Computer Maintenance Tips

By: Eugene Eshitemi

 

Basic computer knowledge is becoming more and more essential in this fast evolving world. Most organizations have implemented computer technology to ease their work and increase on their output as well as save money that was initially used to employ most man power. Today, computers are no longer used just for office tasks but more and more people are using them at home for various purposes.

It is due to this issue that most of us who are capable want at least own this wonderful machine. Owning a computer may be costly if you don't have the skills to maintain it.

For those who are lucky, here are some tips on how maintain your computer and make sure that it is reliable.

First, never turn your computer off with the power switch until windows has completely shut down. Following this rule will prevent hard drive defects caused by the hard drive heads contacting the surface of the disk drive

It is also important to purchase an uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for your computer. This will keep your computer from crashing during power outages and will protect your computer from low and high voltage occurrences.

Data backup is very essential. Please learn and practice backing up your data you can't imagine the nightmare you will have when your machine fails with data that you have worked for and always relied on for years. Choosing to backup data is choosing safety, even when disaster occurs you still have your data with you because you are a wise computer user.

Run scandisk and defragment at least once a month. This will keep your hard drive form logical failures and loss of data.

You should never unplug peripherals from your computer when it is still powered. This can short out the connector socket or the motherboard.

Always make sure that you have at least 200MB of your C for lovers of Windows XP and Me. Windows Vista users should have minimum of 1 GB of C for the best performance. If you do not have enough free space you will choke windows and it will generally reduce its performance be become very slowly.

Always make sure that you are running processes that can be managed by your processor at a time. Avoid running several applications at a the same time which may lead to what we refer to as "Deadlock situation"

Essential software in the computer is the antivirus. Always ensure that your computer is installed with antivirus utilities that its automatic scan is turned on and it is updated to curb harmful threats such as computer viruses from invading your system. If you have a high a high-speed internet connection you need a firewall program to keep those who want to invade your network.

What you need to know when purchasing a new Desktop/Laptop

Computers are no longer used just in the office; more and more people are using them at home to perform different tasks. Due to this reason, one has to be extra careful when purchasing a new computer.

Below are some of the basic specifications you need to consider when buying a computer system.

The processor

N/B

Random Access Memory (RAM)

The Hard disk

Most new computers have a modem to connect them to the telephone line. This means you can sent emails and faxes and connect to the internet.

DVD-ROM, CD-ROM

Note that if your computer will be equipped with a CD-ROM it will not read from high density disks such as DVDs. You need at least a DVD-ROM to read from a DVD and watch films. If your intension is to write on blank CDs and DVDs, then you will have to choose a computer installed with a DVD+R DL (RW).

To print out files, you need connect your computer to a printer. Other important peripherals include things like scanners, digital cameras (some laptops have webcams) for capturing images and videos.

and floppy drives are used to read data stored removable data storage mediums such as the compact disks and floppy disks respectively. acts as the 'granary'. It is the storage device of the computer system. if you intent to store a lot of information or load the computer with heavy applications then you should think of a bigger capacity of the hard disk just like a farmer who harvests a lot will have to set up a large granary enough to store his harvest.this is another important specification to consider. When a program is running, it is using the available computer RAM. The RAM is measured in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB). 1000MB is equal to 1 GB. The bigger the RAM of your computer the more programs and files can be handled at the same time. Hence multi-programming : Today with advances in computing technology, we have systems with more than one processor such as DUO core to facilitate multi-processing technique. is the smallest part of the computer that actually performs almost all the tasks of the computer. It is commonly named the Central Processing Unit (CPU). Different CPU's have different processing speed. The speed of the processor is measured in Megahertz (MHz) or Gigahertz (GHz). It all depends on what you want your computer to perform and what kind of programs you want to load your system with. If you will be running heavy programs, then it is recommended to consider a processor with a higher speed. 

What you need to know when purchasing a new Desktop/Laptop

Computers are no longer used just in the office; more and more people are using them at home to perform different tasks. Due to this reason, one has to be extra careful when purchasing a new computer.

Below are some of the basic specifications you need to consider when buying a computer system.

 

 

 

The processor

is the smallest part of the computer that actually performs almost all the tasks of the computer. It is commonly named the Central Processing Unit (CPU). Different CPU's have different processing speed. The speed of the processor is measured in Megahertz (MHz) or Gigahertz (GHz). It all depends on what you want your computer to perform and what kind of programs you want to load your system with. If you will be running heavy programs, then it is recommended to consider a processor with a higher speed.

N/B

: Today with advances in computing technology, we have systems with more than one processor such as DUO core to facilitate multi-processing technique.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

this is another important specification to consider. When a program is running, it is using the available computer RAM. The RAM is measured in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB). 1000MB is equal to 1 GB. The bigger the RAM of your computer the more programs and files can be handled at the same time. Hence multi-programming

<a rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link']);" href="">The Hard disk

acts as the 'granary'. It is the storage device of the computer system. if you intent to store a lot of information or load the computer with heavy applications then you should think of a bigger capacity of the hard disk just like a farmer who harvests a lot will have to set up a large granary enough to store his harvest.

Most new computers have a modem to connect them to the telephone line. This means you can sent emails and faxes and connect to the internet.

DVD-ROM, CD-ROM

and floppy drives are used to read data stored removable data storage mediums such as the compact disks and floppy disks respectively.

Note that if your computer will be equipped with a CD-ROM it will not read from high density disks such as DVDs. You need at least a DVD-ROM to read from a DVD and watch films. If your intension is to write on blank CDs and DVDs, then you will have to choose a computer installed with a DVD+R DL (RW).

To print out files, you need connect your computer to a printer. Other important peripherals include things like scanners, digital cameras (some laptops have webcams) for capturing images and videos.

 

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