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Maintenance and Troubleshooting
General Maintenance & Security Guidelines
Computer
-Protect against power surges or loss.
-Register your software products or sign up to receive product alerts, patches & updates.
-Schedule tasks to run automatically when possible.
E-Mail
-Never open attachments from e-mail from an unknown source.
-Do not respond to unsolicited e-mail.
-Always include a relevant subject line on e-mail that you send out.
-Set-up your e-mail to Auto-Archive older mail messages.
Internet
-Be aware of the potential security risks associated with Internet activity.
-Be informed about the personal information you provide online as well as what information is
being collected about you “behind the scenes”.
-Do not give out password or personal information from emails stating they are from your
financial institution. Financial institutions do not request information via e-mail....EVER!
Security
-Protect yourself against computer viruses with anti-virus software.
-Sign up for free Microsoft Windows Critical Update Notifications.
Daily Maintenance & Security Tasks
Security
-Verify that your virus definitions are up-to-date, if conditions warrant
Weekly Maintenance & Security Tasks
Computer
-Run “ScanDisk” to check hard drives for errors.
-Run “Defrag” to defragment your files.
-Run “Disk Cleanup” to delete unneeded files.
-Clean out files from your temporary files directory.
-Back up your files and store them away from your computer.
-Empty Recycle bin.
E-Mail
-Delete the “clutter” from your Inbox.
-Empty your Deleted Items folder, or set it up to empty automatically.
Internet
-Delete your temporary Internet files & clear your Internet History.
-Delete your cookies.
Security
-Update virus definitions.
-Run a full anti-virus system check.
Monthly Maintenance & Security Tasks
Computer
-Check for the latest Service Packs/Updates for Windows, Office, Internet Explorer.
-Check for unneeded or unused programs and consider uninstalling them.
Quarterly Maintenance & Security Tasks
Computer
-Clean your PC.
-Clean your keyboard.
-Clean your mouse.
-Clean up your start-up menu.
Security
-Change your system passwords.
Annual Maintenance & Security Tasks
Security
-Renew your anti-virus software subscription.
FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTER TROUBLESHOOTING?
Computer troubleshooting is one of those things that is best learned from extensive personal experience with computers and computer problems. However, here are some techniques that can be helpful and certain common problems which you can easily identify:
- If a computer is crashing (blue screen, restarting, freezing) a helpful tool in finding what’s causing it is the Event Viewer. In Windows XP you can access this by going to Start>Run and typing “evntvwr” and in Vista you can find it by simply doing a search for Event Viewer. In here, you can browse the System and Application Logs looking for errors. Once you find ones that correspond with the crash times, you can generally find some useful error code or information that an internet search will bring up information on.
- If the computer isn’t turning on at all, it’s probably hardware. Try removing different components to narrow it down to the problem. The only thing you really have to have plugged in to the motherboard is the power supply. You can disconnect the CPU, Hard Drives, CD/DVD/Floppy drives, and PCI Cards. Common problems are fried power supplies, bad motherboard (either fried or bad capacitors), and fried PCI Cards.
- Test the Hardware. Make sure you know where the hardware problem really exists. If you just installed a new piece of hardware and it doesn’t work or you suddenly have problems, the problem might be your new hardware-but that isn’t always true. Sometimes problems show up coincidently at the same time you have installed a new piece of hardware. Uninstall the new hardware and see if the problem exists. If it does, it could be that you either knocked something loose when installing your new hardware or the problem lies elsewhere. Try installing your new hardware several times to make sure it is not the problem.
- Make sure everything in your system is installed correctly and is fully connected. Even if it seems connected the best thing to do is remove all of the hardware that might be loose and connect it again. This is more likely to be a problem when installing cards such as video or sound cards. The cards need to be seated completely to work, and due to the close proximity of other cards it frequently happens that cards are knocked loose. A seating problem also occurs when installing RAM or a CPU. RAM is seated similarly to cards in that it must be pushed with a bit of force into the slot. RAM can sometimes fit into the slot either direction but only works in one position. A CPU is usually a square that fits in only one way and will stop your entire system from working if it is not put in correctly. The CPU will be full of pins around the square with one pin missing to match up the empty pin hole in the CPU seat.
- If a computer is randomly restarting or crashing, check the motherboard capacitors. If they’re bulging on top (not level) that may very well be the problem.
- Malware is a common cause of a number of different problems. Good indications that malware is the problem are slowness, pop-ups (particularly ones about security and spyware/adware/etc.), and link redirection (do an internet search, click on a link, and you end up being brought to some other web page).
Ultimately, there isn’t a hard, fast set of rules for troubleshooting. It has a lot to do with instinct and past experience but the more you do it, the better you’ll get.
OR you could call Arcadia Computer, Inc. @ 863-494-1003 speak with our technician or you could bring into our office located at 4599 NW Hwy 70, Arcadia, FL 34266
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