Computer Preventive Maintenance Tips

As time passes, you may notice that your computer's performance decreases. Also, as you use your computer, any one of its components may fail unexpectedly. Doing routine maintenance can prevent many problems and save your data in the event that you have a serious, unavoidable hardware problem with your computer.

Using Windows System Tools

There are several free tools that come with Windows that you can use to keep your computer in good shape. You can access some of these tools by clicking "Start," "All Programs," "Accessories" and "System Tools." You should run "Disk Cleanup" about once a week. This Windows tool can remove temporary files, downloaded program files, files in the recycle bin, offline webpages, hibernation files and thumbnail images from your hard drive. Run "Disk Defragmenter" once a month. This utility can rearrange the files on your hard drive so that they are accessed in a faster and more efficient manner.

To access additional system tools, click "Start," "My Computer," right-click your system hard drive and select "Properties." Click the "Tools" tab. Click the "Check Now" button at the top of the dialogue box to check for disk errors. This tool can automatically fix file system errors and scan for bad sectors on your hard drive. However, if you select the scan option for this tool, you will have to schedule the scan for the next time you restart your computer. You can also access "Disk Defragmenter" from your hard disk properties.

Creating Data Backups

You must create regular backups of your data if you wish to guard against data loss. The Windows backup utility comes with Windows operating systems such as XP Professional and Vista. However, it is not included by default with Windows XP Home Edition. To install the backup utility in this operating system, insert your Windows XP CD in the drive and navigate to the "Valueadd" folder." Find the "Msft" and then the "Backup" folder. Double-click the "Ntbackup.msi" file and click "Finish" when the program installation is complete.

Access backup by clicking "Start," "All Programs," "Accessories," "System Tools" and "Backup." The Windows XP backup utility will allow you to back up your files to your hard drive. However, you will need a recordable CD, DVD or external hard drive to back up your files using the Windows backup utility in Windows Vista. You can also automate your backups in both Windows XP and Vista. If you purchase backup hardware, such as an external hard drive, it will probably come with its own backup utility. If it does, then you should use that utility rather than Windows backup. If you have chosen to back up your files to the hard drive in the XP backup utility, be sure to burn them to CD, DVD or copy them to an external backup device regularly.

References

• Optimize your computer for peak performance

Resources

• Computer backup devices