26 Tips to Keep Your Computer Up and Functioning

Michael says on January 30th, 2007 at 11:55 am

All good tips, Reg.

One I’d add for setup: save program registration codes in a text file, in at least a couple of locations.

I prefer to turn off Windows automatic updates, since those updates can bring sudden, unexpected problems or unwelcome intrusion.

Reg Adkins says on January 30th, 2007 at 1:28 pm

Excellent suggestion Michael.
In addition to writing them inside the cover of the manuals in the three ring binder, a text file or data base would be a great way to conveniently access your registration codes.

Ace says on January 30th, 2007 at 10:34 pm

Also, you must disable services (services.msc) that you might not be using to save up RAM space.
Go to msconfig from run command and disable all useless programs from starting up everytime you boot your PC.

Ouam says on January 30th, 2007 at 11:36 pm

The title should be 26 Tips to Keep _Windows_ Up and Functioning.

Apart from this one: “Install a surge suppressor/emergency shutdown power strip” all these seem very Windows-specific…

RegAdkins says on January 31st, 2007 at 7:00 am

Ouam has a point. When I wrote (collected) these tips I had my Windows system in mind. But, I also run Macs for certain applications and I think I do mostly the same things for it.
Still…the right tool for the right job. Is it to late to write a post comparing Mac to PC? The tellie folks don’t seem to think so. What do you all think?

Josh Loy says on February 3rd, 2007 at 4:17 pm

I have a dropdown menu on my taskbar with the maintenance programs I run through regularly.

01 Control Panel – I use this to access IE Options and delete/clean all cookies and temp files; I can also access any System Administrator need that may come up.

02 Disk Cleanup

03 AVG Anti-Virus

04 AVG Anti-Spyware

05 Ad-Aware (for redundancy)

06 RegCleaner – I run the cleanup tool to get rid of any useless registries; plus, I double-check that my Startup List contains only essentials.

07 Registry Mechanic

08 PC Doc Pro (for redundancy)

09 Disk Defragmenter

10 Tweak UI – used as needed

11 DelinvFile – used as needed

And anytime I install or uninstall a program, I completely shutdown the computer and restart before continuing on.

RegAdkins says on February 3rd, 2007 at 4:49 pm

Josh those are great tips.
A lot of folks do something similar by setting up certain operations on their function keys.

MrWhipple says on February 3rd, 2007 at 4:53 pm

Some of these tips aren’t very useful, and can actually make your life more difficult:

Register your software products
This is okay, as long as you give the software company a disposable email address (Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, etc.) so you don’t get spammed.

Schedule automated updates
But don’t set your updates to download and install without your permission. Microsoft has been known to slip poorly-designed and even bad-for-the-consumer updates into the stream (Windows Genuine Validation, anyone?). Stay up to date on issues with patches and updates, download regularly, but only install those that will actually do what they say and not compromise your privacy. And if you’re in an office environment where updates are pushed by the I.T. department, don’t do updates on your own — let them take care of it.

Put your software drivers in a pocket sleeve 3 ring binder
Even better, copy your drivers to a folder collection on your hard drive, and back up that folder regularly. Update drivers as needed. Saves space, and you always have the latest driver software.

Empty your recycle bin
Better: Periodically delete old stuff in your Recycle Bin, but keep items recently deleted. I dump anything older than a month, but keep the rest just in case.

Delete your Internet files
Clear your browsing history
Delete your cookies
Why? I can understand if you’ve been hitting p0rn sites and don’t want your wife or boss finding out, but otherwise all you’re doing is making your life more difficult when you want to find that site you browsed last week or want to automatically log in to your favorite subscription site you visit every day. A better idea would be to set your cache to a decent size, and install the Permit Cookies extension for Firefox so only sites you allow can set cookies. (You are using Firefox … right?)

Josh S says on February 3rd, 2007 at 5:53 pm

Vacuum inside of computer
Desktops that are on most or all of the time attract a huge amount of dust/lint, which makes them run hot. I have a trading computer that was on 24/7 for about eighteen months before the first vacuuming. Ten minutes with a shop vac cut down my fan spin by about 80%. I also recommend physically removing and rinsing the shag off of the heat sink.

illyich says on February 3rd, 2007 at 6:36 pm

Rebuild your desktop. I’ve been using computers for years and never built one much less rebuilt one. Why confuse people?
Make you seem smarter?

