Free hints for maintaining your computer in tip top condition. Please see the DISCLAIMER at the end of the article.
Section Links:
BASIC SYSTEM MAINTENANCE / PREVENTION / SYSTEM LOCK UP / VIRUS PROTECTION / INSTALL DISK / INTERNET PROTECTION / EMAIL VIRUSES / FIREWALLS / POWER FAILURE PROTECTION / CLEANING DVD'S AND CD'S / KEEPING THE DUST AWAY / INSIDE THE CASE / GETTING RID OF OLD PROGRAMS / THE RECYCLE BIN / BACKING UP YOUR DATA
WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEMS
Windows XP is designed to provide the greatest possible compatibility with
programs and hardware. When you try to be all things to all people you can’t be
perfect. Million of lines of coding execute in a second. Amazingly, Windows
works most of the time. Don’t let problems get you down, once you get the hang
of handling problems you will find work around solutions that work best for you.
Sometimes it takes a little work to make things come out the way you want them.
PREPARE FOR THE WORST
You know the saying about “an ounce of prevention.” No matter what you do,
things will stop working once in a while. It’s just the nature of the beast. All
of us who work with Windows-based computers prepare for occasional freeze-ups
and crashes. There is no better way to secure your data then to back up your
system regularly and using a battery backup device.
THE
THREE-FINGERED SALUTE
If your system is not responding, try the three-fingered salute. Hold down the
“ctrl” key and the “alt” key. While holding these down, tap the “delete” key
once and only once. A window may pop up; this window is the “task window”. If a
program is listed in the window with the words “not responding” beside it, then
you can highlight the program listed by left clicking on it and then click the
“end task” button.
If you find that even the mouse cursor (pointer) will not move then try the
three-fingered salute again. Select “shutdown” at the top of the pop up window
and then select “restart.” In most cases, simply restarting the system will
solve the problem.
If the system does not restart then press the reset button. Wait for the system
to reboot. You will most likely be prompted to allow the system to scan your
hard drive. Let it do it’s job. I was once working on a computer where Windows
had to be reinstalled completely, deleting all settings. The teenage girl in the
house saw the “scandisk screen” pop up asking for permission to check the drive
for errors. She announced proudly, “I just press the spacebar to get around
that.” I smiled and turned to her Dad (a friend of mine) and said, “I’d send her
the bill. That’s what caused the problem with your computer.”
There are three copies of a special file called a “registry.” If one becomes
damaged it is compared to the other two to fix it. This is done in the scandisk
startup. When she bypassed the scandisk repeatedly she damaged the registry
beyond repair.
VIRUS
PROTECTION
One antivirus program and one only can work in your system at a time. Don’t try
to install a new antivirus program without removing the old one. You can remove
the old program from the control panel “add remove programs.”
There is one great free antivirus solution on the market today. You can download
the free version of Avast at www.avast.com. I personally know of over 50 people
using this product with excellent results. You will need to register it (free).
Occasionally it will ask for you to re-register it; if you don’t, it will turn
off. The same thing happens when you pay for an antivirus solution, too.
One feature of Avast stands above most other antivirus products, you can do a
boot scan. What this means is that the program can remove most viruses that
would normally be running in Windows at start up. A boot scan works BEFORE
Windows starts. Avast also keeps copies of your critical files just in case
something new gets through.
VIRUS SCANNING
If you think you have a virus and can still access the Internet, try using this
wonderful program to scan your system located at www.bitdefender.com It scans
and removes many viruses, Trojans and spyware AFTER they have infected your
system. While it does not provide protection from Viruses, it does often fix the
problem. They do have an excellent suite of protection products on this site as
well. Simply go to their site and choose, “free scan.”
Many major brand-name companies do not provide you with a full version of
Windows. Instead they give you a “Manufacturer Disk” that often will ERASE all
of your DATA and then put their custom Windows installation back on the hard
drive. If you have one of these disks, don’t worry about it. Competent
technicians can usually work around this problem. It does not seem fair that you
should be forced to erase all of your work just to get the system working again.
We do everything in our power to keep your data alive and well on your hard
drive.
Why should you keep your Windows Install disk in a safe but handy place? There
are a few reasons:
If you ever need to reinstall your operating system (that thing we call Windows) you will need your Install Disk. The technician who reinstalls Windows will ask for it.
