Computer Maintenance

Just like your car needs general maintenance to continue to run properly, your windows computer needs to be maintained as well. This goes beyond checking the computer for viruses and spyware. Here are some tips for keeping your computer running well:

> Windows Update
The most important step to keeping your Windows PC running well is to make sure that you keep up to date with all the available Windows updates.  Microsoft typically offers updates on a monthly basis, but important security updates could come out at any time.  To check to make sure your computer is up to date go to http://update.microsoft.com/.

The area next to the time on a windows computer shows programs that load when the computer boots up. Ideally, there should only be a few of these programs. The more programs that load on startup, the more potential there is for a problem.

Please visit this link for troubleshooting startup problems in Windows XP: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308041/en-us.

The more the computer is used, the more data files on the computer will be "fragmented" or moved around. This will cause the hard drive to work harder to find files. This can cause programs to load slowly.

1. Click on the Start menu and click on Programs or "All Programs".
2. In the Programs menu click on the Accessories folder and then highlight the System Tools folder.
3. Click on “Disk Defragmenter” to start the program.
4. Click on the Defragment or Defragment Now button to start the defragmenter.
5. The defragment process may take some time to complete. Please leave the computer alone while it defragments.

Official Microsoft Information on Defragmenting the Hard Drive in Windows XP:  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848/en-us.