RegAdkins says on February 3rd, 2007 at 7:08 pm

Illyich,
Rebuilding your desktop is an invaluable strategy when you get a desktop with generic looking icons, applications don’t launch from icons, desktop files have gotten too large to be read efficiently. Granted if all you’re doing is word processing and surfing it might not be necessary. I run a lot of different applications and need to rebuild my desktop about once per month. As for seeming smarter, I find about as many picnic baskets as any other bear.

Josh, That is another good strategy. Remember to make sure everything is well grounded.

MrWipple (love that tag by the way),
1. I agree about the email address. But, I don’t limit it to this area. I think most folks keep one email address less published.
2.Absolutely, never auto install ANYTHING. In God we trust all others bring proof!
3.I keep a back up file (3.5) for things I might need later.
4.Porn ain’t my thing, the Mrs. is a Hottie! Lots of times when host sites experience a problem (like blogger last week) you need to clear you history to get rid of the old corrupted addresses.I even reset my bookmarks periodically for the same reason.
These are some of the best exploratory comments I’ve ever gotten. It really speaks to the quality of readers attracted to lifehack.

Drahkk says on February 3rd, 2007 at 9:10 pm

Reg, defragging too often can actually shorten the life of your hard drive. I’d downgrade that one to quarterly, unless you are doing a LOT of installing/uninstalling. Most defrag programs can analyze the disk first; if there is a relatively small percentage of fragmentation, I’d just wait.

I definitely agree with Mr. Wipple that you should pick and choose your updates. Many of my customers have reported IE 7 causing more problems than it solves. That should NOT have been pushed out as a critical update. And I recommend NEVER downloading video or sound drivers from Windows Update. They are more often bad than not. Go to the manufacturer’s site.

Ace mentioned disabling unnecessary services in services.msc; here is a list of services the average user does not need:

Alerter
Clipbook
Computer Browser
Fast User Switching
Human Interface Access Devices
Indexing Service
Messenger
Net Logon (unless you are on a Domain)
Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Procedure Call Locator
Remote Registry
Routing & Remote Access
Server (unless you use file sharing)
SSDP Discovery Service
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Telnet
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Upload Manager
Windows Time
Wireless Zero Configuration (unless you are on a wireless network)
Workstation

I also suggest that you:
1. Disable Hibernation in Power Options
2. Set your pagefile to a static size (same minimum and maximum values) so it does not continually get fragmented. 2.5 to 3 times your total RAM is a good size for the pagefile.
3. If you have more than one physical hard drive, move the pagefile to a different physical drive than your Windows directory. If you have only one physical hard drive, make sure the pagefile is in the same partition as the Windows directory.
4. Download and run PageDefrag from sysinternals.com to defrag your system files, which most defrag programs can’t touch while Windows is running.
5. Turn off unnecessary visual effects.
6. Msconfig out any programs that have no business running at startup, as Ace mentioned.
7. Download and install the latest hosts file from http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/. Make sure to also set DNS Client to manual startup in services.msc, so the large hosts file does not slow you down.
8. In User Accounts settings, turn off both fast user switching and the Welcome screen. Then open a run line and type CONTROL USERPASSWORDS2 and hit enter. highlight your account, then uncheck “Users must enter a username and password”, hit Apply and OK your way out. This sets your account to autologon and speeds the startup process.
9. If you’re comfortable using regedit, navigate to this key: HKEY_Current_User\Control Panel\Desktop and make the following 3 changes: Modify the value of AutoEndTasks from 0 to 1, modify MenuShowDelay from 400 to 20, and modify WaitToKillAppTimeout from 20000 to 20. Then navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ and modify WaitToKillServiceTimeout from 20000 to 20.

Dave Voelker says on February 3rd, 2007 at 10:25 pm

Hi — just wanted to bring to your attention a misspelling in your “26 Tips to Keep Your Computer Up and Functioning” piece:
When I loose productive time at work it is usually because of a problem I have encountered with my computer.
It should be “lose” with one o. Just thought you’d like to know — I catch myself misspelling it occasionally.

Cintra says on February 4th, 2007 at 1:55 am

Clean your air filters monthly!

