configuration.
- It is advisable to create a "New Folder" for each download.
- Before you install or unzip any downloaded file or program run a virus scan on it.
One more thing before we move on. Two anti virus programs does not mean twice the protection, rather it can mean a fight to the death in your computers programming. If you decide to change anti virus software make sure to remove your old anti virus programming first using the "Add or Remove Programs" function in "Windows" "Control Panel".
Never position your computer near other appliances that have an electric motor. We all know that magnets can harm computers, they are often used to erase the full content of a hard drive. Did you know that electric motors use magnets to run? Hair Dryers, fans, refrigerators, freezers, that little electric pencil sharpener and furnaces or air conditioners all have electric motors, lots of household appliances do. Position your computer and monitor at least three feet from any appliance the further the better. The magnetic flux varies as to motor type and age so be aware. If your computer starts acting up, freezing up, strange errors, don't assume anything, check to see how close your computer is to an electric motor of any type. Sometimes unseen factors can cause problems such as electric wiring hidden by walls, breaker boxes can also cause problems Try moving it and see if that makes a difference. If you are sure your computer is positioned correctly and it is still acting up get help - many computer problems needing repair can worsen with time and result in a more costly repair.
Moving your computer:
- Always shut down your computer before moving it, even a short distance.
- Do Not drop or jar your computer.
- Do not place your computer near a window.
- Be aware of walking paths through your home or office, do not set up your computer where it can be bumped into.
- Keep your computer away from plants or anything that needs or uses water.
- Direct sun light on your monitor screen or even a TV screen can cause damage over time.
- Make sure your computer has good air flow around it. As with all electric equipment over heating is death. If you have your computer stored in a cabinet where the door closes (glass, louvered, etc.) leave it open when your computer is turned on this also is a good idea when using any electronic equipment such as satellite receivers, VCR's, CD Players, Stereo, etc.
Heat or Cold Extreme temperatures can damage your computer. It is a good idea to operate your computer in an area where the room temperature does not exceed eighty-five degrees or fall below sixty-five degrees.
Always shutdown your computer properly. To do this use your mouse to click on the "Start" button located on the "Task Bar", locate and click on "Turn Off Computer". a box will popup in the middle of your screen, click on "Shut Down" or "Turn Off" depending on the operating system you use. Be patient this may take a minute or two. Newer computers will shut down on their own. Most older models will produce a screen that will tell you that it is safe to shut off your computer, if that is the case you will need to depress the computers on and off button.
A word about switch buttons - they do go out rather easily - do not jam them down at anytime, this advice is true for all electronic equipment and remote control units that you have. When a computer and monitor requires manual shut down I suggest using a small inexpensive plug bar or surge protector that you have connected only to these items and use that switch to turn them on & off. You would of course plug this plug bar into your computers master surge protector.
If your computer should freeze up you can try depressing the "Ctrl", "Alt" and "Delete" keys on the keyboard at the same time if this is working correctly a popup box will appear (this popup wants to know what you want to do), in some cases you will see that one program is not working in that case clicking on the "End task" button will solve the problem and allow you to continue with a normal shut down. If not click on the "Users" tab near the top of the box, once there select "Shut Down" or you can select "Log Off" which will usually cause your computer to either shut down or allow you to log back on where you can use the proper shut down procedure.
If all else fails, (please use these suggestions only as a last resort, improper shut down is very hard on your computer used frequently the reset button or any sudden shut down can damage components and cause your computer to fail). Use your computers "Reset Button" if this button is not a smaller button near your computers on and off switch look for a little hole labeled "Reset". If this is the case the switch is recessed up inside, you will need a small screwdriver, ball point pen or paper clip to reach the switch button do be carful, sticking any object into a computer or any electronic equipment is dangerous - if you are not positive that this is a reset button only - get help - do not endanger yourself or your equipment. Okay here we go with yet another if all else fails and please for your own and the safety of the computer do not do this unless your computer will not shut down using each step above. Remember be patient wait at least two minutes before moving to the next solution. If you have your computer and/or monitor connected to a smaller plug bar turn that off - Do not turn off your master plug bar most especially if you have a printer or other equipment plugged into it - if you must make sure that every piece of equipment is turned off at it's power button. As an absolute last result you will have to unplug your unit, be careful you can get one heck of a shock - touch only the plastic protector of the plug. Wait You must wait at least one minute or listen carefully to make sure there is no fan movement inside your computer before you restart.
You are going to see the word "Back-Up" your data in every computer how to directions there are. It is a very necessary step and needs to be done frequently, but it is not nearly as hard or complete as most think.
You do not need to backup every bit of data on your computer. You should already have disks (CD's or in some older model computers this info may be on floppy disks) that contain your computers operating system - "Windows 95, XP" etc. and all other programing that came with your computer. What you need to back up are the pictures, documents, spreadsheets, music, programs etc. that you have added to your computers' data base.
There are several ways to backup your data:
- You can save this information on CD's provided that you have a CD read write drive or DVD writer connected to your computer - simply open you CD writer software and follow the directions to write whatever folders files and so on that you need to back up.
- A hint here - when writing CD's do not have any other programs running or files open then what is necessary to complete this task. It is also a good idea to reboot (restart) your computer just prior to writing CD's or DVD's and again when you are done.
- It is also a good idea to avoid erasable or reusable CD's for this task.
