Is your PC crashing? Help is here

Eight simple steps to keep your PC healthy

For most of us now, the PC is our life. It is where we work, conduct financial transactions, listen to music and watch movies and chat with friends online. So what happens when your PC crashes?

The work that you do is now lost. All the information that you stored is gone. Almost everyone who owns a computer has had to face this grim reality at least once in his or her PC-owning life. What can you do to make sure it doesn’t happen again?

Follow these steps to make sure that your computer stays healthy:

1. Scan Your Computer Regularly: Using Scandisk to scan your computer every week is extremely important. Scanning corrects errors on the hard disk of your computer.

2. Install Anti Virus: Viruses can wreak havoc on computers. It is among the main causes of system crashes. Installing an anti-virus goes a long way in keeping your PC safe and secure. It is also important to bear in mind that installing an anti virus is not enough, you need to carry out regular anti virus scanning of your computer, and keep the virus definitions updated.

3. Install a Firewall: If you are in the habit of logging on to the Internet regularly, you need to install a firewall. A firewall acts as a barrier preventing any unauthorised intrusion into your computer. It also alerts you if any program is being downloaded onto your computer without your knowledge. A firewall is essential to make sure that your computer is not compromised by spyware or adware. Windows XP and Vista come with their own built in firewall that you just need to turn on.

4. Defrag Your Computer: Defragmentation basically reorganizes your hard disk in a way to make sure your files are stored contiguously. It saves up disk space, improves the performance of your computer and prevents overloading. If you install many programs and uninstall them, or delete files often, you need to defrag the hard disk.

5. Perform Disk Cleanup: Another important thing to do to make sure your PC is running at an optimum level is to perform Disk Cleanup. This deletes the remnants of the files you have already deleted. It also compresses old files. You will be surprised to know how much disk space is freed up by performing a disk cleanup.

6. Download as little from the Internet as possible to prevent malware: Many people download free software from the Net. Many download music illegally from peer to peer sites. A lot of the so-called free software that you download can contain spyware.

7. Uninstall Programs You Don’t Use: Use the Add/Remove in the Control Panel to remove programs that you don’t use anymore. It cleans up disk space and improves the performance of your hard disk.

8. Clean the Computer Regularly: Make sure dust does not accumulate inside your computer. Clean your computer once a month with a dry cloth. Also make sure that your air vent is not facing a wall, as it is important to keep your computer properly ventilated to keep it cool.

MSN