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Quarterly Maintenance Tasks
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In
Addition to the 'Normal'
Daily to Monthly Tasks:
To ensure an
efficient and enjoyable
computing experience, keep
your computer clean and
well-organized. Removing old
programs and drivers frees up
memory and reduces the
potential for system
conflicts. Beyond
digital cleanup, it’s
also important to give the
physical parts of your
computer some TLC. Left too
long, dirt and grime can
build up and cause damage to
your hardware. So, set aside
some time each quarter to
complete the following tasks.
Perform
Complete Backup
To backup
is to make spare copies
of files and store them
separately from the
originals (i.e., not on
the hard drive). Better
safe than sorry. A backup
of all of your important
data marked with the date
will help you recover if
your hard drive fails.
You can use CDs or other
media to store your
backup files. If you have
your files organized by
topics (documents,
photos, music, etc.), it
will be easier to
determine which files
need to be backed up.
Why should
you back up?
System
crashes happen. So do
power outages. No matter
how careful you are, you
can sometimes
inadvertently delete
files. Back up your
system regularly to make
certain you never lose
data. Back up frequently
– and you may want
to make two backup
copies: one for home and
one for a separate
location. That way,
should you experience
fire, flood or theft;
your data will be safely
stored in a remote
location. If you are
working on a very
important, time consuming
project, back up daily,
or as often as you work
on the project.
CDs and/or
DVDs (if you have a
CD/DVD burner on your
system), portable hard
drives and flash drives
are currently the most
used backup media
devices, although other
media can be used. DVD
writers are ideal for
making back-ups of large
amounts of data and are
more stable than portable
devices.
- Typical
CD-R disks hold up to
700Mb of data and cost
only pennies.
- Typical
DVD-R disks hold up to
4.2Gb (and more with dual
layers) of data and cost
a little more than CDs.
- CD
and/or DVD writers are
also very easy to use --
the software that comes
with them is normally
very straight forward and
they can create back-ups
in minutes.
- Portable
hard drives with USB
connections now have
storage capacities large
enough to hold your
backup data. (CD or DVD
is a more permanent
storage media.)
- Flash
drives now have much
larger capacities and can
also be used to
temporarily backup files
(CD or DVD is a more
permanent storage media).
A rule of
thumb for backing up: If
your important files
change daily, back-up
daily, if they change
weekly, back-up weekly,
and so on.
What
to backup?
If you
wish to backup all of
your user data (as
apposed to programs) on a
typical Windows XP
machine, simply copy all
of the files in the
c:\documents and
settings\<name of your
login account>. As
that includes internet
and temporary files,
recommend running a
‘CleanUp’ to
reduce the unneeded
chaff.
A more
targeted backup set would
include the following
folders from the
c:\documents and
settings\<name of your
login account> root:
My
Documents (location of
most user data files).
Desktop
(files stored on the
desktop versus the
previous folder).
Application
Data\Microsoft\Address
Book (what it says!).
Local
Settings\Application
Data\Identities\{long
string of
numbers}\Microsoft\Outlook
Express (email).
Favorites
(Internet links).
Application
Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{random}\bootmarks.html
(Firefox bookmarks).
If
present, all folders in
other data partitions,
(d:, e:, etc.).
Windows allows
an undisciplined user to
store data and place files in
nearly any location such as
the root directory of the
boot hard drive (c:\) and
subfolders. Other
applications store user data
in not always obvious various
places. For example, the Juno
email program stores
it’s data in c:\program
files\Juno\user000 – not
included in any of the above
locations. As a user,
recommend reassuring yourself
that you know where all your
data is stored so that you
can back it up as desired.
Thankfully, most programs are
consistent, and by default
store user data in some
sub-folder of “My
Documents”.
Remove Unused
Programs
To get rid
of never or seldom-used
programs, you can launch
Add/Remove Programs from
the Control Panel and
examine each item. Don't
meddle with items that
are completely
unfamiliar; they may be
required by the system.
But if you find a
standalone application
that you no longer use,
get rid of it! Some
programs come with their
own uninstall program
which may do a better job
of removing the program.
Check the program folder
for an uninstall file and
use that one instead of
the Windows uninstall. If
an uninstall file is not
available, then use the
Windows Add/Remove
Programs process.
