Maintenance
It is important that you perform simple maintenance of your computer to ensure that it works at peak
performance.
Weekly
Software cleanup
Use
Disk Cleanup
or safe third-party cleaning tools to remove junk files and
temporary files that accumulate and slow down your system. Also, check for
programs you no longer need and uninstall them.
Defragmentation
Run
Disk Defragmenter
to keep your hard disk in good condition and improve
system performance. Frequently performing this task does not harm your
system.
Virus scan
Perform a full virus scan every week to catch viruses that might have slipped
through unnoticed. Most antivirus products have a scheduling feature to keep
track of this automatically.
Monthly
Hardware cleanup
Thoroughly clean the inside and outside of your computer.
Software updates
Use
Windows Update
to fix operating system bugs and improve performance.
Also, be sure to check for driver updates for your hardware and new versions
of your favorite programs.
Windows Update
Run
Windows Update
monthly to install updates.
Hard disk
diagnostic
Sometimes a failing hard disk can be caught beforehand by using
Hard Disk
Diagnostic
.
Yearly
System Recovery
In time, your system might still get bogged down, depending on the computer
usage. Use
System Recovery
to wipe your Windows operating system
installation clean, restoring it to the original configuration when you first started
your system.
Make a backup of important data files before proceeding with
a System Recovery.
See System recovery on page 18 for further details.
As
needed
Backing up your
data
Use CD or DVD recording software that is installed on your computer to create
(or “burn”) backup discs of important information, including personal files, e-
mail messages, and website bookmarks. You can also move data to an
external hard disk drive.
16
Chapter 3 Troubleshooting and maintenance
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