PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE

Preventive maintenance refers to carrying out measures to prevent problems from occurring, in contrast to corrective maintenance, which seeks to solve an already-existing problem. In the long run, preventive maintenance saves time and money, protects your data, improves computer performance, and prolongs computer life. These are accomplished by considering and planning for the risks involved in working with computers (e.g. data loss, hardware failure). Preventive maintenance can be classified into: 1) MechanicalMaintenance, 2) Electrical Maintenance, and 3) Software or Hard Disk Maintenance.

Mechanical Maintenance

General Cleaning

The benefits of cleaning your computer periodically are not limited to merely improving its performance. Regular cleaning is also important for prolonging your computer’s life and enhancing its performance. By removing dirt, dust and other particles that can interfere with connections in computer circuits, the efficiency of your computer is increased, and the chances of overheating lowered.

Generally, your computer should be cleaned every 4-6 months. However, if your computer is used often and operates in a dusty environment, it should be cleaned more frequently, i.e. every 3-4 months. Other factors, including the number of users and whether or not they own pets, also influence the frequency of cleaning.

To clean your computer, you will need the following: 1) screwdriver, 2) can of compressed air, 3) cleaning liquid, 4) cotton swabs, and 5) paper towel or cotton cloth. The general cleaning procedure as outlined in the Computer Cleaning Guide (http://www.computercleaningguide.com http://devnull.wordpress.com/2006/12/16/como-limpiar-un-ordenador/) involves cleaning the keyboard, mouse, monitor, case, interior, DVD / CD drives, hard drive, printer. Steps for cleaning a laptop are also included. ComputerHope^?(http://www.computerhope.com/cleaning.htm http://www.ordenadores-y-portatiles.com/limpiar-ordenador.html ) also provides extensive information on cleaning these parts of the computer, along with additional components such as the scanner and headphones.

Choosing a Good Location for Your Computer

Ensure that the computer is placed in an area with good ventilation such that the heat generated by the microprocessor, motherboard, and other devices is dissipated. In addition, books and other objects should not be placed on top of the monitor case, as this would block excess heat from escaping from the ventilation slots. This could cause color shifting, screen flicker, and failure.

Electrical Maintenance

Surge Protection

dotParagon (http://www.dotparagon.com/resources/columns/maintain.html http://es.tldp.org/Manuales-LuCAS/SEGUNIX/unixsec-2.1-html/node32.html ) provides a brief description of the electrical aspect of maintenance, specifically surge protection, which involves safeguarding computer components such as the monitor, hard drive, and processor from voltage variations, i.e. spikes and surges. Spikes occur when lightning strikes a transformer, whereas surges occur when high-powered electrical motors are shut off, subsequently releasing extra voltage into the line. During power outages, any unsaved ongoing work is lost. Rural areas, which are more prone to surges, are recommended to make use of an interruptible power supply (UPS) to avert this problem.

Software or Hard Disk Maintenance

Antivirus Software

Antivirus software searches your computer for viruses, which are defined by Webopedia ((http://webopedia.internet.com/TERM/v/virus.html) as:

“A program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes…A simple virus that can make a copy of itself over and over again is relatively easy to produce. Even such a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory and bring the system to a halt.”

More information on virus protection can be found at PC Guide (http://www.pcguide.com/care/pm.htm). An example of a free antivirus program is ClamWin^? (http://www.clamwin.comhttp://es.clamwin.com/).

Defragmenting

Based on information provided in dotParagon (http://www.dotparagon.com/resources/columns/maintain.html http://www.gestiopolis.com/delta/tips/TIP074.html ), files are saved in sectors. As more and more files are saved on and deleted from your computer, the files can get more and more cluttered (depending on the file system used by the operating system), with their fragments scattered across the hard drive in different sectors. To access the files, the hard drive must search for and combine these file components stored in different locations, an operation which slows down file access times. Defragmenting arranges these scattered files in a more organized, continuous manner, thereby reducing the time needed by the computer to access a particular file. In addition to speeding up file access times, the life of the hard drive is extended, since actual mechanical movement is reduced. This should be done approximately once a month.

Defragmenting requirements vary from OS to OS since different file systems are used. Windows is prone to fragmentation since it tries to put file fragments as close to the beginning of the hard drive as it can. By revising these files and increasing or decreasing their size, the clutter worsens, delaying file access times further. A defragmenting tool is bundled with Windows. http://www.trucoswindows.net/contentid-188-TRUCO--Defragmentar-el-disco-duro.html

As stated in bleepingcomputer.com (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial55.html), disk fragmentation isn’t really much of a problem when it comes to Linux or Macintosh computers. Linux distributes the files throughout the disk, and so you end up with plenty of free space to store additional portions of the file should the file size increase. This file system is resilient against fragmentation, which is why it is advised that manual defragmentation is not done.

As for Macintosh computers, defragmentation is not recommended either, especially if you are using Mac OS X.

Clean Up Your Hard Disk

PC Medic (http://web.archive.org/web/20021014122830/http://www.pcmedicri.com/maintenance.htm http://www.gestiopolis.com/delta/tips/TIP416.html) emphasizes the importance of removing unused and unnecessary programs from your hard disk. By removing files you don’t need, such as files in the trash or recycle bin, temporary files, and cached web pages you don’t use, you are freeing up space for programs you will actually use. Uninstalling should be done properly, e.g. using Add / Remove Program, and not simply deleting the folder.