Jesus says on February 4th, 2007 at 8:20 pm

Some uterly useless suggestions.
“Register your software” and get spammed
like a Nigerian on an ebay holiday?
Defrag your HD until the heads wear out?
Ridiculous!

RegAdkins says on February 4th, 2007 at 9:37 pm

“Like a Nigerian on an ebay holiday?”
Smacks a bit of racism don’t you think?

Joe Ramsey says on February 5th, 2007 at 2:39 am

As a Christian I thought I’d never say this but…

Jesus is Wrong…

It is getting so tiring listening to people leaving negative, unconstructive, and often totally wrong feedback to an article. Anyway, as far as “Jesus’” post is concerned.

1) It’s always good to register your software in order to get any bug / security notifications as well as notifications when upgrades are available, etc. If your concerned about spam then use an address that you use for vendors and other lists which you feel may “spam” you.

2) Defragging doesn’t wear your heads out, actually quite the opposite, fragmentation wears out your drive. You run a defrag and it puts fragmented information together so that overall it requires less head movement over time as you access files. The less fragmented your hard drive is on a daily basis the less overall head movement your going to incur and probably the less heat that would be generated which would also add to the life expectancy of the drive. If you run a defrag daily it generally only takes a few seconds/minutes as long as you haven’t been adding/deleting a lot of files. This is much better than having the heads thrash all day long trying to read data that is scattered all over the disk.

The article is Windows-centric and maybe not really detailed. Also, some of the items are open for debate but really …. Than you RegAdkins for taking the time to post some helpful tips. I think there are a lot of other responses here that are constructive like removing startup programs, disabling unneeded services, but those are typically going to be for more advanced users and if they’re more advanced than they are probably not going to be needing basic tips anyway.

recuperación de los datos says on February 5th, 2007 at 7:36 am

How to recover deleted files and folders?If this is the question which is boggling your mind, then stop worrying because you are right place. After reading this article you will get to know the process of recovering the deleted files and folders.

Lets start with some basic i.e. what do we mean by Deletion? “Deletion means the removal of an item of data from a file or to remove a file from the disk”. Deletion are of two types:-1> Temporary DeletionIn this file is moved to the recycle bin. This operation is performed by simply pressing Delete button on the keyword, or by selecting the property of file or folder and deleting it.2> Permanent DeletionIn this file is not saved in recycle bin i.e. they are removed permanently. This operation is performed by pressing using Shift + Delete together.Here we would be taking care of files which has been permanently deleted through Shift + Delete operation through keyboard.Let’s see the other side of coin i.e. inside our hard drive and find out the answers of following question.1. How data is saved in our computer system?2. How is this data being managed by operating system?3. What happens when data is deleted?Our storage device i.e. hard drive is logically divided into two parts by the operating system. In one part data is stored and in the other part its address is stored. When we delete the data then operating system updates a flag in the address part of the hard drive which makes the operating system recognize that the following file is deleted. Now the truth, that data is still there in the hard drive. By now we know that data is there in the system, we have to find the means to access this data.For accessing this deleted data we have to use somedata recovery software. You can choose your own data recovery software however I would recommend you to go for Stellar Phoenix Deleted file recovery.Download the software from here: http://www.stellarinfo.com/del.....covery.htm Note: Do not install Stellar Phoenix Deleted File Recovery to the partition from which you are trying to recover data. This may result in your lost data getting overwritten and could also cause permanent damage. Run the Program from the Program Group menu option, for Stellar Phoenix Deleted file recovery. Select the option logical drive from the ‘Drive’ menu option or select "Ctrl+O" from keyboard, a window as shown below would appear. Select the logical drive from which you need to locate the deleted files, and press "Ok" the software would start scanning the logical drive. And you can see the tree being created at the left side of the window, once the scanning is over it is recommended to use the option "Hide empty folders" to view only those folders which are having deleted files. Once the scanning is over, you would see the tree.This is the last but most important process in recovering your lost data. After you have found the files that need to be recovered you need to transfer them to another media. You can recover data on to another logical drive of the same disk or another working hard disk or a network drive. You can recover data to – a) Another hard disk in the same machine b) A mapped logical drive on the network, with write ccess. c) A USB drive attached to the system d) A ZIP drive attached to the system br>All the storage devices where your Operating System can save data can be used to store the recovered data. Recovering All Files in Drive Use the option "Recover All" to recover ALL (including deleted, lost and numbered files and olders) the files and folders from the inaccessible drive. Select ‘Recover All ‘ option ‘Files’ menu. Alternatively you can also click on the ‘Recover All’ icon on the Toolbar to start the process. A dialog box pops up listing you the drives and folders. Select a destination folder; you’re ready to begin moving data Afterwards click Ok to begin. Recovering Selected Files Use this option to perform selective file or folder recovery. Select the files and/or folder by clicking on the check box displayed next to them. When you have completed files/folders selection choose "Recover Selected Files" option in File Menu. Alternatively you can also click on the Recover Selected Files icon on the Toolbar to start this process. A dialog box pops up prompting you to select the destination path. Select the destination folder; you are ready to begin recovering data. Click Ok to begin. When this process ends you can see all your deleted files & folders. There are many cases of data loss in my next article I would be discussing the process of recovering data from the formatted hard drive. 

