Helpful Tips on Computer Maintenance

A computer
that is 5 years old or more can still perform like brand new if you
only know how to take care of it. Well, taking care of a computer is
just simple. Just the basic things, use the computer properly, get some
softwares for computer maintenance, and run various programs that are
needed to be run to ensure computer's smooth performance.

Specifically, remember to:

* Follow the rule in shutting down computers. Until Windows has
shut down, never turn your computer off with the power switch. Doing so
will prevent temporary and/or permanent hard drive defects as well as
prevent Windows problems.

* Maintain free space of 300 MB in your drive C. If you use Vista
or Windows XP then make it 400-600 MB. Be aware that not maintaining
enough free space for your drive C will cause the dumping of data to
your hard drive that will eventually lead to slow performance.

* Secure Norton Utilities to get access of Cleansweep so you can
clean up your drive for good computer performance. There are some other
hard drive cleaners out there, so if you don't like using Cleansweep
you are free to go for other options.

* Make use of the Add/Delete tool in the Windows Control Panel to
get rid of the programs that are not anymore needed from your drive.
This will help boost maximum performance of your computer.
* Get a firewall program in case you have a high speed Internet
connection. Doing so will keep your computer away from hijackers. You
shouldn't want somebody else run your computer.
* Have a virus checker in your computer and run it frequently.

Viruses can seriously slow down your computer's performance or worst
destroy your hard drive permanently. You can try Norton Antivirus or
those free online virus checkers like Housecall by Trend Micro.

* Run the Defragment and Scandisk tools even just once a month.
Doing so will keep your hard drive healthy. Be aware that if your hard
drive is healthy, your computer will also perform at its best.

* In times like your computer starts to show symptoms for a serious
registry trouble like for an instance freezes, hardware malfunctions,
slow windows start ups, computer error messages, system32 error
messages, and the like, secure a registry cleaner right away. There
might be some errors and corrupt files in your registry. These errors
and possible corrupt files will seriously compromise your computer's
performance.