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Computer maintenance needs to be done regularly to ensure that your computer is running at it's best.
Heavily used computers require weekly maintenance, all family computers and business computers for example. Lightly used computers can be maintained either fortnightly or monthly depending on use.
Basic maintenance consists of three parts which need to be done in the order shown. Each of the links takes you to a section on this page :-
1) Get rid of Internet temporary files, cookies etc.
2) Get rid of Windows temporary files
3) Tidy up using defragmenter.
Some shortcuts and additional information follows that lot.
So why is it needed ? Well, Windows and all the the programs you use make temporary notes and don't bother to tidy up after themselves. It's simple as that.
New additions to a document or new mails can cause file fragments to be created because they don't fit into the original container.
Every time you visit the internet the web pages you see are temporarily stored on your computer. A simple web page like this one is made up of 1 file, complex web pages can use 20 or more files, especially those with lots of buttons, images and animations. Internet Explorer will not delete them unless you tell it to.
Over time it is possible to accumulate tens of thousands of files which will eventually clog up your computer, slow it down and could even cause it to crash.
In some cases the clutter is so bad that the computer doesn't start properly and appears to freeze.
If you have more than one username you'll have to do maintenance for each of them. It'll need to be done weekly. How many times a week do tell your children to tidy their rooms ?
If you've been to a public place, library, Internet Cafe or Internet kiosk for example it is strongly advised that you clear your Internet files, cookies and history and then log off from Windows.
Clearing temporary Internet Files
Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7 are covered here. Other browsers such as Firefox have a browser clearing function tucked away in the privacy menu. That's shown further below.
1) Internet Explorer 6 (Windows 98 and XP).
This link shows screenshots to make it easier for you. Show me
Open Internet Explorer..
Click on "Tools" on the menu bar.
Select "Internet Options"
On the Internet Options pop up form :-
Click on the "Delete cookies" button, then click "OK" on the confirmation pop-up.
Wait. If you do this regularly it only takes a few seconds. the confirmation pop-up should disappear.
Click on "Delete files", check "Delete all offline content", click "OK" on the confirmation pop-up.
Wait. If you do this regularly it only takes a few seconds. the confirmation pop-up should disappear.
Click on the "Clear History" button, then click "OK" on the confirmation pop-up.
Wait. If you do this regularly it only takes a few seconds. the confirmation pop-up should disappear.
2) Internet Explorer 7 (XP and Vista)
This link shows screenshots to make it easier for you. Show me.
Open Internet Explorer.Click on "Tools" on the menu bar.
The first item on the list is "Delete browsing history", click on it.
Click on "Delete all", check "Delete files and settings stored by Add-ons", click "Yes" on the confirmation pop-up. You can also be selective as to what you delete.
Wait. If you do this regularly it only takes a few seconds. the confirmation pop-up should disappear when the task is completed.
This link shows screenshots to make it easier for you. Show me.
The principle is exactly the same. Open Firefox, click on "Tools".
Click on "Clear Private Data".
On the pop-up that appears, tick "Cookies" and "Passwords".
Then click the "Clear browser history" button, and wait.
Clearing temporary Windows Files .
This technique uses the "Properties" of the hard drive that is the host for Windows and your information and uses Windows Explorer. The process is almost identical for XP and Vista. The main exception is that Vista has an option to clear files for all users on the computer. Unfortunately this very useful option isn't available with XP so you'll have to log into each user in turn and do it.
There are three stages to this process.
This link shows screenshots to make it easier for you show me
Click Start > All Programs > Accessories. Windows Explorer for XP and Vista is near the bottom of the list.
2) Getting the "C" drive properties.
This link shows screenshots to make it easier for you Show me.
Open Windows Explorer.
In the left hand pane click on the "+" (XP) or symbol (Vista) next to My Computer to open up the list of drives on the computer.
Right click on the icon for the "C" drive, it's usually called "local disk" .
Select "Properties" from the list that appears
You are now looking at the "General" tab.
This link shows screenshots to make it easier for you Show me
On the "C" drive properties dialogue box Click the "Disk Cleanup" button..
A pop-up appears showing "Disk Cleanup" progress whilst Windows calculates what it can clean up.
Another pop-up appears that shows various categories with a check box to the left of each.
Click in each check box except "Office set up files"
Click OK.
A pop-up appears showing "Disk Cleanup" progress whilst Windows cleans up the selected files.