Frank Henderson says on February 5th, 2007 at 2:33 pm

Please subscribe me

Lee says on February 5th, 2007 at 5:07 pm

Sorry about the long post, this is from an article on my site, Reg asked me to post it here.

My Comments

Register your software products
I’d also suggest making sure you register your hardware products too, very useful if you have to return them at any point, though I tend to only do it for high value items.

Run a disk scan to check for hard drive issues
Reg recommends doing this weekly. To be honest, hard disks are fairly resilient and due to the ever-increasing size this turns into a time-consuming exercise. I’d recommend every 3-6 months would be more than enough.

Run a defragmentation program
Again, recommended to be done weekly. My advice would be to move to using NTFS rather than FAT32 (this may not mean much, but when you install Windows it gives you the chance to select one or other. You can also convert FAT disks to NTFS as they are (see instructions here), supposedly without destroying the data (although backup first obviously) with Windows XP. You can read up about the differences and which type is best for you here. To see what type of file system a drive uses, right click it in Windows Explorer (My Computer) and select properties. NTFS, while we were originally it would never need defraging, still does, but again, it’s a long process, every 3-6 months should be more than enough unless you’re installing and uninstalling apps all the time.

Clear your browsing history and Delete your cookies
Again, these are suggested as weekly tasks. I don’t understand why everyone fears cookies so, yes they can be used for bad, but 95%+ they are used for good and perfectly reasonable functions. You know when you click one of those little ‘Remember Me’ boxes when you log in, that’s a cookie being set. So, if you don’t want to find yourself not remembered beyond a week, don’t delete them, 3-6 months again. Browser history affects that auto-fill dropdown so when you type in ‘goo’ it pulls up Google, then you just select it rather than typing in the rest. Why bother deleting it? The addresses time out anyway, if you don’t visit an address for sometime the browser ‘forgets’ it. Clean every 3-6 months if you wish.

Rebuild your desktop
When he says rebuild I assume he means the same thing I do and that means re-installing your operating system. Most people don’t do this at all, let alone quarterly, most IT pros are happy with yearly. Again, a long-winded process, so I wouldn’t advise too often, most people just don’t have the time.

My Suggestions
Okay, I didn’t mean to put Reg’s suggestions down too much, there’s a lot of good stuff there, but most people don’t need to do all the stuff as often as suggested. Anyway, on to a few of my own.

Only Keep Important Progams in the System Tray
The are where the clock is on your desktop (typically at the bottom right of the screen) is called the system tray. Applications often have icons there to allow you to see their status, launch them or to pre-load themselves to allow faster opening times. Mouseover each of those icons and see what it is. The number of times I’ve seen people with 10-15 items there is incalculable. You should have around 5 I’d say. You don’t need most of the programs unless you are accessing them all the time (or the run in the background). Windows Messenger and Quicktime are two of the worst culprits. Right-click the icon, select preferences, properties or options and find the box that switches them off from appearing there, or in Messenger’s case, stop it auto-loading, launch it manually. This will stop them eating up system resources (mainly RAM).
Timeline: Monthly

