SETTING UP YOUR COMPUTER MAINTENCE

So now you have bought yourself a new computer, now you are wandering what else you need to do to keep it running like it should?
Optimize your computer for peak performance:
do this at least 1 times weekly: run the Disk Defragmenter:
1.
In your Start menu, click My Computer.

2.
In the My Computer dialog box, right-click on the drive you wish to check for errors (for most of us this will be the C: drive, unless you have multiple drives on your computer), and click Properties.

3.
In the Properties dialog box, click the Tools tab, and then in the Defragmentation section, click Defragment Now….

4.
In the Disk Defragmenter dialog box, select the Volume (most likely your Local Disk C:) at the top of the screen, and then click Analyze.

5.
After analyzing your computer, the Disk Defragmenter displays a message stating whether you should defragment your computer. Press Defragment to clean up your computer if necessary. The Disk Defragmenter will reorganize files by placing together and organizing them by program and size.

Files being reorganizing with the Disk Defragmenter.

Make Internet Explorer run faster
The Web is a sparkling achievement of modern society. It's everywhere—from the home to the classroom. We use it to communicate, to work, to play—even to waste time when there's nothing else to do.

Yet there's nothing more frustrating than having this technical marvel at our fingertips 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, only to watch our computers access the Internet at a crawling pace. Thankfully, Microsoft Internet Explorer provides some useful options for quicker Web surfing. Let's look at these options now.

Reduce the size of your Web page history
Internet Explorer stores visited Web pages to your computer, organizing them within a page history by day. While it's useful to keep a couple days of Web history within your computer, there's no need to store more than a week's worth. Any more than that and you're collecting Web pages that will slow down your computer's performance.

To reduce your Web page history:
1.
In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options.

2.
In the Internet Options dialog box, in the History section, find the Days to keep pages in history: box. Type "1" in this box, as pictured in the image below. Click OK.



Reduce the number of days to keep pages in history

Don't save encrypted Web pages
Encrypted Web pages ask for usernames and passwords. These pages scramble information to prevent the reading of this sensitive information. You can define Internet Explorer to not save these types of pages. You'll free up space by saving fewer files to your computer, as well as keeping secure information off your computer.

To not save encrypted Web pages:
1.
In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options.

2.
In the Internet Options dialog box, click the Advanced tab.

3.
In the Settings section, scroll down to the Security section. Check the "Do not save encrypted pages to disk" option, as shown in the figure below. Click OK.



Set up Internet Explorer so that you do not save encrypted Web pages.


Automate Microsoft Update
Configure once
Microsoft works constantly to release updates to Windows and other Microsoft products, including Office. At Microsoft Update, you can find and install all these updates—not just the critical ones. Often, these updates will improve your computer's performance.

You can make life easier by automating Microsoft Update so your computer downloads and installs all the updates without you having to worry about them.

To automate Microsoft Update:
1.
In your Start menu, click Control Panel.

2.
In the Automatic Updates dialog box, check the Automatic (Recommended) check box. You can define the time of day when your computer checks for updates. If the computer finds any updates, it will download and install them automatically for you.

3.
Click OK.



Automate Microsoft Update to keep your computer up to date.

Install antivirus and antispyware programs
Computer viruses and spyware (hidden software that gathers information about you without your knowledge or consent when you're using a computer) both reduce system performance. Computer viruses can not only reduce performance, but they can also destroy data. Any computer that accesses the Internet should have antivirus and antispyware programs installed.

• Antivirus programs: Two of the most reliable computer virus programs around are Norton Internet Security and McAfee Internet Security Suite. Find additional antivirus programs on Windows Marketplace.

• Antispyware programs: For a great antispyware program, check out Windows Defender.

Follow these steps and you'll have your computer purring like a vintage Porsche!!!
UNTIL NEXT TIME JUST REMEMBER TO ASK THE GEEK ON CALL!