Routine And Non-routine

Maintenance

How to keep your computer healthy

 Routine And Non-routine
Maintenance
• Routine computer maintenance consists of tasks that you
should perform on your computer daily, weekly or
monthly in order to keep the computer running
efficiently, fast and for a long time.
• Most maintenance tasks take only a few minutes and
should be part of the routine of computer usage.
Non-routine Maintenance

•Non-routine Maintenance is not scheduled but if you see

your system is running slow like a virus scan or if you can
tell if something is wrong, then defrag. Non routine
maintenance isn't scheduled and routine maintenance which
is done on a time basis.
 Physical Maintenance Tasks
Task Description and Steps Importance Frequency

Cleaning keyboards and Use a slightly damp cloth or Cleaning equipment can Once every three months
mouse compressed air; balls in the prevent damage
mouse device might need to be
removed and cleaned

Cleaning monitor screens Use approved solution or Overall cleanliness prevents Once every week
wipes users from using unapproved
solutions

Check cables and power Ensure that all cables are Preventing damage to cords or Once a month
cords for wear secure and not stressed; check plugs can minimize user
all plugs to ensure that they assistance calls and prevent
are in good condition, not damage to equipment
stressed, and not overloading
outlets
Hardware and Hard Disk Maintenance Tasks

Task Description and Steps Importance Frequency

Check for and update Use the Hardware Update Ensures that equipment is using the Once every three months
drivers Wizard, Windows Update, and optimum drivers
manufacturer Web sites to find
and install the latest hardware
drivers

Defragment hard Use Disk Defragmenter to Ensures the most efficient use of the Once every one to three months
disks defragment the hard disk drive hard disk
and make access to data
faster and more efficient (see
Chapter 5 for more
information); you can schedule
this task by using the
Scheduled Task Wizard

Use Disk Cleanup Use Disk Cleanup to clear out Eliminates unused and infrequently Once every one to three months
unused and unnecessary files used files
on the hard disk drive
 Security Maintenance Tasks
Task Description and Steps Importance Frequency
Install If computers are not configured to automatically Ensures that critical Once a week
downloaded install critical and recommended updates from patches are installed
Windows Windows Update, then you should do so manually to protect and optimize
Updates computer

Run a If computers are not configured to automatically run Ensures that you find Once a week
complete scans more frequently, you must do so once a week; any viruses on the
virus scan on you can schedule this task in most virus software computer, provided
the computer you have virus
definitions for them

Update virus Go to the Web site of the your virus protection Ensures that you have Once every two
definitions software manufacturer and download the newest the definitions of the weeks
virus definitions; you can schedule this task in most latest viruses
virus software

Check Web Check the Web sites of major virus protection Helps ensure that a Daily
sites for software manufacturers to see if new viruses have new virus does not
information been found, and how critical they are; if a critical new affect your network
on new virus is found, ensure the definition is immediately before you know the
viruses downloaded to computers virus exists
• Software
• Hard Drive
• Networking
• Hardware

Areas We’ll Cover

 Software
Update your Internet Browsers

• e.g. Mozilla Firefox, MS Internet Explorer

• It’s important to keep up with browser upgrades
• The latest versions usually contain important security fixes
• Firefox: Help  Check for Updates…
• IE: Tools  Windows Update
How to safely uninstall software

• Start menu  Settings  Control Panel  Add or

Remove Programs

Software
Software -
Unresponsive
Dealing with Unresponsive Software

• Sometimes, software will freeze on you and you’ll get a

“Not Responding” message
• To shut it down:
• CTRL + ALT + Delete
• Task List
• Choose application and End Task
Hard Drive
Maintenance - Defragmentation

• A few times a year, you should defrag your computer

• Defragmentation reorganizes your computer’s contents,
placing files closer together and creating large areas of
free space. This will make your computer faster.
• Start  Programs  Accessories  System Tools 
Disk Defragmenter
Hard Drive
Maintenance – Disk Cleanup

• Every few months, you should perform a Disk Cleanup to

remove or compress non-critical files and clear space
• Start  Programs  Accessories  System Tools 
Disk Cleanup
Maintenance – Recycle Bin

• At least once a week, you should empty your Recycle

Bin. Too many files in the bin can slow your machine
• Right-click on the Recycle Bin  Empty Recycle Bin

Hard Drive
Backup Your Data

• Just wait until you lose a 10-page term paper – you’ll

wish you had!
• Methods of backing up:
• Writable CD-R (650 MB) or CD-RW (700 MB)
• USB Flash Drive: 8 MB – 64 GB
• External Hard Drive (can be huge)

Hard Drive
Networking
Anti-virus Software

• Be sure you have software like Symantec Norton

AntiVirus and keep it updated (it can be set to
automatically update itself)
• Will prevent or eliminate viruses or worms from messing
with your machine
• You can download this for free
• goWMU
• Student Services tab
• Virus Protection Downloads window
Networking
Anti-spyware

• Spyware can take partial control of your machine and

send information about your activity over the web or will
launch pop-up adds
Stop Hackers

• If you have fulltime access to the Internet you may be

vulnerable to being hacked by other users

Networking
Safe email

• Phishing scams
• http://www.antiphishing.org/
• Other scams
• http://antivirus.about.com/od/emailscams/
• Search Google for others
• Attachments and images embedded in emails

Networking
Hardware
Computers ain’t cheap – take care of them!

• Monitor wipes
• Keyboard vacuum
• Remove dust from back
• Open and clean your mouse (ick)