Your PC gets a great deal of use, and if you want to keep this workhorse in top shape, there are a variety of computer maintenance steps you can take, with or without the help of your friendly local IT company, on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis.

Most of these tasks are simple to complete and rely on programs and protocols that are already included on your PC. In some cases, you may have to download software from the internet, which may be available for free, or cost you a nominal fee.

It is also wise to remember that some of these tasks take up to two hours to complete, so schedule them to take place at the end of your workday or over the weekend.

While it might take some scheduling and additional planning, healthy computers are faster, less prone to crashing, and help you get your work done quickly.

Weekly Checkup

At the end of your week, perform a Disk Cleanup – if you are using a PC with a Windows-based operating system, the program is already installed. A disk cleanup reviews your hard drive and makes simple corrections that enable your computer to run quickly and can free up drive space.

Finding this program is easy – simply go to: All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. The next step you can take to ensure that everything is cleaned up is going to your web browser and going to Options. Once you are there you can clear your cache, which eliminates cookies, and other files that can slow your computer down.

Virus and spyware scans are another weekly maintenance task that keep your computer free of annoying programs like malware and viruses that can greatly hinder the performance. Each program has its own options that you can set in regard to when the scan is performed and if you want to do a quick or full scan.

It is vital that you keep your virus and spyware programs up to date. The publishers of these programs will send out notices, so be on the lookout and remember to only click on updates from known sources.

Monthly Maintenance

Your hard drive and disk space can be cluttered with bits of files and unnecessary leftover data, and running a disk defragmenter cleans up these annoying pieces of information. Perform this monthly task and your hard drive, and your IT company, will thank you.

Depending upon the virus or spyware program you use, a deep clean can be conducted at the push of a button. This performs an exhaustive check and, depending on your computer specs, can take up to two hours. You can set the operation so that the deep clean takes place during down time.

Quarterly

This type of maintenance only has to be performed a few times a year, but do not think that it is unimportant.

Included in Windows is Scandisk, which can be found in the System Tools folder. Scandisk checks the hard drives for any potential issues and can correct data corruption if it is detected.  Before you start Scandisk, you are allowed to select different options that determine when it runs, and what it should fix. Run this program once every quarter to make sure your hard drive is in top shape.

Wrapping Up

Keeping your PC running smoothly does not take a great deal of work. Many of the programs are already included in Windows, and the virus scan programs can be downloaded, many times for free.

Keeping computers and networks healthy requires a commitment of your time – if you would rather have a professional IT company take care of this task give Thinline Technologies a call at 410-453-9300. We are also available via email.