Computer Maintenance, Useful Tips

Computer Maintenance, Useful Tips

PC FIX2

Computer Maintenance, Useful Tips

Regular computer maintenance will help you avoid many issues. It enables you to detect and avert hardware or software issues at their earliest stages. You may think that the problem is just a minor issue and your PC doesn’t need maintenance. Well, it might be a big problem building up slowly.

If you encounter problems when using your PC, then you know how the experience can be frustrating. Your PC needs to be repaired when it starts to shut down suddenly, the screen blinks, keyboards malfunctions, or it constantly encounters an error when processing. These are just some of the issues that you may be encountering.

To help you out here is detailed information of everything you need to know about computer maintenance. Read on to learn more!

Why Should You Do Regular Computer Maintenance?

If you are planning to increase the lifespan of your computer, then you need to maintain it at least once a year. Besides, there are several benefits to enjoy from enhancing its performance to keeping it safe from attacks.

Here are some of the reasons why regular maintenance of PC is important:

1. Early Diagnosis of Risks

Regular maintenance of your PC enables you to detect potential risks such as outdated programs or low disk space. If these issues are not solved early, they can cumulate to bigger problems which affect the performance of your computer or laptop.

2. Protect It from Malware, And Viruses

Even if you use antivirus software, some malware and viruses can go undetected sometimes. Regular computer maintenance will help to detect and get rid of unwanted programs or files that could be containing viruses or malware.

3. Enhance Functionality

When your PC is not performing like before, then it might be experiencing some functionality issues. As a result, it will start taking long to load program or process tasks. By running some checks, you should be able to detect and rectify anything that may be affecting the performance of your PC.

5. Update Important Software

Outdated software affects the performance of your computer or laptop. Regular maintenance will help to ensure that all important software is updated and your PC doesn’t contain any unnecessary or harmful software.

The Process of Computer Maintenance

Every computer contains two significant parts; the software and hardware components. To ensure that your PC is in good condition, you need to do software maintenance and hardware maintenance.

To know details about your computer you need to have Speccy software installed on your computer or laptop. This software will display all the specifications about our PC from hardware components; Motherboard, CPU, audio, RAM to software, storage components, network data, and graphics. It is the best tool that you can use to get info, perform maintenance, upgrade or troubleshoot problems.

So, let’s look at what to cover in each part:

1. Software Maintenance

During software maintenance, you will be checking the computer’s software performance and rectify and faults. These include:

• Windows OS Check

The operating system is one of the most critical parts of your PC. A slight fault with the OS will affect the overall performance. For Windows 7 and 10, you should check if the OS is in good condition and ensure that they are updated.

• Malware, and Viruses Removal

Certain malware and viruses embed themselves into your machine’s critical components making them very hard to detect. When your PC is infected with viruses or malware, you will start experiencing slow operations, annoying pop-up messages, and ads, etc.

To solve this issue, you can try to perform a complete scan on every part of your PC using powerful software. Once infected files or programs are detected, disinfect them and get rid of the viruses.

• Virus Protection

To get rid of viruses and malware; you should install the best antivirus. This will ensure that your PC is always protected against harmful files and programs. Some of the best antivirus that you can use include, Avast, Norton, Kaspersky, and AVG.

• Check Disk

If you are encountering disk errors that can’t be solved by a simple restart, then disk might be damaged. Normally disk errors can be caused by a faulty hard drive, incorrect MBR configuration, IDE cables failure, BIOS issue, incorrect boot order and so forth. You should perform a complete diagnosis of the disk using Speccy to identify and solve the problem.

• Disk Space

For optimum functionality, your PC needs enough space for running programs and strong files. If you are encountering low storage issues when there is enough space them something could be eating up your hard drive space. Try to clean up the disk using a cleanup software such as CCleaner.

• Check and Clean Windows Registry

Corrupted Windows registry can make your computer crash or freeze without any warning. To solve this, you need to upgrade-related software, and clean Windows registry to boost performance.

• Windows Performance Check

To ensure the PC delivers excellent performance, you should diagnose it to check its entire performance. From the diagnostic report try to identify any issues affecting performance and get them fixed.

• TuneUp Windows Services and Startup Programs

Once you install various software, your computer will soon start taking a long time to startup. This is because some of the programs interfere with the process as they try to launch each time you start your laptop or computer automatically. To sort this problem, tune up the windows services and check all the startup programs to ensure they are not affecting your PC’s performance.

• Check Unneeded Programs

Some programs that you might not be using anymore could be eating up space and slowing operations. By getting rid of them, the performance of your computer will be enhanced.

• Computer Backup

As you try to solve the problems affecting your computer, you don’t want to lose important files. This is why you need computer backup to ensure everything is left intact once the computer maintenance is complete.

Hardware Maintenance

Hardware maintenance involves checking and ensuring that the hardware components of your computer are in good condition. The components include the hard drive, DVD drives, keyboard and more.
Let’s take a look at what this process involves:

• Checking If the Computer Has an Overheating Problem

Overheating is one of the signs that there could be an issue with some of your hardware components. So, when you discover that your computer overheats, then you should proceed to check the condition of other components that could be causing the PC to overheat.

What Is Computer Overheating and Why Do They Happen

A computer overheating problem is when the machine releases excess heat that it can’t handle. Usually, this problem arises when the ventilation system of your PC is not effective. For instance, this can be due to the accumulation of dust or damaged fans.

