FREE Basic Computer Maintenance Instructions
PCR no longer provides computer "tune up" service. The process is so basic that NOBODY should charge for such a service. If after performing these maintenance steps you are still having problems, PCR can fix your computer at the standard repair price. All too often the root cause of a slow computer is a more complex problem such as viruses, system damage from viruses, a failed Windows update, etc.
DISCLAIMER: These instructions are in no way fool-proof or "all encompassing". In no way should these instructions be relied upon as a guarantee that you will not accidentally damage your computer or lose data. Always regularly back up your data. There are many other tricks and techniques that are too complex to list here, and would only be implemented depending on computer symptoms and customer needs.
1 ) How much RAM memory does your PC have? If your computer is running on as little as 256 MB of RAM then this is NOT enough. It may have worked OK 10 years ago, but nowadays both the Windows operating system, antivirus software and other programs that load up automatically or update automatically are much more resource hungry and can cause your computer to appear to "freeze up" or become "busy" or "unresponsive" for a period of time. Microsoft says that Windows XP needs to run on at least 1 GB of RAM. You should increase your RAM capacity or get a new computer. Used RAM chips typically cost about $20 per GB. Brand new RAM chips typically cost about $40 per GB. PCR can upgrade your computer's RAM capacity at a flat rate of $30.
From a computer running Windows XP:
START > Control Panel > System > "General" tab > look for where it says "Installed memory" or "RAM".
2 ) Is your hard drive getting full? Let's see....
START > My Computer > hold mouse over the drive and right click "properties" > "General" tab
If you've only got 25% of disk space remaining then you need to start thinking about freeing up space by deleting and / or migrating data, and /or deleting unneeded programs. Consider upgrading your hard drive for more space. Once you get to 15% remaining space or less then you will start to experience computer performance problems.
3 ) Check for viruses on all hard drives
Do you have signs of viruses? Firstly you should be running an anti-virus program on your computer (such as the freeware Microsoft Security Essentials) and it should be CURRENT (not expired or overdue for a virus definition update). To open the anti-virus program, usually you click the anti-virus icon located in the task bar (bottom right hand corner).
4 ) Disc Cleanup
START > My Computer > Right click a hard drive > Select "Properties" > General tab > Disc Cleanup
5 ) Defragment hard drive(s) on PC running Windows XP
In order to perform a defragment, there should be at least 15% of free space remaining on the drive. If you are unsure you can check by analyzing the disc first...
START > My Computer > Right click a hard drive > Select "Properties" > Tools tab > Defragment now > Analyze
If you have at least 15% free space remaining then proceed to defragment the drive...
START > My Computer > Right click a hard drive > Select "Properties" > Tools tab > Defragment now
Note: By default Vista and Windows 7 computers automatically defragment the hard drive.
6 ) Hard drive(s) error checking
START > My Computer > Right click a hard drive > Select "Properties" > Tools > Error Checking > Check now > check "automatically fix file system errors" and "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors"
(This diagnostic will require a restart of your computer. You will see a blue screen as the diagnostic is running. This may take 30 minutes or longer depending on the size of your hard drive. When the diagnostic is done the computer will resolve back to the desktop.)
Why run an error check? Error checking is important to run once in a while (perhaps every 6 months or so) because this check will locate and "flag" any "bad sectors" that it may find on your hard drive. Then your computer knows NOT to write data to those bad sectors. Otherwise, if data is written to bad sectors, then that document file, critical Windows update or other file would be unreadable. The end result might be that a document file or photograph becomes corrupted and won't open or worse -- your whole computer could fail. And finally, error checking can actually RECOVER files that were written to corrupted sectors!
Repeat steps 4, 5, and 6 above for any other internal hard drives that may be connected to your system.
7 ) Uninstall unused programs.
START > Control Panel > Add or remove programs > select programs that you no longer use and uninstall
If you are unsure of what a program does then just leave it alone.
8 ) Uninstall browser "add-ons" such as those annoying "tool bars".
Firefox and Internet Explorer already provide you with bookmarks. Accordingly, tool bars such as Google tool bar, Bing tool bar, Ask tool bar, Yahoo tool bar and others are completely unnecessary. They only slow down your computer and clutter up your browser.
Some tool bars can be uninstalled under "Add remove programs" (or "Programs and Features" on Vista / Windows 7), but most are removed with your browser launched. Usually you click the "tools" tab, then click "add on's", then enable and disable tool bars as as needed.
DISCLAIMER: These instructions are in no way fool-proof or all encompassing. In no way should these instructions be relied upon as a guarantee that you will not damage your computer or lose data. Always regularly back up your data.
Is there more that can be done to "tune up" a computer? Absolutely, although for the average person it gets more complicated. If you are still having problems, PCR can fix your computer at the standard repair price.