Keep Your Desktop Clear
Another thing programs are prone to do is create links to them on your desktop, some allow you to untick this option when installing, many don’t. Delete those icons, and try and keep as little as possible on there, each item takes time to load each time you boot up, so it slows your computer down and once you get past 15 items it no longer becomes a convenient place to find your most used programs because you won’t be able to find the button to launch it. By all means use it as a convenient location to temporarily dump files, but get rid of them ASAP. One way to may use of the desktop would be to create a folder somewhere in your system and then create a shortcut to it on the desktop, then things are only a double-click away.
Timeline: Weekly

Check Your Startup Folder
On your start menu, under programs, you will find a folder called Startup. Any applications in this folder will run when you switch the computer on. Again, these all add time to loading windows and you being able to use the PC. Many cheeky apps add themselves to this folder so take a look and delete anything you don’t need.
Timeline: Montly

Between that lot you should have a fairly stable, solid system that runs well all the time.

DiMi says on February 16th, 2007 at 2:38 pm

I would also recommend getting a small vacuum and sucking the dust out of the case every year. The dust makes electronics overheat because it inhibits air flow.

Rob O. says on April 14th, 2007 at 9:28 am

Thinking in a more general hardware sense, it’s also a good idea to keep your cables tidied up to prevent a rat’s nest of wiring and/or cables that could impede airflow.

DocZayus says on April 14th, 2007 at 8:12 pm

Great list.

I would suggest setting a planned task for defrag and scandisk, and any other weekly maintenance.
Use a .bat file if needed.

Rani Raj says on April 29th, 2007 at 12:56 pm

Great list.

Jennifer says on June 18th, 2007 at 10:59 pm

Thank you! I was looking for a list just like this — with just tips not lengthy discussions. My brain reads bullets best. Thanks; very useful.

brighthit says on August 23rd, 2007 at 11:48 am

Nice list. I recently learnt a lot about HDD maintenance when my system started acting jerky because it was infected by the disease fragmentation. heck, i never thought such things affected the PC.But now i know theres mot more to PC maintenance besides virus scans.

Linus Dorwald says on February 14th, 2008 at 10:08 pm

Just install Linux and you don’t need all these “tips”.

Никодимов says on January 9th, 2009 at 3:52 am

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moskvasoset says on January 14th, 2009 at 6:55 pm

moskvasoset i ne ebet!

osamabinladen says on January 14th, 2009 at 8:21 pm

osamabinladen – lox =))

autologon says on January 15th, 2009 at 6:56 am

Guys take Logonexpert automatic logon tool that encrypts password and perform logon to domain.

Computer Rental Company says on March 23rd, 2009 at 3:39 am

Great job! you have successfully summarized the needed tasks to keep a PC up and running.

If all computer users are oriented or educated enough with the information above, there would be a lesser chance of computer malfunctioning due to “bots” and “viruses”. It is essential for all users to schedule a time for updating themselves with the latest tools that can be used for security purposes because everyday a lot of malicious software are made.So preparation is a huge factor in keeping your PC working at optimum.

David says on April 24th, 2009 at 12:49 pm

A similar list with more in depth instructions can be found at http://www.debog.com. Also, a free script that automatically defrags multiple drives.

Maccas Mcfagget says on July 1st, 2009 at 10:48 pm

Ur all stupid computer fukin geeks go sux somefukin balls and get a life u kunts

hjs hero says on July 1st, 2009 at 10:50 pm

i agree with that stupid maccas kunt u guys r all stupid fags get a life!!!!!!!!!!

kfc (kentuky fukin chicken) says on July 1st, 2009 at 10:52 pm

im confused + i like nuts

Slow computer says on October 3rd, 2009 at 10:33 pm

One thing that I’ve done recently to speed up my slow internet connection is unplug my DSL modem so it clears it cache. Helps solve slow running computer connection issues.

Denzel Archie says on November 14th, 2009 at 8:14 am

You can also improve the performance of your pc considerably by making sure your software and device drivers are up to date.

jogkely says on December 2nd, 2009 at 2:27 pm

I will suggest 1 thing, ” Don’t install heavy softwares that is not necessary”. Your system will work perfect.

remote control software says on December 30th, 2009 at 1:08 pm

I would add the best piece of computer maintennance I can. Reinstall your OS every year! It is the best thing you can possibly do to speed up your system, plus it gets rid of any and all infections you may have.