8 Computer Maintenance Tips: How To Keep Your Computer Fast

8 Computer Maintenance Tips: How To Keep Your PC Running Fast

Written by Iris Robin on 28 August 2009

There are thousands of reasons a computer can die, but most of them can be avoided. Whether you’re a computer novice or a computer whiz, you’ll save a lot of headaches by following some of these common sense tips:

1. Keep A Clean Environment for Your Computer

Make sure your computer is not placed directly near a heater or air conditioner. Too much heat can cause your computer’s components to expire at a much quicker rate, whereas placing your computer near an air conditioning unit can cause condensation to build up.
Always make sure your computer’s fans and air vents are completely dust free. If you let too much dust build up, your computer will overheat very quickly.
Do not smoke around your computer. Unlike regular dust that can stop up a computer, smoke contains moisture which will damage your computer much more than common dust bunnies.

2. Some Common Mistakes to Avoid

Never shut down your computer by just holding down the off button. Make sure you properly power down your computer (in windows go to Start -> Turn Off Computer)
Make sure you hold on to all of the paperwork and manuals that came with your computer. You never know when you’ll need to refer back to the manual (i.e your hard drive is acting up, you have every other manual except for that one, you thought you would never need it, so you threw it away).
Be extremely careful when moving your computer from one location to another, even the smallest jolt can dislodge chips and expansion boards.
Do not let dust build up inside your computer. Clean the inside of your computer with a can of compressed air every 2-4 weeks. Clean the fans, motherboard, video card, everything. This will keep your computer’s components running smoothly for many years to come.
Leave your PC running as often as possible. Powering your computer up is actually one of the most stressful things for it. Leave it on stand-by, this will save you on electricity, and save your computer from wear and tear.
On the flip side, always turn your monitor off when you’re not using it. This will save your monitor from dying off quicker.

3. Invest in A Power Strip with A Surge Protector

If there is a power outage, not only can you lost what you’ve been working on, but your computer can also be damaged physically. Purchase a specialized power strip to put all of your computer’s power cables into, and next time there is a power outage your computer will remain on for 10-30 minutes afterward. This allows you to save all of your work, and keeps your computer from suddenly frying from a power spike.

4. Update and Patch Regularly

Always make sure you have downloaded the latest operating system service packs and updates into your computer. This is especially important on a windows based PC. Keeping on top of this will help patch any holes in windows, thus keeping viruses and other malicious content off of your system.

5. Back Up Data Often

The best method I have found to backup your system regularly goes something like this:

Develop a system of folders for storing all of your information in (i.e a folder for pictures, a folder for music, a folder for documents, etc).
Buy an external hard drive. I’ve seen these go for about $60-80 now, they’re very cheap and can save you a lot of headaches.
Download a program called SyncToy from Microsoft, this will allow you to sync any of these new folders you have organized in your system with you new external hard drive.
Set SyncToy up so that it regularly syncs with these new folders you have organized.

6. Scan Your System Regularly with Anti-Virus Software

avgiphone There is a lot of anti-virus software out there, some are great, others will make your computer run worse. You should scan your computer of viruses AS REGULARLY AS POSSIBLE. There is so much out there, that you never know when something could damage your computer. It’s better to catch these things early on. Here is some of my favorite free anti-virus software:

AVG Free Anti Virus Software – I personally use this one, and it has saved me multiple times, highly recommended, and a great value.
Malwarebytes – Great for detecting malicious software, run this alongside SpyBot below and you have a pretty unstoppable team of software.
Spybot Search and Destroy – Hunts out spyware and destroys it, very easy to use and install, works great with Malwarebytes.

Once again, these are all free and easy to use. I’ve had a lot of experience cleaning viruses off of people’s computers, and these are by far the best 3 I have found. For further documentation on how to use any of them, please refer to their websites.

7. Defrag Your Hard Drive

Defragmenting your hard drive is a process that will re organize the data on your drive (picture a library with books scattered all over the place, it’s harder to find them if they’re not organized, right? Defraging acts as a Librarian going through and organizing all of these books, so your drive runs more efficiently).

The process sounds complicated, but it really isn’t. Once you Defragment you should notice your computer running faster, do to the efficient organizing it did while defraging your drive. Here is a great article and video that shows you how: How to Defrag your Hard Drive

8. If your Computer Is Still Too Slow, Add More RAM

Having more RAM in your computer is a great, low-cost way to add useful life to your computer. If you have under 1 Gigabyte of RAM, then you should probably look into getting more. At crucial.com you can find any type RAM out there, plus the site helps you pick out which RAM is best for your system.