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Defrag Your Hard Drive(s):

The program Disk Defragmenter takes all of the scattered bits of program data and groups them together in the front of the drive.

Defragmenting a hard drive can be a very tedious and time-consuming process, but the performance gains are worth the time spent. Windows will continue to function with a badly fragmented hard drive, just slower. The first defragmentation, if it has not been run as a matter of habit (or ever), will take a considerable amount of time (from 15 minutes up to 2-3 hours). Allow it to run its course. It will appear to hang at 10% for a long time - this is normal. After the 10% hurdle is overcome, the remaining 90% passes relatively quickly.

There are some housekeeping chores you need to perform before you begin your defrag. If there are programs that you no longer need, go ahead and uninstall them.  Delete any old, unnecessary files, duplicate photos, movies, etc. Any rearranging of files and folders should also be completed before you defrag. Run CleanUp, Spybot and AdAwareSE to remove any unnecessary files. The registry should be cleaned if you have purchased a registry cleaner program. Once you have finished the housekeeping, you are ready to defrag.

Keep in mind that a hard drive/partition must have at least 15% free space for defrag to completely and adequately defragment it. Defrag uses this space as a sorting area for file fragments. If a volume has less than 15% free space, defrag will only partially defragment it. To increase the free space on a volume, delete unneeded files or move them to another disk as mentioned above.

Before you begin, close all programs that are running (screen saver, virus program, firewall, email) and disconnect from the internet.

Windows XP Instructions

Windows 2000 Instructions

Windows ME Instructions

Windows 98 Instructions

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Run AIDA32

AIDA32 is a professional system information, diagnostics and benchmarking program running on Win32 platforms. It extracts details of all components of the PC. It can display information on the screen, print it, or save it to file in various formats. Want to know what kind of memory your pc uses?  This program will tell you.  It also lists all the registration numbers for your software.  This is a very useful utility that puts all the information about your computer at your fingertips.

Run AIDA32 and print out the report and save it on a floppy (just in case your hard drive crashes and you need to know the information about your computer).  The report can be very detailed but you can determine how much of the information you want to show.

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Clean The PC Tower/Desktop

Cleaning a PC is a relatively simple process. Time should be taken at least quarterly to check the cleanliness of your PC. If you are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with taking a PC apart, a simple procedure can check whether your PC is in need of internal cleaning or not. Make sure to adequately ground yourself to eliminate the destructive static electricity that can damage internal components as well.

Look at the rear of the main PC box (either your desktop or tower case). You will see a grated circular (or in some cases square) hole covering a fan. Is the grating clogged with dust, dirt, hair or other foreign material? If so, your CPU is most likely in need of cleaning.

Be aware of your health too, since when you first let loose with the compressed air, you are going to create a huge cloud of nastiness which you want to avoid breathing in. Goggles might be a good idea here too. Generally speaking, you will be simply trying to remove as much of the visible dust as possible.

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Clean the Inside of PC Case

Carefully take the cover off the CPU (Central Processing Unit). Use a vacuum or canned air to carefully clear out the dust that collects in a case and can clog up the fans.  The dust you see accumulating on the rear fan grate was drawn through vents at the front of the PC, traveled through the PC (depositing some on the internal components) then was drawn through the power supply and pushed out the rear. If you blow dust into the case, there is more to accumulate on the expensive components inside the PC. Internal dust and other foreign material can cause overheating and eventually will lead to component failure.

Fan problems are by far the most common age-related computer maintenance issue. Fans are essential to your PC's well being, and they will cease to run eventually, unless you work in an immaculately clean room. The higher off the floor you place the CPU, the better the airflow in and out of the case, and the longer the fans are going to last.  If you place your CPU on the floor and allow pets and cigarette smoke in the room, your fans may need cleaning more often.

Caution:  DO NOT SPRAY COMPRESSED AIR INTO THE CPU, FLOPPY OR CD. This can damage or misalign the internal components, causing the drive to fail when reading media. Also, do not spray compressed air into the case/power supply at the rear of the CPU.

The outside of the case can be cleaned with an all-surface cleaner such as Formula 409 or Windex. DO NOT DIRECTLY SPRAY CLEANERS ONTO THE CASE.  Rather, spray the cleaner on a lint-free towel, then wipe down the front and sides of the case, taking special care to avoid the operating doors of the CD-ROM, floppy drive and any other bay-mounted devices.

If you keep your computer in a dusty environment, you should consider a "spring" cleaning more than once a year.

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Most every part of your computer requires occasional attention -- from defragging the hard drive to reviewing security settings to cleaning the monitor and mouse. If you don’t set up a regular schedule, it’s likely you’ll never get around to many of these important tasks. Use this information to build a comprehensive maintenance routine and follow the guidelines. The schedule can vary depending on your individual use. The payoff will be a healthy, reliable, and safe computer.

Computer housekeeping is really a snap. A little diligence will keep your computer clutter-free and speedy.  To help with keeping track of your maintenance schedule, you can download this maintenance schedule (Microsoft Excel) and modify according to your particular use.  If you do not have Excel, you can download and print the pdf version.

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