Computer Maintenance Tips

Just about everything needs to be “maintained” on a regular basis to stay “healthy” including our computers… Here are a few simple things to do, to be sure that your computer lives a long healthy and happy life and stays out of the “computer hospital”…

1. First and foremost, make sure you back-up your computer system and data on a regular basis. This is critical in case your system ever crashes or is infected with a major virus… Whether you back-up manually or automatically, whether you use a 3rd party (such as carbonite.com or mozy.com) or you back-up to a DVD, CD, flash drive, portable hard drive or external hard drive, making sure your system is totally backed up is one of the most important maintenance steps to ensure that you don’t lose valuable information including your data, photos, videos, music etc.


2. Make sure your computer is up-to-date on it’s “shots” which means making sure that your computer is protected with anti-virus & spyware software. And just as important, you want to be sure this software is “current” meaning you must accept and allowing the updates for your anti-virus, adware, spyware and malware program on a regular basis. It’s also highly recommended that you protect your privacy by using a firewall… Together, all of these help to protect your computer, the information on it as well as your personal information.


3. Updates are important not only for your anti-virus, but also for your operating system – application programs and drivers for your peripheral hardware, such as your scanner, printer and other hardware…


4. Know the specifics about all your equipment and programs – it helps to create a list of your equipment including mfg, model #’s, serial numbers, when they were purchased, and other important data, such as cartridge #’s; specifics about your digital cameras, camcorders, cell/smart phones and programs – and in one place along with the receipts, so that you can quickly and easily access the information when you are talking to a technical support person. It also helps to keep the basic information for all on a small card in your wallet, that you can refer to when you are shopping or asking for technical advice


5. Protect your computer (and all electronics in your home) from “power surges and drops”.. Use a surge suppressor, which contain technology that prevent excess amounts of electricity from entering your computer – Computers especially, are highly sensitive to electrical fluctuations a surge protector that help “even out” power spikes… So whether you have a desktop or laptop, you need surge protection…If you have a home office, you may want to consider also using a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) which often times has a built in surge suppressor/protector.


6. For those of you who carry around laptops, notebooks or netbooks – portable devices should be carried in “protective/padded cases” and if you are leaving your desktop for a long period of time, consider covering it when it is off and not being used……


7. Ventilation is important. It’s never a good idea to cover the back of a desktop – the vents & fans - with anything that could prevent airflow. Some people, often those with pets or live in areas that tend to be dusty, thinks it’s beneficial to protect their computers and stop animal hair, dander & dust from entering their fans & vents, by covering them with pantyhose, cheesecloth etc., but they only cause more problems by preventing proper ventilation.. Laptops, notebooks and netbooks should be raised slightly from the surface-many new ones have small feet built in, or just add little Velcro furniture tabs under each corner, or use a small rack like those used in kitchen cabinets...


8. For many years when your system began to run slowly the first recommendation made was to “clean out your cookies and temporary internet files” – although this isn’t as important now that the computer hard drives are so large, but there are still advantages to cleaning them out periodically..…


9. Before you just hit the power button, be sure you have properly and completely closed all programs. Shutting down your operating system properly will ensure that you don’t corrupt any of your files, making them inaccessible in the future…


10. Find a good technical support person that you trust – so that when you aren’t sure – you can call them. The last thing we want to do is touch something that could void our warranty or further damage our system…

INCREASE YOUR LAPTOP BATTERY'S LIFE

Without fail, the battery on our laptops – notebooks or netbooks, always stop working and run our of juice at the most inconvenient time – in the middle of that rush report or when you are on a flight and watching a DVD movie

Laptop screens take up significant amount of power and we usually don’t require maximum brightness, so check your system and decrease the screen brightness it to a comfortable point.

Stop your wireless signal when you aren’t using it - After turning off your Laptop, right click on your WiFi control signal and be sure it is off to save a considerable quantity of battery power

Check your power plans - Windows XP has several predetermined power plans to control settings like how rapidly your laptop turns off and when your screen saver boots in. You can change your laptop power scheme by choosing Control Panel, then choose Power Options. For maximum battery life from the “Maximum Battery” option from the "Power scheme" and decline the list. Other good choices might be "Low Power Mode" and Portable /Laptop – they may not conserve as much power as Max Battery, but they still help. After choosing the power scheme, click Ok to finish the process.

What is the Fn key on my laptop?

Small portable computers (laptops, notebooks, netbooks) have fewer keys than larger desktop keyboards, but most come with a special function key, the Fn key, which when used in combination with other keys, like the Shift key, give those keys multiple purposes.

In some of the newer laptops/notebooks, the Fn key is used primarily to activate special laptop functions. These functions share other keys on the keyboard, typically the Function keys. They're marked by special icons, and these icons are color coded to match the Fn key.

THERE IS NO STANDARD LIST FOR THESE FN KEY COMBINATIONS - But many laptops do use Fn key combinations to do the following – so when you find the combination that works create your own “reference list”:

Fn +UP ARROW increases the brightness of the screen (decreasing battery life)

Fn +DOWN ARROW decreases the brightness of the screen (increasing battery life, but also increasing how much you need to squint to read the screen).

Fn +ESC suspends your computer, switching it to a mode where the hard drive and screen are disabled in order to save battery power. (Usually closing the screen accomplishes the same task, but sometimes you want to leave the screen open.)

Fn +F2 toggles your wireless on and off. (Practice it a few times so you can recognize how the icons in the system tray appear, so you’ll know to switch it back on if you ever disable it by accident.) If you’re on a plane or in a hospital, you should disable your wireless receiver. Or suppose you’re riding in a train or car and you know there’s no wireless signal, you’ll increase battery performance if you disable the wireless receiver.