Keeping your system running at optimal speed is a delicate balancing act of the amount of files you use, and how you use them.
Without going into pages of details of how a computer works and how it stores files with all its millions of 1s and 0s the necessity of keeping a computer in full running order is quite a big task.
Between the updates that Microsoft is pushing out plus all the updates your other programs are going as long as you keep those up and in peak condition your good right? Not exactly…
Other than your computer receiving the latest security patches from your MS, Adobe, Mozilla, etc. you need to take care of your machine and make sure it doesn’t accumulate unwanted trash, here are a few basic things that you can do to keep your computer running smooth. Your computer will naturally start to “forget” where it places items or puts them back in the wrong place (just like us!) here are some tips to minimize that
- Empty the recycle bin, as frequently as possible – There is a reason you put those files in there, its trash
- Keep your desktop clean – Some people have 100 icons on their desktop because “its easier to find everything” its like your child saying his room is better with clothes all over the floor because he can see everything. You can utilize Windows 7’s library functionality or create folders on the desktop, the less your computer has to constantly display and create the better it will be for its overall health and performance
- Don’t shut it down everyday (what keep my computer running?) use the computers sleep function or just keep it running. a 300W PSU unit at MAX power will use 7kwH per day (46 cents per day) now this is a HUGE number because in 30days that an extra $15 on your bill, most computers while idle (when your not using it) anywhere from 70-150W maybe 200W and the sleep function brings that down to about 10% of that which will be extra pennies per day to the electricity bill, switch a few more lights to fluorescent and you will balance. Having your computer turn on and off and on and off is like turning your car on and off all the time, it wears it out, and there isn’t a heavy duty engine in the box, its a wafer thin board of electricity. Turning your computer on and off all the time can (its an argumentative can) wear down the parts, not to mention each time your computer boots it accesses all the main files at once and pulls them out of the directory, its like trying to look at A-Z in the library all at once and then trying to put it back together as fast as you can, your going to make a mistake.
- Use the disk cleanup function to help with getting rid of files you do not use anymore – Computers accumulate junk, just like us, we need to make sure that junk is being tossed regularly through deleting the junk we put there and helping the computer ridding it of its own junk, the easiest way is to use the Microsoft Disk Cleanup Wizard. This guy will search the computer for stuff you do not need (and it is old system files and temporary files) and ask you to delete them, I have never had a problem with allowing it to get rid of everything.
- Call for help – If your computer is running slower than it used to, or it starts doing ANYTHING weird, either email someone you know who is good with computers or call in a pro to clean out anything out of the ordinary or listen for any specific problems that may be floating around the internet infecting your computers
There is obviously a lot more things you can do for your computer other than above but this will add a good amount of life to your machine as it is, sometimes things just give out and you need to replace some parts but that’s something a pro can tell you first hand when he/ she is looking at your machine.
This is my computer right now, 6.35GB of junk I could remove…. looks like I need to take my advice!