- You can use floppy'too, but remember just like VHS tapes the data stored here has an expiration period. There is no exact time limit on how long these will last, there are to many variables such as temperature, time used, etc.
- For renewable data such as bank records I prefer the new memory sticks sometimes called portable hard drives (these go by different names according to the manufacturer). These small sticks plug into the USB port on your computer. They can hold a few to many megabytes of information. You can move information from one computer to another, erase entries no longer needed and write more info as needed. If there is an expiration on data stored in this manner I am not aware of it.
Please remember if there is something on your computer that you do not want to loose - pictures come to mind and there is usually a lot of work that you do not want to redo - Back it Up - hard drives can and do fail and almost always at a crucial time. Plus there are other factors that can cause data loose as well. Data Recovery is possible in some cases, but at the very least it is time consuming and expensive and no matter what they tell you or how good your technician is some data may be lost forever without a Back-Up. Don't forget the email addresses.
"Windows XP" is not equipped with "Scandisk" and for a very good reason. If you have a computer with an older operating system or any computer with the "Scandisk" program on it please read this. Though "Scandisk" can repair some computer problems it does so by erasing data. If you allow "Scandisk" to run in "Thorough" it checks all the clusters on your computers hard drive. A small problem in one cluster can cause "Scandisk" to erase all data in that area of your hard drive. This can cause essential operating system files to be lost and leave your computer inoperable or only able to run in "Safe Mode".
If your computer was shut down incorrectly "Scandisk" will run automatically on older models. Stop it immediately. In most cases your computer will start up properly with out any other effort on your part. If your computer should go to "Safe Mode" try to restart it properly two or three times. If that does not work you may need to try what we call a "Cold Boot", Shut your computer down, you can try to restart it after all of the fans have stopped running, If that does not work you may want to shut it down and just walk away, wait an hour or so for it to cool down completely then try to start it up again. If none of this works call a technician - We are here if you need us - in many cases a tech will be able to locate the problem and repair it if "Scandisk" has not been allowed to destroyed necessary data. There are times when the only recourse is to erase the hard drive and reprogram it and sometimes there is no choice other than to replace the hard drive. Make sure that you remove "Scandisk" from your "Windows Scheduled Tasks" if you have already set it to run automatically.
Another little windows program. Defrag is a very good little program when used properly. Basically defrag cleans up the hard drive and puts everything it's proper place which allows your computer to be faster, just like you when you do not have to search all over for that one thing you really need. Problem Defrag wears on your hard drive just like scouring powder on your Formica counter top. A cluttered hard drive can cause problems too. What to do - never run defrag more than once a month and do not run it unless there is more than 2% of free space or 10% of the files that are fragmented. If you are using "Windows XP" click the "Analize" button in the "Disk Defragmenter" program and it will tell you if you need to run defrag or not. All other "Windows" operating systems will at the very least give you a percentage of fragmentation, never run this program on any system with less than 8% fragmented. Make sure that your remove "Disk Defragmenter" from your "Windows Scheduled Tasks" if you have already set it to run automatically.
Always shut down your computer when lightning is present - unplug both the power plug and phone line. A static shock which will send a little tingle through you or I can kill a computer or at the very least drive you or your technician nuts trying to figure out why it is doing this or that. Your printer, scanner, camera, anything connected to your computer needs to be shut down and disconnected from any outside source - "electric wall socket and phone box" - these items can be damaged as well or could carry the damaging blow to your computer. It is not the fear of lightning strike as much as the static electric charge that fills the air during a storm that can cause the trouble. I shut down and unplug equipment during times of extremely high winds as well. Anything that can damage a power line outside can cause damage to my equipment which is a chance I am not willing to take.
Static can cause problems with most all modern electronics most especially computers. If you have carpeting especially the nylon variety you may want to keep your equipment clear of it. If you do not have a desk that keeps your tower clear of the floor you could always get a piece of wood just a bit bigger than your towers bottom and stick on some caster wheels or even four pieces of 2X4 as legs - it only needs to be a couple of inches above the carpet with the wooden base doubling as an insulator.
Never get the engine of your vacuum cleaner close to your computer - it is better to use a hose and attachment to clean within a foot of your computer. It is also a very good idea to have your computer shut down when cleaning anywhere close to it.
More than likely you have a good few dollars wrapped up in your computer, monitor, printer and who knows what else - DO NOT SCRIMP ON YOUR SURGE PROTECTOR. Just like all computer equipment surge protectors are not nearly the investment they once were. Still it is important to get one designed for a computer, make sure that it has protection for your phone line as well. You can now purchase surge protectors for computers that come equipped with a battery backup that will allow you time to save information and shut down your computer properly, more expensive units will allow you up to an hour during power outages. Make sure there is a good guarantee too. Believe me a good surge protector at $30 - $60 is a cheep investment compared to the expense of repairing or replacement equipment damaged by power surges and what ever else our power company or even phone company decides to send or not send through those lines. Our technician has less expensive surge protectors on her TV, Microwave, stereo, CD and VCR. An ounce of prevention in this case will more than save a pound of cure.
We hope that this information will be a help to you. Please remember PuterVill is here when you need us. Your computer will run better and longer with proper care - Don't forget our "Complete Computer Tune-Up" it includes a through cleaning of all hardware too.
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