Windows Personal Computer Maintenance Recommendations
by Bill Calderwood
26 January 2005
1. Personal Computers (PC) require periodic operator level maintenance and grooming to give long term reliable service. PC maintenance is required to address the normal wear and tear of regular use. Regular maintenance is required to address the vulnerabilities and dangers that come from being connected to the internet. There is the additional consideration of file back-ups to protect valuable information and all of the hard work you've invested in creating documents, presentations, and other files. Additional measures to actively prevent malicious code infection through firewalls are also important.
2. Normal PC wear and tear can be addressed at the physical level in regards to keeping the inside clean to prevent overheating and poor electrical contact from dirt incrustation. Depending on the dust level of the surroundings, the PC should probably be opened up at least once per year and be vacuumed out with a plastic nozzle vacuum cleaner. When you're doing the vacuuming be sure the power is disconnected from the PC. Cleanliness of floppy drive and CD/DVD drives can be addressed with occasional use of cleaning floppies/CD's. Moderation in use of these cleaning devices is important as some can actually accelerate wear with overuse.
3. Normal PC wear and tear also can happen in the file system of the hard disk drive. Due to limitations in the disk operating system files become fragmented and therefore much slower to read and reassemble. Use of the defragmentation tool (right click C: drive in MyComputer, go to Properties, tools, defragmentation). Depending on amount of PC usage plan on running the defragmentation tool at least once/twice per month. The hard disk can also develop errors which should be scanned for and corrected. Use the error checking tool (right click C: drive in MyComputer, go to Properties, tools, errorcheck. Beware that the error checking tool can only work on NTFS file systems (Windows 2000/XP) when the computer is booting up. So when you select the error checking to be performed it will start the next time you boot the computer. Be prepared for the error checking to take 10 – 30 minutes depending on size and speed of your hard drive.
4. All internet connected computers (dial-up or broadband) should update their operating system at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com on at least a monthly basis – weekly is better. The vulnerabilities being addressed by the software patches issued at the windowsupdate site that have received wide visibility and are no doubt #1 on the hacker/attackers list for exploitation. Be sure you don't fall victim to “holes” in your operating system by getting regular updates at this website. An alternative is to have the automatic update feature take care of it for you – this works well for those who leave their computer a lot and have broadband connections. If you use Microsoft Office there is a similar site for updating this suite at: http://officeupdate.microsoft.com.
5. Viruses are running rampant on the internet – you simply must install and use anti-virus software such as McAfee or Norton/Symantec anti-virus. These great programs only work if you keep the virus definitions up-to-date. Please check for updates on at least a weekly basis – even better is two/three times a week. Like windowsupdate you can usually set the anti-virus software to automatically download its virus definition updates if you have your computer on a lot with a broadband connection. The anti-virus software will protect your computer to some extent simply by being installed (with regular updates), but the most thorough and safest way to be sure no virus are hiding on your system is to periodically virus scan it. I'd recommend doing this virus scan about once/twice per month. The virus scan can take 15 – 45 minutes approximately depending on the number of files you have and the speed of your hard drive.
6. In the last few years a whole new form of malicious software has been developed which can get into your computer simply by you surfing the web. This MALWARE as it is called contains spyware, keystroke loggers, browser hijackers and similar. Unfortunately the anti-virus software makers don't consider MALWARE a virus so they don't target it. MALWARE can dramatically slow down your computer, shower you with a blizzard of pop-up ads, and worst of all send your key strokes to criminal elements (beware e-commerce credit card users). Download and use freeware programs such as ADAWARE and SPYBOT to search out and eliminate this MALWARE. Both programs are free and may be downloaded from the internet. Update them just as you would the anti-virus software. Scan your computer using them just as you would anti-virus software on a once/twice per month basis. Scan more often if you surf a lot.
7. Backing up files is a fundamental requirement of computer use. Luckily its easier than ever now that almost all new computers have a high capacity means of data back-up with the built in CD-R drive. Copy over your entire MyDocuments directory of files to the CD-R and keep it in a safe place. A good safe place would be an off-site safety deposit box. You should back up on a regular basis depending on your level of work and the value of your data files. Businesses back up at least on a daily basis. Home users probably should consider doing it on a monthly/quarterly basis – once again depending on how much work you put into your files and how valuable they are.
8. My last recommendation is not really maintenance, but it is a security precaution which all internet users should have in place, a firewall. A firewall can help prevent your computer from being infected with a variety of malicious code/viruses that comes into your computer by unexpected routes. A software firewall at a minimum should be on all of your internet connected computers. The latest version of Windows XP includes a firewall. For those using earlier operating systems, download a free copy of Zone Alarm and you'll actually have equal or better protection than the latest XP version offers. Be aware that Zone Alarm will require periodic updates which it will draw to your attention. Those on broadband should consider a hardware firewall. Inexpensive broadband firewall/routers are available for under $50.00 which provide excellent protection and they additionally provide additional ports allowing you to share your internet connection between several computers.