BasicComputerMaintenance.docVIP

How to do Basic Computer Maintenance What is Computer Maintenance? Definition: Computer Maintenance Computer Maintenance is basically the same as any other type of maintenance; it is a set of services or procedures performed to keep something (in this case, a computer) in good working condition. A well-maintained computer will run faster, more efficiently and crash less than one that has not been maintained. Why Perform Computer Maintenance Procedures? Maintaining your computer is not only good for your computer, but for you as well. Practicing good maintenance procedures will save you money (less chance of items breaking down and having to replace them), time (improved performance means less waiting time and less breaking down means more usage) and protects your data (by backing up the data, for example). Computer Maintenance Procedures Quite a few things can be done to maintain your computer and you do not need to be a computer technician in order to do so. Here is a list of some of the Computer Maintenance Procedures you can do yourself: Hard Drive Maintenance Privacy Software Updating Your Software Hard Drive Maintenance One of the most important components is your computer’s hard drive. On the hard drive all the operating system’s files are stored along with programs and files of your data. Practicing good hard drive maintenance will ensure your hard drive is fast, efficient and will last for years. Hard Drive Maintenance Items There are a few things that are part of hard drive maintenance that you can do. Things such as running scandisk, disk defragmenter and hard drive storage are essential steps in maintaining your hard drive and keeping it in peek condition Scanning the Hard Drive In order to scan the hard drive, you need to run Scan Disk. Scan Disk is a built in Windows System Utility program used to check for errors in the hard drive. To do this in any Windows 95 and newer operating system, refer to the next section “ HYPERLINK \l _Running_Sca