As a result, your computer will start overheating when used even for a short period. The experience can be much worse for laptops since they are small.

How to Prevent Overheating

To avoid overheating, always ensure that the ventilation is not blocked when using the computer or laptop. Also, ensure that the fans are operational. During the maintenance clear all dust, ensure that fans are in good condition and replace the thermal paste of the CPU to ensure that the cup is well stuck on the CPU fan for proper cooling.

Impacts of Overheating if Not Solved

When the PC overheats, it will attempt to shut itself down to protect its vital internal components like motherboard, and battery, etc. The overheating, and immediate shutdown can cause adverse effects such as;

1. Corrupting data on the PC hardware. The immediate closure can cause the machine to overwrite specific data.

2. Hardware damage. If the computer doesn’t shut down on time, it could incur significant damages on the hardware.

3. Damage the battery. Continuous overheating damages lithium-ion batteries. It would begin by reducing their life, and when not corrected could even render them unusable.

How to Solve Overheating

Here are some of the parts you need to ensure they are in good condition to solve overheating issues:

• Check Disk Against Hardware Problems

A damaged disk can cause overheating, a system crash or loss of data. You need to ensure that it’s in good condition by diagnosing the disk using our powerful diagnostic tools such as Speccy.

• Check Memory

If your PC is expiring RAM issues, then it can end up overheating. This happens especially when your laptop or computer has a small Ram, and you still use it for gaming or perform other tasks that generate a lot of heat.

• Check, and Clean the Fans

Accumulated dust in a fan blocks your computer’s airways. This condition could be worse in laptops primarily due to their small sizes, and cause them to overheat too much. To fix this issue, you need to clear all the dust in the fans and replace the laptop/PC’s thermal paste.

• Check Laptop Battery

You need to check the battery to ensure that it’s in good condition. If it is damaged, then you need to take appropriate measures such as battery replacement. It’s crucial to resolve battery issues on time because, in extreme overheating, they could even explode and cause extensive damage.

How to Know If Laptop Battery Is Overheating

There are two ways you can test your laptop battery. The first way is commonly referred to as diagnostics. In this approach, you will;

• Disconnect the cord, then switch off the laptop.

• Restart the laptop. When it powers up, press the ESC key outright, when the startup menu appears select System Diagnostics. The computer will display a list of diagnostics from the list select Battery test.

• Reconnect the power cord, then click ‘Start Battery’ button.

•After the battery test, your device will show different notifications like; ‘Ok,’ ‘Calibrate,’ ‘Weak,’ ‘Very weak,’ ‘Replace’ ‘Unknown’ or ‘No battery.’ Depending on these notifications, your IT expert will advise you on the best option.

If your computer is malfunctioning, you should check if the problem is due to the damaged battery or other components of the computer. This is how to go about this approach;

•Remove the battery.

• Operate the computer only on the adapter.

If it works well, the problem lies on the battery. If it fails, you may need a qualified technician to assess the machine.

Why Should You Drain the Laptop Battery To 20%-25% Every Now and then to Increase the Laptop Battery Lifespan?

You might think that waiting until your battery is flat before you plug in is good. Well, what you don’t know is that draining the battery below 20% 25% before charging reduces its life span. This is because using the laptop with low charge strains the battery. It is advisable that you drain it to 20% then plug in to increase its lifespan.

Computer Maintenance in Business

Here, you will need to adopt a computer maintenance checklist to help maintain the company’s desktops, laptops, and other devices. This checklist will guide your company’s IT staff on how to tune up the machines, and also guide you on how to maintain the computers in top condition.

Here’s a quick checklist for your computer maintenance plan;

• Antivirus installation, and upgrades;

Scan new, and old computers to remove any underlying risks. Configure the antivirus software settings to regularly be updating the latest antivirus definitions to defend against any threats.

• Security in business data protection;

Your company will need an electronic backup system connecting the device to cloud-based programs. Select programs and files for regular updates anytime you connect the computers to the Internet.

• Updates;

Review all the devices’ operating system updates, and ensure the entire system is updated.

• Memory usage;

Review the memory and make sure the available space is enough to fulfill all your operations. If space is insufficient, you may need to update the RAM according to your company’s guidelines.

• Cleaning;

It’s crucial that you physically clean the machine. Use the right tools for blowing out dust from the computers’ internal systems. Also, check for, and remove crumbs on the keyboard, and use approved disinfectant for cleaning the shell.

• Deleting of programs;

Regularly check the computers for useless/outdated programs and files. Clean them to release space for seamless operation.

• Upgrades;

Usually, manufacturers will release new drivers to boost the computers’ performances, and remove security risks, etc. Also, check your computer’s driver registry, and install any essential current updates.

• Cache;

It’s prudent that you run system utilities to help you clear temporary files, DNS cache, and registry to clear the trash.

• Defragmentation;

After deleting huge files, and databases or upgrading the software, it’s critical that you defragment the system to boost it to an optimal state. For this maintenance activity, you can use the device’s built-in utility or purchase superior software for this operation.

Summation

Maintain your PC in good condition is crucial to increasing its life span. Fortunately, you can perform some of the computer maintenance practices on your own without the need of an expert. However, it is recommended that you have your computer or laptop maintained yearly to enhance its performance.

At goldpc.net.au, we have some success stories and happy customers feedback, we have your interests at heart, contact us and we will ensure you get the best out of your PC as you enjoy our reasonable rates.

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