The system will ask for the disk! Should you change critical system components such as Network settings then Windows will demand the disk. If you do not have it, then you will not be able to continue the installation or change.
If a file in Windows gets corrupted (damaged) you can reinstall the file if you have the disk.
DON’T LOAN OUT YOUR WINDOWS DISK! It is critical to your system. Keep it safe and secure.
AM
I PROTECTED ON THE INTERNET?
If you use either a commercially available product such as Panda Antivirus,
Trend Micro’s PC-cillin, or AVG then you should be protected against known
viruses. Some antivirus software also protects against a host of other threats
such as phishing (stealing your personal information – identity theft), spyware
(stealing information about what you do, forcing advertisements on you,
redirecting you to unwanted sites), and hacker intrusion (someone getting inside
and controlling your computer). Usually these are called some kind of internet
protection suite.
Microsoft’s Beta program to be fully released with Windows Vista, Microsoft
Defender, is excellent protection from spyware and some other threats. You can
download and use it for free. The program is still under development but it has
worked great on my system for nearly a year.
EMAIL
VIRUSES
Most commercially available programs will scan your email for viruses. Panda
Antivirus, Avast, PC-cillin, Bit Defender and AVG (www.grisoft.com) all do this.
Please take every precaution to avoid being infected by a virus. Until you have
had one of these nasties on your machine, you may not understand how important
prevention can be!
A good antivirus program is like a wonderful junkyard dog. Aggressive and
fierce, this program will stop a virus in its tracks. The key here is that the
dog must recognize the enemy. Of course, viruses are being written, modified and
spread rapidly. No program can give you 100% protection. ALWAYS backup your
data!
If your data is backed up, then you can simply wipe the hard drive and reinstall Windows, if necessary (some major manufacturers make this hard to do on proprietary systems, check with a professional if you think you need to do this).
One good solution to protection from hackers is Zone Alarm. Zone Alarm controls
the data that can flow in and out of a computer it is self-configuring and
requires no knowledge of ports or protocols. Zone Alarm is much easier to use
than traditional firewalls and is an ideal security product for home users.
There is a free version of this product available at
www.zonealarm.com.
BASIC
SYSTEM MAINTENANCE
• Blow the dust out of your machine at least once a month. This is fairly easy
to do on most machines if the case cover comes off without a problem. Usually
there are a few screws on the back of the computer that will allow you to take
off the cover.
• Turn off the computer.
• Some have panels that slide off on each side; others have one solid frame that
lifts off on the top. There are screws in the back that hold in the power supply
and possibly fan on the back. Just look the case over and see if you can figure
out how to open it.
• Once you have it open, you will use a can of compressed air to clean the
computer. Buy these in the computer department of Costco or at Comp USA. DO NOT
use the air on the CD-ROM or DVD. If you blow dust particles on the lenses you
may need to clean your CD-ROM or DVD with a cleaner built for this purpose. Be
sure not to tilt the can or shake it! These air cans contain fluid. Read the
directions on the can, too. Blow out the fans, the power supply (the thing that
has the power cord attached to it), and each card attached to the motherboard
(the big board that everything attaches to).
• Some of you may find a sticker on the back of your computer that says words
to the effect: “If you remove this sticker then you void the warranty.” Pretty
nice of some manufacturers, isn’t it? How are you supposed to clean out the dust
if you can’t open the case? Sounds like they don’t care about their customers
much. If you open the case and void the warranty, that is up to you. Dust can be
a BIG problem in a system but I can’t tell you what to do; if you cannot blow
out the dust then I can only hope that you are Irish.
POWER FAILURES
Power failures, brownouts, lightning and sunspots, they all can play a part in
damaging your system. Battery backups with line conditioning are critical to
protect your investment.
• Buy a battery backup. You can get a decent battery backup device for less than
$100.00. Find one that has a minimum of 500VA supply. This will give you
anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes of battery backup until the power comes back on.
In my book, surge protectors just do not provide enough protection for either
the computer or your data. Do yourself a favor and buy a backup.
• Some battery backups can be connected to your computer via serial cable. These
backups have the ability to turn your computer off if the need arises. These are
the best protection for your system BUT they require some computer savvy to
install. You can install one of these and then badger your technician into
installing the hardware connection at a later time. They will provide protection
for you even without the link cable installed.
