Computer Maintenance for dummies*

Extend the life of your computers by 50%

I have always loved the bright yellow “For Dummies*” series of books, so I have borrowed their slogan for this article that will hopefully help you extend the life of your computers.

Computers are almost treated as a throw-away item nowadays. They are relatively inexpensive to replace and often the cost of maintenance and repair seems to outweigh the cost of replacement. However, this does not need to be the case. A little TLC throughout the life of the computer will give it up to 50% more life, saving you, and the Planet.

Firstly though, the Planet. Computers contain lots of harmful substances such as mercury, lead, arsenic and cadmium (plus more than 20 different metals). The western world chucks away 130,000 computers every day with less than 10% of them being recycled. Not to mention all of the additional chemicals and waste that is produced during their manufacture.

If you are disposing of a computer, there are a few things to remember.

1. Keep a backup copy of the data and have good backup systems in place for the new one. Nexus can help with that.
2. Do not dispose of the old hard drive as it contains confidential information. Formatting it does not remove that data. Have it professionally erased, or physically destroy it.
3. There are lots of companies that can recycle your old computer for free. Check Google or the Yellow Pages.

Here is a brief maintenance checklist you can use to help extend the life of that computer

Setting up your new computer

• Find a cool place to put it
• Keep it away from dust
• Make sure it is well ventilated
• Keep it off thick, fluffy carpets

Computers run more efficiently when cool. Heat causes expansion and this places stress on components and cause it to fail sooner than it should. Find a nice shady, well ventilated spot for the computer. Don’t put it hard up against the wall or a desk – give it 5-10 centimetres clearance.

Once a Month

• Defragment the hard drive
• Clear out temporary files
• Scan for viruses

It’s inefficient to work in a messy office, right? Hard drives are not much different; they work better when they are clean, tidy and organised. It is surprising how much better a computer works when the hard drive is free of clutter. Windows XP and Vista have a “Disk Cleanup” utility for doing this.

Every 3-6 months

• Review backup tasks

New software or upgrades can affect the backup and should be reviewed periodically. Having reliable backup systems are an important part of your business continuity plan.

Once a Year

• Have a general service and check-up
• Get the IT person to check for bottlenecks

Just like your car, computers need the occasional service. Next time the IT guy is around, ask them to remove the covers and clear out the dust. Fans will work more efficiently, and components last longer.

When computers run slowly, it is often only one component that it causing a bottleneck. IT professionals can check for this and upgrade the offending component. This is often the case with RAM, and a $50 upgrade can solve the issue.

A final note; the failure rate of computers is 100% - they all fail eventually. At Nexus, we constantly come in contact with business owners who left it too late to put in place a proper backup and recovery system. Please don’t make it into our book of bad statistics.

Want a copy of this checklist? Email me and I will send you a free, laminated copy.

Peter Thomas, Chief Executive, Nexus Data Limited

FOR DUMMIES® is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc.