Maintaining Your

Computer

Why Maintain Your

Computer?
Bikes must have air pumped in their tires. Cars
must have their oil changed.
Your computer must be kept in running order as
well. What can you do to keep it in tip-top
shape?

3 Steps to Maintenance:
Remember your
A,B,Cs (and Ds)
Clean your
hardware when
needed
Know what to fix
and what to have
others fix

Now I Know my A,B,Cs...

A = Antivirus
B = Backup
C = Clean Up
D = Defragment

Antivirus
Virus - A program created to
destroy or interfere with your
software/hardware
Run Norton AntiVirus once a week
to prevent infestation or repair
damage
Need more info? Email me for the
PowerPoint on Viruses

Backup
Computers arent perfect; stuff
can get lost or damaged
Protect yourself; backup your
work weekly
Where to backup to:
Floppy Disks - not reliable
Email - safe for one file or two
Server (best, ask for PPT on
Backing Up)

Clean Up
Easier to find stuff
if you clean up
Only keep files you
must work on ASAP
on your desktop
and file the rest.
Email me for the
PowerPoint on File
Management

Defragment
Your computer is in a hurry and
throws every piece of data in
whatever empty spot it finds
Not organized and slows you down
Go to Start>Accessories>System
Tools>Disk Defragmenter and run it
monthly to speed up your computer

Second Step: Cleaning

Dust, skin, and
more can mess up
your computer
Clean your
hardware every 3
months (smoker
in house) to 5
months (no
smoker)

How To Clean What:

What?
Case

How?
Damp cloth (no solvents)
Dont block air vents
CD
Dry cloth (against
grooves)
Laptop Screen Dry cloth (little rubbing
alcohol on cloth if bad)
Desktop
Window cleaner on cloth
Screen

More Cleaning:
What?

How?

Keyboard

Use compressed air or

shake upside down (dont
use vacuum!)

Mouse

Turn the donut piece on

bottom the opposite direction
of the arrows, let ball will fall
out; scratch back and forth on
rollers inside mouse; tissue off
ball and replace ball and cover

Last Word about Cleaning:

Keep your computer area free of
stray papers
Never lean anything against your
computer
Avoid food and drink
Promptly clean any spills before
they dry
Supervise tots carefully!

Last Step: What to fix?

We are smart!
We are Lynxes!
We can fix our
computers minor
ailments!
(Repeat the above 3
times to yourself)

Fixing Easy Stuff:

Problem?
Frozen
Computer
Black
Monitor

Solution?
See PPT on Frozen
Computer
Check both cables on back
of monitor, monitor power
button

Mouse
Check mouse cord to
doesnt work computer; clean inside
mouse

Other easy fixes:

Problem?
Cant get
floppy out

Solution?
Dont force! Use finger or
non-metal object to push
bent piece down and pull
out

Not printing

Out of paper? Power on?

Paper jam? Go to
Start>Settings>
Printers, right click on
printer, left click on work
off line

When it aint easy...

Write down whats going on (include
specific programs or things you did to
solve the problem) and email Stewart
Best to be overly cautious than take a
risk and damage your computer
Ask how the repair is done so you may
be able to fix/prevent it in the future