How to Take Care of My Computer Before It Crashes

Avoid eating around your computer to prevent food debris from getting stuck in it.

Take care of your computer before it crashes to prevent it from meeting an untimely end. Although fluke crashes do occur, most computers crashes happen as a result of the computer being misused and overworked over a long period of time. Getting into better computer usage habits extends computer lifespan and may prevent it from crashing altogether.

Instructions

1. Shut down your computer completely if you need to step away from it for more than an hour or two. Although your computer doesn't use any battery when it "sleeps," its memory nonetheless remains frozen where you left it when you put it to sleep. Letting a computer sleep for hours or days on end places a strain on its memory.

2. Close all applications you aren't actively using. Applications continue to occupy a computer's resources, even if you they aren't maximized on your screen. Remove programs you never use from your computer completely.

3. Avoid eating and drinking around the computer. In addition to the potential superficial defects grease smudges cause, water can get into and destroy your hard drive or your battery.

4. Avoid using your computer on soft surfaces such as a bed or your lap if you use a laptop. Such surfaces prevent the computer's built-in fan from circulating cool air into the laptop body, which can result in overheating of the laptop and damage to its internal components over time.

5. Run daily virus and spyware scans with your virus protection software to prevent crashes resulting from malicious software. Viruses strike any computer, regardless of its age or condition, so regular scans are necessary no matter your situation.

References

• Better PC Performance: How to Stop Your Computer From Crashing