Your PC is like any device that requires mainte
nance. If you don't keep it in order you won't get the highest performance out of it. It's not difficult at all if you remember to follow these basic guidelines.
First of all you have to clean your machine with compressed air for good ventilation. This lowers heat therefore allowing your computer to run smoothly. If you have a desktop PC, then shut down the PC, disconnect the power cord, briefly press the power button to discharge the capacitors and finally, open the PC case to blow out the dust.
Another important thing that you can do, if you want to keep your PC at peak performance is to clean up and defragment your hard drive. Eliminate old programs and unused desktop and shortcut icons to get the most of the storage space on your hard drive. Clear your PC's Recycle Bin after the removal and get rid of the backlog of Internet tracking cookies and offline Internet files from Internet Explorer. Moreover, find room for new programs and present files by doing a Disk Cleanup. After that, use the Windows Disk Defragmenter to enlarge your hard drive productivity by consolidating fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk.
Next, update your system. The process of installing new software and driver updates may add functionality and upgrade the PC's performance. You are able manually check for Windows system updates by clicking on Start, All Programs and Windows Update.
Back it up! If you don't want to lose your photos, music and significant information because of a system failure or virus save them on a USB flash drive, CD or DVD. A complete backup of your PC's hard drive protects your operating system and all important files, while a partial backup will protect only selected files and applications. Full system backups may be automated to run daily, weekly or constantly. However, it is advisable to back up files once a week.
Also, it is very convenient to make yourself a tune-up calendar. For instance:
• January/New Year's,
• Spring/spring-cleaning.
Resources:
Tips on how to keep your best PC's state
Tune up your machine