1. Turn your monitor off at the
end of the day, but leave your computer running 24/7.
Computer components are made to work best
when warm. Warming up and cooling down places more stress on
components than letting them run all the time.
2. Back up your data daily.
Use a good quality, high capacity tape drive,
and keep only today’s tape at the office, store the others
off-site.
3. Keep your computer clean—inside
and out.
Use compressed air to clean the inside. Check
the components and cables, and replace any that are worn. Use a
non-static spray and toothbrush to clean your keyboard and mouse.
4. Install security software.
Install antivirus software and update it on a
weekly basis and make sure e-mail protection in turned on. If you
have an “always on” internet connection, use a firewall to
keep hackers out.
5. Defragment your hard drive
weekly.
Use a tool, such as Norton Utilities to keep
your computer “tuned up”.
6. Delete unnecessary files and
uninstall unused programs.
Remove everything from your temp folder, your
temporary internet files folder, and the Recycle Bin.
7. Restart your computer daily.
Without actually powering down, restart the
computer (click Start-Shutdown-Restart). This keeps your windows
resources fresh and will prevent both short term and long term
software problems.
8. When all else fails, call Computer
Masters.
Computer Masters is the only computer service
you will ever need.
