Top 5 Tips for Computer Maintenance

Your computer is less likely to cost as much as your vehicle or to have as many components inside it, but your system will require just as much maintenance as your car, to ensure it’s always running smoothly. Computer systems come with many peripherals that need to be regularly cleaned, with laptops being vulnerable to accidents and the accumulation of dust.

Whether your computer system is used for leisure or for work, you’ll want to invest as much money as possible into a good computer. While you understand that technology ages, as your computer will eventually become too old to use, you’ll want to ensure you get the most out of your equipment. If you neglect your system, allowing it to become slow and collect a lot of dust, it will become vulnerable to hacks and damage.

Tips for Your Computer Maintenance

To avoid such troubles, we have decided to put together five top computer maintenance tips that will ensure your system stays in optimal condition. You can follow these simple yet effective steps for instant results. 

1. Delete Junk Files

Your junk files typically build up in the Temporary Files folder, Downloaded Program Files folder, Files cache, and Recycle Bin; they also build up in specific cache folders. Fortunately, there are tools that you can use to delete all these files.

By removing these junk files, you free up hard drive space, making such space available for more productive things.

Source: justwebworld 

2. Organize Your System Cords

Unless you only invest in wireless devices, every time you purchase a new peripheral for your computer, you will wind up with an additional cord. Even if you purchase a wireless device, you’ll still end up with a cord which may power the device. Scanners, microphones, printers and cameras are all devices that have their own cords, adding to your clutter. Eventually, you’ll end up with a huge pile behind your system that can be quite dangerous, ugly and restrictive.

Source: pinterest

In order to get a hold of all these wires, you will need to set aside some time, unplugging everything. Then separate all of your cords, and it’s likely you’ll find some that you no longer use. Group your cords based on where they go, and bind the ones that go together. There are many different things you can use to bind them, such as rubber bands, twist-tie and cable housings. The cable housings tend to be the most convenient, as they allow you to remove and replace ties whenever you deem it fit. Velcro ties are also a good solution. If you think you have too many peripherals connected to your computer, then you should consider buying a USB hub or router, so that everything can be centralized. 

3. Remove Malware and Viruses

You should run a full scan of your system at least once per year, checking every hard disk on your computer for malicious files that may have infiltrated it. Virus infections not only degrade system performance, they also endanger your computer data, such as bank account information, etc.

To protect your computer from these malicious files there are many different antimalware tools that you can use, I suggest you go out and invest in one, if you haven’t already.

Source: adlice 

4. Delete Unused Large Files

If your hard drive is almost at full capacity, it’s likely due to the fact that you have large files stored on it, such as movies. There are many optimization tools that you can use to scan and locate the largest files stored on your hard drive.

Once such tools have located all the files on your computer, from the largest to the smallest, you’ll be in a better position to evaluate and remove the files that you no longer use or need.

Source:  windowsreport 

5. Check for Updates

For all the programs you have installed on your system, it’s best practice for you to ensure they are most up-to-date, especially for those programs that you use most frequently. Visit the website of the developer or click on the about page, and you should be able to find the latest patches or upgrades for that specific program.

Source: solidcp

From your office applications to your operating system, these new updates should increase the overall systems security while ironing out all those major and minor bugs, improving program performance. If you use Microsoft Windows, then you can visit their Windows Update site and find all the latest updates for your operating system, there.

–AUTHOR INFO—

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is a former IT Manager who now runs his own computer support website.