CLEANING YOUR CD-ROM and DVD
Your CD-ROM drive should be cleaned once a week. This is easy to do. Buy a CD-ROM cleaner at the computer store. This is simply a CD-ROM with a tiny brush attached to it; you put the CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive and it plays for a short time. The brush removes dust particles from the lens in the drive. It takes less than a minute to do this.
Do you have a serious dust problem? If you do then fork out the money for a
HEPA filter. This will clean most of the dust particles from the air and reduce
the problems with dust in your system. Be sure to buy a filter big enough for
the room and READ the instructions for use. If you spend the money to do this
then be sure to clean your HEPA filter regularly!
KEEPING YOUR HARD DRIVE IN SHAPE
Two programs are instrumental in keeping your hard drive in working order, these
are scandisk and defrag. Scandisk checks for errors on the drive and defrag
makes the information easily accessible.
Always use Scandisk before you defragment your hard drive. It is important to
check for errors before you start moving files around on the disk.
To access these programs click START, double-click MY COMPUTER, then click on
a hard drive, usually designated by the letter “C”. A computer may have more
than one hard drive and each drive should be scanned and defragmented.
INSIDE THE CASE
When you blow the dust out of your computer (which you do regularly, right?),
you should make sure that the fans are turning. Not all motherboards (the thing
everything attaches to in your computer) warn you of fan failures. If your CPU
(processor) fan stops turning it could overheat and die! You will find this fan
covering the processor on the motherboard.
With the case open, turn on your computer. Keep your hands away from the inside
of the case! Use a flashlight and look at each of the fans. Start with the CPU
fan on the motherboard. Look at the case fans next. There should be one or two
fans in the case helping to blow the hot air. They are small craft fans that
usually attach at the front and back of your case. You can tell they are moving
if you cannot see the blades when you have the flashlight illuminating them.
Your power supply (the thing with the power cord attached to it) also has a fan;
you can tell if it is working by putting your hand outside the case at the fan
grill and feeling for exhaust air.
Fans are critical to your cooling system. Check them each time you open the
case.
First and foremost—be sure that you know WHAT you are removing. If it is a
children’s game that you installed, fine remove it. DO NOT remove programs if
you do not know what they are, period!
Many people think that they have removed programs when they delete the file
folder they are contained in. This is not true of Windows programs. In order to
remove them properly you must delete them from the CONTROL PANEL. You will find
the control panel inside the “my computer” icon on your desktop.
Open the control panel and find the “add/remove programs” icon. Open this
program and it will bring up a menu. On the menu you will see a list of all of
the 32-bit programs (or 64 bit if you are state-of-the-art) you have installed.
Left click on the program that you want to remove and press the “add/remove”
button. Follow the prompts.
Why do we use this procedure? Programs do not install in one place. Programs have many parts that are spread in several locations on your hard drive. To remove all the bits and pieces an “uninstaller” is required. That is what the “add/remove programs” was designed to do. If you choose to ignore this suggestion, you may be calling the repairman soon.
THE RECYCLE BIN
OK, folks. I know you are all dedicated trash dumpers. As soon as you see some
trash in the recycle bin you empty it right? WRONG! You might need some of those
items you believe are trash someday. Don’t empty your trash until you actually
need more space on your hard drive UNLESS you know exactly what you are doing.
Even geeks like me have actually emptied the recycle bin and spent hours trying
to fix their systems afterward.
If your system were to suddenly stop working what would happen to your pictures
of Aunt Jane, your resume, and your checkbook record? Do you backup your system?
How often?
You should backup your critical data whenever it changes. Businesses should back
up daily. Home users may only need to backup their files once a week or once a
month. It depends on how often your data changes and how critical it is to you.
Certainly, you should backup after every critical change to your system.
One good free program to do this is Cobian Backup 8. This program comes with a
tutorial to show you the ropes and does the job on my systems. It is available
at http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm.
Happy Computing!
REGULAR CHECK
UPS
Regular Checkups are an important part of protecting your system. At least once
a year you should have a professional check your system for problems and
potential problems.
Don Scott
Scott's Complete Mobile Computer Repair