Wait. If you do this regularly it only takes a few moments. The confirmation pop-up should disappear when it's complete.
Tidy up using disk defragmentation
This link shows screenshots to make it easier for you. Show me
Open Windows Explorer.
In the left hand pane click on the "+" next to My Computer
Right click on the icon for the "C" drive, it's usually called "local disk"
Select "Properties" from the list that appears
You are now looking at the "General" tab, click the "Tools" tab.
Click the "Defragment Now" button..
A pop-up appears showing a list of disks which can be defragmented.
Click on "C" (this is usually the drive that Windows lives on).
Click on "Analyze" and wait whilst Windows checks the files on the disk.
A pop-up appears, click "close" whatever the message Windows displays
If more than a few red vertical bars appear in the top part click "Defragment Now"
Now wait please. If you do this regularly it only takes about 10 minutes. If you have a lot of music or images it will take longer. If you haven't done this for four months it will take an hour or more.
Maintenance can also be carried out like this :-
Clean the Internet files as explained above.
When this is done find Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter by clicking -
Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools
You'll find both there. Use Disk Cleanup first and when that's done use the disk Defragmenter.
Or, to make life even easier, just buy TuneUp Utilities 2009 and leave the computer running from 5pm to 6pm on a Friday night when it will be automatically done for you (one username only). TuneUp 2009 also cleans the registry ( The Windows "Doomsday Book" which also gets cluttered with rubbish), an added advantage over basic maintenance. TuneUp 2009 also a Defragmenter which is substantially faster than the one built into Vista.
Change Internet Explorer settings.
This link shows screenshots to make it easier for you. Show me
Internet Explorer can be set to delete temporary Internet files when it closes, substantially reducing the clutter. You can find this on Tools > Internet Options >Advanced. At the bottom there will a checkbox "Empty temporary Internet files when browser closes", tick this (leave everything else alone please), click "Apply" , then click "OK" to close the dialogue box.
Reduce the number of days that history is stored to 2 or 3. You can find this on Tools > Internet Options >General (IE6 and IE7). Check the browser cache size and reduce it to about 200 Mb. Click OK then "Apply" after the changes, then "OK" to close the Internet Options dialogue box.
Please note that this has to be done for each username on the computer.
This link shows screenshots to make it easier for you. Show me
Open Windows Explorer.
In the left hand pane click on the "+" next to My Computer
Right click on the icon for the "C" drive, it might be called "local disk".
Select "Properties" from the list that appears
You are now looking at the "General" tab, click the "Tools" tab.
Click the "Check Now" button and wait until Windows has finished checking the disk. It will tell you it's finished. There will be 3 phases for NTFS and only 1 for FAT 32, don't worry about the jargon, just let Windows do it's job.
If Windows cannot finish the check it will display an error message to that effect. This usually means trouble, either the Windows files are damaged or corrupted or worse, the hard drive may be damaged.
Try the "Automatically Fix ... errors" click "OK" then click "Yes" on the pop-up and restart the computer.
Do not click "Scan for .... bad sectors" unless you are prepared to leave the scan running for hours. If you do scan for bad sectors leave the computer alone for as long as it takes. If you switch the computer off you will cause even more damage to occur. You have been warned.
Heat, dust, liquids and biros are not computer-friendly.
A few suggestions.
Never block ventilation vents. Air is drawn from the front and sometimes the sides on a desktop and from underneath on a laptop. Use laptops on a cool, smooth surface. Use a laptop cooler to draw heat away from the plastic underside.
Air is drawn from the front / side and so is dust. This accumulates inside the case and covers heatsinks, RAM and other components creating an insulating layer that increases heat and will shorten the life of those components. And your computer.
Never eat or drink over a laptop. If you really have to, then buy a separate keyboard. So many laptops have been destroyed by careless spilling of liquids over the keyboard.
Don't place anything on a laptop, it will cause flexing in the cover which may damage the screen.
Laptops aren't frizbees, put them down don't throw them anywhere.
Follow the manufacturer's recommendations on cleaning TFT or flat panel screens. Keep them dust-free.
Don't prod any flat screen with a biro or finger, you may damage that area of the screen.
If you look after your computer by maintaining it properly it'll last longer and you'll have fewer problems.
* Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other Trademarks are acknowledged.
© Oakfield Computer Services 2002- 2009 Updated - 03 Jun 2009