How is your PC suffering faring with daily wear-and-tear? You might be doing more damage to your system than you think! Protect, maintain, and improve your PC with these must-know tips to protect, maintain, and boost the performance of your system.

Spending $40 to change your oil every 5,000 kilometres or so helps maintain your car's ability to run properly. You spend thousands of dollars for a car, you depend on it, so you maintain it, right? So should you maintain your PC's good health by practicing "maintenance musts" in the areas of Hardware, Software, and Human Behavior. In this article, I'll give you my advice for keeping your PC in the pink. While following these guidelines doesn't guarantee that you'll never have any problems with your computer, but proactively maintaining your system can increase your chances of trouble-free computing. About PC hardware

Surge Protectors

If you're running a computer that's plugged into the wall of your home or office, you're begging for trouble. A surge or a dip in the electrical supply can damage your hardware or crash your software (or both). Get a surge protector and plug all your components into that surge protector. I admit they don't provide perfect protection. But the meager amount you invest in surge protection could save hundreds of dollars in lost data or productivity.

Power Supplies

Do you have a machine, such as your network server, that absolutely cannot go down, ever, unless you're taking it down for a specific purpose? You need a UPS. Not the package carrier, but an uninterruptible power supply. The theory goes like this. You connect your computer to the UPS. If the normal power supply fails, the battery-powered UPS takes over. The UPS is supposed to keep your machine running long enough for you to restore normal power. The cost for a UPS can vary, depending on how much power you need to keep available and the length of time you want the backup power source to last.

Hardware Hygiene

Get a can of compressed air and use it to periodically blow the dust out of your keyboard, off the top and sides of your monitor, and off the back of your CPU. If you need to remove the cover for some reason, blow the dust off the motherboard.

Don't set your computer up next to a window. Windows get opened, and dust and rain can come in and ruin your computer! In addition, don't forget to clean your mouse. Dust and oil can accumulate on your mouse pad and on the mouse's rolling mechanism. If you notice a sluggish mouse or have difficulty selecting a range or a block of text, you may need to perform some routine maintenance on the mouse. ScanDisk and disk defragmentation

You can help protect against hard drive errors on your PC by running the ScanDisk and defragmentation system utilities. You should run these utilities once a week or so, or any time you notice that your system seems to be running a little slow. To get to these system tools, double-click the My Computer icon. Next click once on the Drive C: icon to select it, right-click, and then choose Properties from the menu. When you do, you'll see the Properties dialog box for your hard drive. Click the Tools tab, and click the Check Now button to run ScanDisk. Then, click the Defragment Now button, and Windows will let you know how much file fragmentation exists on your hard drive. If the software recommends it, let it defragment your disk. (This process may take a while, so don't start it if you're in the middle of a rush job.) Backing up your data

Backup recommendations depend on hardware, software, and human behaviors. You've either got to configure your system to perform automatic backups, or you've got to remember to do it yourself. Read this now and believe it immediately: You should back up your entire system periodically. You must back up your important files routinely. In addition, you should periodically try to restore at least one file from the back up media, just to confirm that the back ups are reliable. Ready to get started? Follow the instructions below for backing up your data...

...to your hard drive

Make a directory or folder called C:\BACKUPS. As you work, save your document, spreadsheet, or database files to your normal working directory. Then, before you exit your software, open the File menu and choose the Save As option. Point the Save As dialog box to C:\BACKUPS on your hard drive. Then you've got two copies of your important file, one in the working directory, and one in the Backups directory. If the whole hard drive crashes, you're out of luck. But if you accidentally delete or change the original file in your working directory, you can revert to using the copy you put in Backups.

...to floppy drive and off-site

Is your important file less than around 1.4 MB in size? Save your work in the software's working directory, then use Save As to save the file on a 3.5 inch diskette. Take that diskette home with you! That way, if your computer gets stolen or destroyed, you've at least got one "off-site" copy of your data.

...to CD-ROM

You can buy CD-ROM "burners" that let you write to CD-ROMs. You can use this technology to create backups of your entire hard drive. The write-once CDs cost a couple of dollars each, and re-writeable CDs cost around AU$15 to AU$20 each. This approach is clearly high-tech and high-cost. However, once you burn at least two copies of your year-to-date accounting data, you've got a backup that will last a long, long time! Antivirus software

Why wouldn't you use antivirus software? It takes a little while to check your memory and your hard drive for evidence of a computer virus? You resent the fact that some nut case is writing a virus in the first place? You think it costs too much? The plain truth is we need antivirus software for the same reason we need collision insurance for our cars: Just in case.

Boot disks

One way to keep your PC healthy is to be ready when disaster strikes. You know, someone tells you, "You're going to have to reinstall everything..." If you've ever needed to reinstall Windows 95, you may have discovered that the boot disk you made doesn't include drivers for your CD-ROM drive. Current drivers

The term "drivers" is a little scary to some novice users, but you really need to know what drivers are if you're going to maintain a healthy system.

Drivers are basically files that help your software and hardware recognise and work with new hardware or software. For example, if you buy a brand-new printer, there's a good chance your software won't know how to talk to it. So, you need the driver for that new printer. Some drivers are actually bug fixes. You'll typically find such files at, the printer manufacturer's site, Microsoft's site or at any of the myriad sites that compete to be the "one-stop drivers shop" on the Web.

Those running Windows 98 and later who have dedicated Internet connections maybe able to use Microsoft's live driver update system to upgrade their drivers as and when their operating system requires them. This can be done mid-update or 'on-the-fly' if you're willing to sign-up for Microsoft's online software provision service. You can find detailed instructions for updating your drivers here. Best human practices

1. Don't be in such a rush.

   Power down correctly. Never turn off your computer while Windows is running. With Windows 3.1, press [Alt][F4] and end the Windows session. With Windows 95 and Windows 98, close all open applications, and always use the Start button's Shut Down menu to power down.

2. Don't ignore error messages.

   Errors happen, and they're not always due to operator error. Sometimes, a bug in a program or a faulty connection can produce a non-fatal error message. Other times, error messages are warnings of serious system problems. When you see an error message, write it down word for word, and call for help! If you've rebooted your machine 10 times in a row, and you keep getting the same error message, get the clue: The problem isn't going to fix itself.

3. Don't eat or drink while you're at the keyboard!
   I hate to sound like your mother, but only you can prevent food and beverage spills. It's almost a rule in the computer industry: Half-filled cups of coffee left on computer components will eventually spill.

   If you do spill your soft drink or your coffee on your keyboard, unplug it. Then rinse it in the sink (or with a hose), and use compressed air to remove any residual moisture before you reconnect the keyboard. (I've known folks who put keyboards in the dishwashing machine, but I worry about the effects of the soap and heat.)