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| Back up your important data files often. Computers can and do eventually fail, often without advanced warning (even new parts can fail prematurely). Today, one of the most convenient ways to back up data is with a CD-RW (burner) drive. The disks that these drives use hold 700 megabytes of information each for as little as 25 cents each. And they're very durable. For greater storage needs, tape backups or second hard drives are recommended. On-line backup services are also available. Software exists today that can back up everything on your computer to create your own set of 'recovery' disks, but no backup if fail-safe. If your computer applications and data are critical, consider always keeping a current backup in addition to the full computer backup. Keep all your applications, operating system and driver disks where they are readily available should you be faced with the dreaded computer crash. It's very easy to get lazy about doing backups if your computer has been running for a long time without any problems, but all computers will fail sometime so it's best to be prepared for the inevitable. One other important tip -- if you're having problems with a program, you should do a backup immediately BUT be sure you don't use a disk (or tape, etc) that has a previous backup on it. The backup you'll be making may be corrupted and you don't want to wipe out a potentially good backup. In fact, never do a backup over your most recent backup. Always use several tapes, CD's, floppies or whatever media you're using in rotation so you'll be sure you have a good backup to restore from. Connect your computer to a UPS (battery backup) device if you leave it on for extended periods of time. It is generally recommended that if you use your computer at least once every 18 hours, you should leave it on. Accelerated wear and tear will occur with frequent on and off cycles. A UPS is a battery backup device that will keep your computer on for from 5 to 30 minutes depending on the UPS rating you buy. This will save your computer from damaging power surges if the electricity goes off and comes back on quickly. It will also save damage from lower than usual power flows (brown outs) and lessen the damage that can occur from lightning. Keep your computer in a clean, dry, smoke-free environment. Just as tobacco smoke is detrimental to our health, it is also harmful to our computers. The smoke residue builds up on devices like floppy drives and CD-Rom drive surfaces and reduces the life of these devices significantly. Dust alone builds up inside your computer over time and creates an environment prone to overheating of electronic components, which increases the likelihood of premature failure. Combine smoke with dust and your computer usually won't last half as long as it was meant to. This build-up of dust and smoke coats all surfaces inside your computer and either causes read / write devices (such as floppy drives and cd-rom drives) to fail or causes overheating of electronic parts that increases their tendency to fail. Humidity levels consistently above 60% may cause problems just as it would to other electronic equipment. If you cannot remove your computer from dust, smoke, or high humidity, you should consider special equipment or service procedures to decrease the probability of potential problems these circumstances may cause. Keep your computer turned off when it will not be used for several hours to reduce the amount of pollution pulled into it. Purchase and install a well-known virus checker program. McAfee and Norton (Symantec) both make excellent programs for this purpose. Be sure you get a program that is easily updated (like over the Internet) and keep your virus protection up-to-date at least monthly. Unfortunately, new viruses are created every day. Some companies even provide free software, but check them out thoroughly to see if they keep the virus protection up to date and to be sure they're certified for virus protection. Spyware is becoming as much or more troublesome than viruses. Software is beginning to show up in the marketplace to combat this problem as well. If you leave your computer on, restart it at least once a week. With usage, it is normal for your computer's performance to decline somewhat. Windows XP's design has greatly improved this problem but many computers are still running Windows 95, 98 and Millennium and will benefit from this 'reboot' process. Some programs are worse than others for failing to release RAM memory back to the computer when the program is closed. Restarting (shut-down, restart) your computer cleans up this memory 'leaking' problem and will enhance your computer's performance. Whenever you notice your computer performance suffering, try a 'restart' to see if the performance improves. If you're doing a lot of restarts, you may need to install more RAM memory or even consider having your hard drive wiped and reloaded. When you encounter any type of error, try these steps first: (1) simply click OK (if it's offered) in the error message box and see if the error message goes away (2) try to exit the application where the error has occurred (3) close all open programs, if possible (4) restart your computer. If these steps cannot be accomplished and the computer is 'hung' then try a restart by pressing the reset button on your computer. If the reset button does not respond, turn off the computer, wait about 10 seconds and turn it back on again. Many times these steps will clear an error and you can continue to use your computer. If the error problem continues, be sure you write the exact error message down along with information about which program you were using and what actions you had taken when the error had occurred. This information can help a great deal to diagnose your particular computer problem. Run scandisk and defrag at least once a month. Running these two utilities that come with Windows will clear up little problems before they become big problems. Windows 98 provides the ability to automate these tasks. |
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