New
computers often come with
many demonstration and
trial-ware programs. It
is not unusual to find
three or four installed
programs for different
Internet Service
Providers – delete
them if you are not using
them. Especially delete
instant messaging
programs (AIM, Yahoo IM,
MS Messenger) if you do
not use them as they load
on start up and steal CPU
time.
Clean Registry
No Longer
Recommended For Windows XP.
Update
Programs
To make
your applications more
stable, check for
vendors' software updates
or visit a site such as VersionTracker.
Scan Your Hard
Drive(s) for Errors:
The
program Scandisk checks a
hard drive for read and
write errors. Run
ScanDisk before running
the Defragmenter as
follows:
ScanDisk
in Windows 2000 and XP
- Click
Start, then open My
Computer.
- Right-click
on the hard drive icon
(usually c:\).
- Click
Properties, and
then click the Tools
tab.
- Place
check marks in all check
boxes.
- Click
OK, and then click
Yes to schedule a
full disk scan when the
computer is restarted.
- Restart
the computer. The disk
scan can take a very long
time to complete.
-
ScanDisk
in Windows 95, 98, and Me
- Close
all programs that are
running. This includes
background programs such
as anti-virus programs,
firewalls and screen
savers. To close programs
that are running in the
background: hit the Ctrl,
Alt and Delete
keys all at the same
time. This will show you
what is running and you
can highlight one at a
time and click End
task. Do this for
each program that is
running except for
Explorer and Systray as
they can remain running.
To turn screen savers
off: right click on an
empty spot on your
desktop then click Properties.
Click on the screen saver
tab and from the drop
down menu of screen
savers, pick none then
click Apply and OK
at the bottom of the
window. There also
is a small downloadable (745 kb) utility
program called End
it all
that will
close down all the
programs that are running
with just one click.
- Select
Start, Programs,
Accessories, System
Tools, and ScanDisk.
- Select
the drive (usually c:\)
and check Automatically
Fix Errors.
- If
low on time, select Standard.
Otherwise, check Thorough.
A thorough scan may take
more than an hour to
complete and is best done
when away from the desk.
- Click
Start and follow
the onscreen
instructions. If the
scandisk starts itself
over and over, then a
hidden background program
is still accessing the
hard drive. Restart the
computer in Safe
mode and try again.
- After
testing, the results will
appear. Fix or repair any
files, if asked. Click Close
to exit program when
finished.
Check For New Drivers
If you are
experiencing problems
with your computer that
may be hardware related,
it is a good idea to
check for updated drivers
for your system
components. Although you
do not need to routinely
check for driver updates,
it's a good idea to check
for updates occasionally
if your computer is
acting "funky"
and if spyware has been
ruled out as a source for
your problem.
Drivers
are files that tell
hardware (modem, scanner,
graphics card, monitor,
speakers, mouse, etc.)
how to operate.
Hardware manufacturers
release new drivers for
their hardware and are
designated by version
numbers (version 1.1,
version 1.2, version 4.0,
etc.). The larger
the version number, the
more current is the
driver file.
To update
the drivers, you should
consult your computer
manufacturer.
Installing the latest
drivers for your
devices can help speed up
and stabilize your
PC.
Caution -
the 'Back' browser button
may look like it is not
disabled for the link
above, but it seems OK to
close the window.
To find
what drivers you have
installed, go to Device
Manager and double-click
each component's listing
and then select the
Driver tab. Or use a free
2-day trial of Driver
Detective from DriversHQ.com. An online
scan of your computer
will determine which of
your drivers need
updating.
To find
out what hardware devices
should be updated, visit Computer
Hope.
For help
in finding the correct
drivers, check out DriverZone.
MAINTENANCE
NEXT STEPS
| NEXT
STEP: After
completing this quarterly
task once, it is
recommended that a
semiannual maintenance
task be completed. But
'your' use pattern may
not require it be done at
the six month time period
or even at the seventh
month, you need to decide
'your' schedule based on
'your' usage pattern. But
you need to remember to
complete regular
maintenance, you know the
'pay me now' or 'pay me
later' story. Click on
the animated arrow to
return to the table of
recommended maintenance
tasks.
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