Best Practices In PC Maintenance And Repair

The following is a checklist of best practices that all PC users should adhere to if they wish to maintain their computer in a healthy state.

Daily Checklist

Run anti-virus scan on a daily basis. It is best to set this up as an automated scan that you can schedule to run at a suitable time (e.g. over lunch).

Weekly Checklist

Backup any data that you would not wish to lose. Backups should be made to at least two external systems (thumb drives, external hard drives, C.D.s etc.) that you store separate from the computer. There are plenty of free back-up synchronization applications online (such as Microsoft’s SyncToy application) that automate backing up only those files that are new or have changed since the last back up. You should make the back-up more frequent if you alter a lot of computer files on a daily basis.

Check for updates anti-spyware and anti-virus applications. In particular, check for updates relating to virus definitions as these are frequently being updated.

Check that you have enough free disk space (generally at least 10% of total disk space).

Monthly Checklist

Remove any applications you don’t need (using Control Panel/Add Remove Programs).

Execute the Microsoft Windows Update service (there is a hyperlink to it in the Start Menu) and always include the recommended security updates the Microsoft have identified.

Use a file and registry clean up tool (such as Windows own Disk Cleanup application or CCleaner) to remove the variety of cached and temporary files and data on your computer that is no longer needed.

Finally, defragment all drives (open My Computer, right-click the local disk volume you wish to defragment, and then click Properties. On the Tools tab, click Defragment Now). Perform a defragmentation more often if your computer starts running slowly, if you regularly install and uninstall a lot of applications or if you run applications that create/generate dozens of large files repeatedly (e.g. music sequencing software).

Quarterly Checklist

Change your passwords to safeguard against identity theft.

Check computer cables are plugged in correctly without any hindrances that could damage the pins on the sockets. A single twisted pin can render peripherals inoperable.

Backup your data and then perform a full Check Disk scan of your hard drives (you can find this Microsoft tool by selecting open My Computer on the desktop, right-click the local disk volume you wish to analyze, and then click Properties. On the Tools tab, click Check Now). The check disk scan will reboot the system after the scan is done.

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