My computer at home is currently suffering from a failing hard drive. I am in the process of losing a great deal of pictures that mean a lot to me, and a host of other very important documents. I am embarrassed to say that the hard drive crash was basically caused by my own negligence. So as I suffer through this cyber-tragedy, I thought it might prove helpful to you to give you a list of five fast and easy fixes to common personal computer problems. You do not have to be terribly tech-savvy to complete any of them. And I’ve also included a few troubleshooting tips at the end. Hopefully, this information can prevent you from experiencing a hard drive crash of your own.
Viruses
From time to time we all get viruses on our computer. Most are fairly harmless, but did you know that there is a fast and easy way to get rid of them? Rather than signing up for some overpriced virus removal software, just perform a system restore on your computer. This will basically “return” your computer to a time previous to when it became infected. It’s easy to do. Go to All Programs and find Accessories. Click on that, then click on System, System Tools, and then you should see something called System Restore. Click on that, choose a date prior to when your computer became infected, and follow the steps from there. In a few minutes, you should be virus-free.
Anti-Virus Software
Speaking of viruses, how much do you pay on an annual basis for your anti-virus software? Fifty dollars? More? Well, there are plenty of legitimate antivirus software programs that you can download from the internet for free. Absolutely free. My personal choice is AVG, but I know there are others. And it provides me with all the protection I need. Dump that yearly renewal and get the same amount of protection.
Slow Startup
If your computer takes a long time to start up, it is probably opening up and running too many programs when you turn it on. So, you just need to go in and de-select the ones you don’t need every time you turn on your computer. At the start menu, click on Run, and then type in the letters “msconfig”. When the box appears, click on “start up” and a list will appear of all the programs that run when your computer starts up. De-select the ones you don’t need, although I would caution you not to de-select any that have the word Microsoft in it or the brand name of your computer—these are probably necessary programs to run.
Slow Running
If your computer is slow in general, it is probably loaded down with too many programs installed on it and/or too many documents in your memory. About once every few months, go in and uninstall all unnecessary programs, and delete unneeded documents and pictures. To uninstall programs, go to your control panel, click on Add/Remove programs and go from there.
Updates
You know how from time to time you get that message that says there are updates ready for your computer? ALWAYS install these updates. They are vital and necessary to the efficient running of your system.
Additional Tips
Remember that hard drive crash I told you that I’m currently suffering through? Well, as I said, it was basically caused by my own neglect. So much dust had built up inside my CPU that the fans no longer functioned properly, my computer got too hot for too long a period of time and there you go—hard drive crash. Buy yourself some compressed air and spray all the dust out of your unit about once every three months. Especially the fans. Next, do yourself another huge favor. Invest in an external hard drive and from time to time, transfer important documents and photos off of your PC onto the external hard drive. This will help you avoid some of the heartache involved in a unepexected computer crash.
Closing
I hope you find these tips to be helpful and informative, and hopefully they’ll result in a faster and more efficient running PC.
Do you have any other tips or strategies regarding PC maintenance? Feel free to comment below.
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