RUNNING COMPUTER SMOOTHLY

After spending your hard earned money to acquire a computer, in a bid to catch up with today information driven world, it becomes neccesary to maintain your computer and keep it running smoothly. Its in the light of this that i decided to share with you some tips to keep your computer running smoothly.

1. Avoid turning your computer off with the power switch until Windows has shut down.

This will help you prevent permanent hard drive defects caused by the hard drive heads contacting the surface of the drive disc. It will also prevent a host of other Windows problems.

Whenever possible, recover from crashes by pressing the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys at the same time. Press them again to reboot your computer.

The one exception to this rule is when your computer locks up and your hard drive is not running (hard drive light is not blinking). In this situation, you can turn the power off without harmful effects to the hard drive. Cutting the power can also result in lost data or Windows files, you should only do this when you have to.

2. Use an Anti-virus and update Frequently.

You should protect your computer with a dedicated antivirus programme that can be continually updated like Norton Antivirus, Shield Deluxe, e.t.c. This will protect your computer from malicious programmes like virus, worms and trojan horses.

3. Get a UPS (uninteruptable power supply) for your computer.

This is very important for you desk top computer. Apart from keeping your computer from crashing during power outages, it will also protect your computer from voltage fluctuations.

4. Avoid subjecting your computer to extreme temperature changes.

Subjecting your computer to extreme temperature changes can make the case very brittle and easy to melt in high temperature or break in cold temperature. As a general rule, keep your computer in temperature that you, as a person, is comfortable in.

5. Run Scandisk and Defragment regularly.

This will help you maintain a healthy hard disc drive and help you avoid crashes. I recomend that you run scandisk and defragment at least once a month.

6. Keep your computer away from dust and liquids.

While dust can clog your computer internal mechanism, almost any liquid can result in very expensive damage to your computer.

7. Backup your hard drive.

Back up your hard drive frequently. You can back up to a CD-R, a zip disk, or directly to a second hard drive or partition. There are programes available that make it easy for you to back up you computer. There are products that back up every thing on your hard drive while some back up just the files you select. Backing up your system help you recover from virus attack or fail hard drive.

If you find all or some of these tips helpfull, share it with your friends. You can also leave me a comment.