Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
by reducing problem behavior, data loss, and component failure and by ensuring a long
life for your system. In several cases, I have “repaired” an ailing system with nothing
more than a preventive maintenance session. Preventive maintenance also can increase
your system's resale value because it will look and run better. There are two types of pre-
ventive maintenance procedures: active and passive.
Passive preventive maintenance includes precautionary steps you can take to protect a
system from the environment, such as using power-protection devices; ensuring a clean,
temperature-controlled environment; and preventing excessive vibration. In other words,
passive preventive maintenance means treating your system well and with care.
An active preventive maintenance program includes procedures that promote a longer,
trouble-free life for your PC. This type of preventive maintenance primarily involves the
periodic cleaning of the system and its components, as well as performing backups, an-
tivirus and antispyware scans, and other software-related procedures. The following sec-
tions describe several active preventive maintenance procedures.
Active Preventive Maintenance Procedures
How often you should perform active preventive maintenance procedures depends on the
system's environment and the quality of the system's components. If your system is in a
dirty environment, such as a machine shop floor or a gas station service area, you might
need to clean your system every three months or less. For normal office environments,
cleaning a system every few months to a year is usually fine. However, if you open your
systemafteroneyearandfinddustbunniesinside,youshouldprobablyshortentheclean-
ing interval.
Other hard disk preventive maintenance procedures include making periodic backups of
your data. Also, depending on which OS and file system you use, you should defragment
harddisksatleastonceamonthtomaintaindiskefficiencyandspeed.Manyofthesetasks
can be automated with the scheduling features in your operating system or the utility pro-
gram.
Weekly and Monthly Checklists
The following is a sample weekly disk maintenance checklist:
• Back up any data or important files.
• Check for and install any operating system updates. If you have Automatic Updates
turned on (recommended), this is done automatically for you. Although OS updates
aretraditionally offeredonamonthly basis, critical out-of-bandupdates canhappenat
any time.
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