References (in English)

Computer Cleaning Guide. (http://computercleaningguide.com/)

• How-to for cleaning the different parts of a computer (keyboard, mouse, monitor, case, interior, DVD / CD drives, hard drive, printer)
• How-to for cleaning a laptop

ComputerHope^? (http://www.computerhope.com/cleaning.htm)

• How-to for cleaning the different parts of a computer (keyboard, mouse, monitor, case, interior, DVD / CD drives, hard drive, printer, scanner, earphones)
• How-to for cleaning a laptop

How to Clean a Computer’s Insides (http://www.ehow.com/how_3664_clean-computers-insides.html)

• How-to for cleaning the interior of a computer

Weekend Project: Clean Up Your Grungy PC (http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-11319_7-6240575-1.html?tag=nav)

• How-to for cleaning the different parts (keyboard, monitor, fans) of a computer
• Computer-cleaning no-nos

PC World – Hardware Tips (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,14872-page,1/article.html)

• Explains the need for cleaning your computer regularly
• Provides general guidelines on cleaning the PC case, motherboard, cards, memory, keyboard, monitor

Computer Cleaning Course (http://www.oneononesolutions.com/computercleaningcourse.htm)

• Provides tips on choosing a good location for your computer
• How-to for cleaning cables and connectors, monitor, mouse, keyboard, printer, scanner, PC case

Essortment – Computer Maintenance (http://arar.essortment.com/computersmainte_rxwv.htm)

• Provides tips on choosing a good location for your computer
• Provides general guidelines on cleaning the interior of a computer
• Provides additional tips for hard drive positioning (e.g. should be mounted flat, should not be placed above heat generating devices)

PCMedic – Routine Maintenance (http://web.archive.org/web/20021014122830/http://www.pcmedicri.com/maintenance.htm)

• Provides five general guidelines for prolonging your computer’s life: 1) cleaning, 2) antivirus software, 3) defragmenting, 4) backing your system up, and 5) uninstalling unused programs

Practical Computer Maintenance Tips (http://www.dotparagon.com/resources/columns/maintain.html)

• Discusses hard drive maintenance (i.e. defragmenting), data backup, surge protection

Computer Care Tips (http://www.librarysupportstaff.com/4compcare.html)

• Lists plenty of resources on preventive maintenance for computers

PC Guide – Preventive Maintenance (http://www.pcguide.com/care/pm.htm)

• Defines preventive maintenance
• Discusses the benefits of preventive maintenance
• Extensively discusses computer hardware

Cleaning and Preventative Maintenance (http://tutorials.findtutorials.com/cleaning-and-preventative-maintenance.htm)

PC Preventive Maintenance Study Guide: A+ Tutorial (http://www.proprofs.com/certification/comptia/a-plus/study-guide/pm/pages/introduction.shtml)

• discusses PC preventive maintenance thoroughly
• specifies preventive maintenance measures for cleaning different PC components
• provides suggestions on the frequency of preventive measures

(In Spanish)

http://devnull.wordpress.com/2006/12/16/como-limpiar-un-ordenador/

• Tutorial sobre la limpieza del ordenador
• Una lista de las herramientas útiles para la limpieza
• Fotos para explicar como llevar a cabo la limpieza

http://www.ordenadores-y-portatiles.com/limpiar-ordenador.html

• Guía para hacer una buena limpieza de ordenador (monitor, teclado, ratón, CPU)

http://es.tldp.org/Manuales-LuCAS/SEGUNIX/unixsec-2.1-html/node32.htm

• Explica los problemas relacionados con el sistema eléctrico que alimenta el ordenador

http://alerta-antivirus.red.es/alerta_infantil/

• Página para niños sobre los virus informáticos

http://www.besafeonline.org/spanish/los_virus_del_ordenado.htm

• Explica los principales tipos de virus

http://es.clamwin.com/

• Programa anti-virus gratuito

http://www.gestiopolis.com/delta/tips/TIP074.html

• Explica porque hay que desfragmentar y da recomendaciones sobre la frecuencia

www.trucoswindows.net/contentid-188-TRUCO--Defragmentar-el-disco-duro.html

• Los pasos para desfragmentar el disco duro

HYPERLINK "http://www.gestiopolis.com/delta/tips/TIP416.html"

• Como quitar software innecesario para acelerar Windows

http://www.fundacionbip-bip.org/boletin/trucopc.php?id=4

• Consejos para mantener tu ordenador (borrar las cookies, ahorrar espacio, desfragmentar, anti-virus, vaciar la papelera)

http://www.ayudadigital.com/windows/manual_mantener_pc_en_forma.htm

• 10 consejos para mantener el ordenador en forma

http://www.ordenadores-y-portatiles.com/proteger-ordenador.html

• Maneras de proteger el ordenador contra virus y otros peligros (hackers, malware, spyware etc.)

http://riie.com.ar/?a=49718

• Manual para mantener a punto tu PC o computador