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Ideas to keep your PC performing smoothly

Other than the telephone the most important technology tool for many businesses is the computer. In many businesses it may even be more important than the telephone. When the PC is running smoothly the business runs that way too. When it’s not there’s usually panic.

There are things that can be done to help prevent problems. Using the following as a guideline will greatly assist in keeping the tool in good shape.

1) Have the right software installed. Every computer will come with the operating system installed. The first ones to install now would be Anti-virus, firewall and one that will protect you from ad-ware and spy-ware. After those it’s time to determine what other software you need to do your work.

2) Keep the operating system software and prevention software updated. Just as important as having these packages installed on your system you need to be sure that they are up-to-date and are regularity updated. Most will allow you to set a time to update. It should probably be done once a day and at a time that you know that the computer will be connected to the Internet.

3) Think before adding new software or upgrades. It’s always best to consider all factors before adding new software or updates. Is the computer powerful enough to run the updated software? Will the software impact any other installed software? Will it require system resources that may slow the system to an unusable level? These are just a couple of the questions that should be raised when looking at new and upgraded software.

4) Clean and organize your Hard Drive. Even though computer data storage devices are getting bigger, so in many cases are the files being stored on them. Software packages can take up a lot of space, as can music and video files. It’s a good idea to occasionally check your drive to remove outdated and unwanted software and other files. Email is another source of storage hogs. There may be multiple message with the same attachment or just old messages that have attachments. The Hard Drive is nearly always working and it does have mechanical parts that can fail. You will want to back up critical files routinely for quick restore in case of a failure.

5) Keep the area and air vents clean. One of the biggest dangers to the computer is heat. And the inter working of a modern machine generates a lot of it. It’s important to keep the air vents clean and free from dust, dirt and other air flow inhibitors such as paper and sticky notes. You don’t want to have the computer in a cabinet that has little to no air flow and keep it away from the heating source of the room.

6) Know where important documentation is located. In the case that the computer does decide to break it’s important to have the contact and/or warranty information easy to find. If you have a maintenance plan that allow for checkup and cleaning, have it done at the recommended times and if possible just before the warranty expires. Also know where the system restore and other software disk are located. And have current backups available.

© 2007-2008 Steven G. Atkinson – All Rights Reserved

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Steven G. Atkinson is the author of the book Technology Tips for Small Business. The book offers over 55 informational tips to assist the small business owner or office manager better understand the technology they use every day.

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