Computer maintenance is one thing most computer users
neglect or even dreaded in doing. Although it could be very beneficial, only a
few would do it. Maybe because computer maintenance would involve cleaning up
your hardware which meanings a lot of unscrewing, screwing, blowing, brushing
and other stuffs life that. I didn’t even mention cleaning the software part of
your computer.
For this guide, I’m going to teach you how I unclutter my
Windows PC, on the software side, quick and easy. I recommend doing this atleast once every month or when needed.
This routine have helped me kept my laptop as well as desktop running for years
without the need of reformatting/reprogramming.
Uninstall Unnecessary
Apps
This part of uncluttering a Windows
PC has appeared on my guides but once question still remains. How would you consider an installed app “unnecessary”?
In my case, I usually uninstall apps that hasn’t been use for 3 months. Of course, you could set your
own criteria (which could be 6 months or maybe a month). You only have to be
careful not to uninstall apps that are needed by other programs (e.g. Microsoft
.NET Framework). If you are unsure whether you need the app or not, or maybe
unfamiliar with the app, I would recommend googling the app first before
uninstalling.
For the uninstallation of apps, I
would recommend using Revo Uninstaller
Pro. Revo uninstaller pro is a great software/app removal tool, especially
if you have problems uninstalling one. Also, it could also delete leftover data
that is usually left by the usual windows uninstall tool.
Clean Your Windows Registry
There
has been debates on the benefits of cleaning the registry. Some experts say
that it does improve computer performance while others say it doesn’t. Well, in
my case, I say that there’s nothing wrong with removing those unused registry
entries. You don’t even need them after all so why keep it there.
To scan
for unused or old registry entries, I would recommend using CCleaner. Overall, CCleaner has a lot
of built-in tools for cleaning your Windows PC. I have been using its registry
cleaner for years now and haven’t had a problem with regards to missing
registries.
Free Up Disk Space
This is
also an integral part of your computer maintenance. I don’t even need to tell
you how much this helps with regards to freeing up space in your computer. Just
try it!
For
this part, I would recommend using 2 tools. CCleaner and Windows “Disk Clean Up”
tool which can be accessed through right-clicking the local disk to be cleaned
up and go to “Properties”. The Cleaner
tool in CCleaner could cleanup your apps’ temporary files, cookies,
history, etc.
Furthermore,
you could also do this manually especially for your locally stored files.
Delete unused files on your PC or might as well as keep them organized by placing
them on designated folders.
Scan your PC
Also an integral part of
computer maintenance, scanning your PC would greatly improve computer
performance especially if it is being slowed by a computer virus or spyware. I
would recommend doing this part more than once a month especially if you’re in
doubt whether your PC is infected or not. I would recommend using an antivirus
that scans the PC automatically during start-up or when a flash drive is
inserted.
My tool
of choice for this part of maintenance would be ESET NOD32 Antivirus. It has features such as start-up scan and you
could also set it to automatically scan and clean inserted flash drives and
multimedia devices. You won’t even have to worry about your friends randomly
inserting their flash drives in your computer.
Defragment your Disks
Defragmenting
your disk would help your computer find and read files easily thus speeding it
up. I would recommend including this as part of your routine as most users do
neglect this part. However, if you’re already on Windows 7 or 8, it does it
automatically for you on a scheduled date so you don’t need to worry about a
single thing with regards to defragmenting your disks.
Although a very daunting and boring task, computer maintenance
really helps in speeding up and keeping your computer in good condition. It
could really help add a few years unto it. So please! I hope that through this
guide you could give your PC a pit stop even once for every month.