Maintenance
From TSG Library of Knowledge
I'd like to include basic information here about regular computer maintenance, including:
- How to run Defrag and Scan Disk
- Installing Windows Defender
- Using Disk Cleanup
- Physical cleaning of dust (including warning about static electricity)
- Programs to avoid (LimeWire and other P2P programs that bring spyware)
(We'll also want to include how often it is recommended to do each.)
Contents |
Defragmenting
When you are saving and creating files, data is often thrown across the actual hard drive platter. This means parts on a single file are physically on different parts of the disk. When data is spread out like this, it takes longer to read and write files to the disk, so opening and saving files takes sightly longer. When you defragment your drive you reorganize it to ensure that individual files or folders are not broken up by free space or parts of other files and folders, as these would otherwise need to be skipped over and cause delays. You also bring the files close together, so there is a section of free space and a section of data. This helps to ensure that when you add new data to the disk it does not fall into several small holes and thus create more fragmentation. Depending on how many files you save and how large they are, you should defragment anywhere from every week to every few months. It is also a good idea to defragment after removing software or big or numerous files. You should never defragment Flash drives or Solid State Drives. They do not have the same problems seeking data from a new location, but can be worn out by the large scale reads and writes associated with defragmentation.
Windows Vista
The Vista defrag tool is automatically configured to run on a schedule, which may be edited in Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter. If left alone it will generally get the job done silently. However at times a user may wish to force a defrag. For example more Climate Concious Users may object to leaving their machine drinking up electricity all night to make sure it defragments properly, or a defrag may be needed after an uninstall. Under such conditions one should click the Defragment Now button, and select the drives to defragment.
To some great vexation to many people Defrag in Vista has two little quirks. Firstly, it gives practically no information about how fragmented a drive is, or how effective the process has been when finished. Secondly, files with fragments larger than 64MB will not be defragmented, because Microsoft believed the time lost in reading and writing those files to be insignificant compared to the time lost in defragmenting them. The solution to both of these problems is found in launching defrag from an administrator Command prompt. The syntax is "defrag driveletter:", and those two problems can be solved with the -a or -v and -w modifiers respectively.
Windows XP
- Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter
- Select the drive to be defragmented.
- Click Defragment
OS X
Apple recommends against defragmenting your drive, partially because OS X automatically defragments some parts (more information) . If you still want to defragment your disk, you will have to use a third-party program like iDefrag.
Security
Though covered in greater depth elsewhere, it is important to recognize that system security and system maintenence are inseperable. Regular updates for and scans with antivirus software, good settings on a firewall, downloading windows patches, and common sense with regards internet browsing and removable drive use may even be more critical than regular defragmentation. After all any computer which spends most of its processing power sending spam for a remote hacker can reasonably be considered in a very poor state of repair, as can one with a virus-infected opperating system that randomly deletes information.
Avoid using P2P programs, as these can be comandeered to spread viruses or other malware. Indeed so many viruses are spread in this way that MRU (Malware Removal University and one of the training grounds for TSG gold shields) refuses to help with virus recovery of computers with such programs installed.
Registry Cleaners
Many third party developers have produced automatic Registry Cleaners (such as RegCure or Piriform CCleaner's registry cleaner). The idea is that as unnecessary information including file extensions and references to software become obsolete, they cause the system's registry scanning to slow. Therefore these products will scan for and automatically remove such records, to help speed up your system. A lot of users use such cleaners as part of their regular maintenance. This is the wrong thing to do. Though the theory sounds very logical, in practice registry cleaners often do more harm than good. Many are misconfigured and remove necessary information, such as wiping the records used by Add/remove programs of what software is already installed. Their removal of unneeded records also causes the registry to become fragmented, causing greater slowdown than leaving the records in. Furthermore the good itself is often scarcely noticeable. It is a bad idea to consider such programs a part of your regular maintenance toolkit.
Disk Cleanup
Standing in Contrast to the idea of using a registry cleaner, performing a disk Cleanup opperation is a very good idea. The basic idea is that Windows and other programs often produce files which are not needed, or which remain indefinitely, long after they were needed. For example windows maintains a database of thumbnails for all your pictures, which if not cleared, includes thumbnails of pictures which no longer exist!!! Another example is temporary internet files, possibly saved from a site you will never view again. Then there are error logs, the problems they reported may be months old and solved, but the computer will not delete them on its own. The windows Disk Cleanup can be accessed from the properties of a drive, or from Start>All Programs>Accessories>System tools. Piriform's CCleaner can also be downloaded and does a better job of this (it knows of more unneeded files to remove). As said before, it is not advisible to use the CCleaner Registry cleaner.
Physical Care
All of the above deal with the data on the hard drive, but a computer is a physical object and requires a measure of physical care.
Power Protection
Most computers opperate at some time off the mains electricity supply, which in most developed nations is fairly reliable. Problems do occur even in places like the USA or Australia however, and in developing nations they can almost be considered a common occurence. There are three main kinds of protection devices, each wired to damper the damage of a different problem. The first protection is a surge protector, a device which is inserted between the mains and the equipment and will protect it in the face of an electricity surge, even such a surge as might be caused by a bolt of lightning striking the power pylons. The second protection device is an Uninteruptible Power Supply, or UPS. This is a battery backup for the computer which will power it in the event of a blackout or brownout, at least for the few minutes needed to save your work and shut down properly, helping to save data and keep the computer in a state of good repair. On laptop computers this is not so critical if they have their own battery. The third protection device is a regulator, which alters to a smooth sine wave the voltage in places where the mains supply doesn't deliver a regular voltage. Possesion and use of such protection devices helps keep your computer in good working order.
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