Noobie needing some helpful tips on how to maintain your computer

D_ii_4_I3_L_o

D_ii_4_I3_L_o

New Member
Just wondering since im going to upgrade my computer, and which it'l be worth some amount of cash I'll be need some helpful advice & input on how to keep my computer clean and at top health & top speed.

So Far of What I know from research is :

+ Disk Clean-Up
+ Limit amount of pictures & website favourites
+ Keep the sites appropriate
+ Clean the computer frame [ Inside too ? if so, can you send me a website on how to clean the interior of the case, and how to clean all the components appropriately
+ Disk Defragment
+ Use My FW frequently


What else is there to do ? Since my computer has gone through some serious hardware trouble in the past month is there anything else I should worry about ? I'm most likely sending in my computer in for repairs then going in with my Stage 1 Upgrade soon time before Febuary. And as I said, I want to keep my computer clean and at top health & top speed.
 
try partioning your drive and keep your files seperate to your operating system this also means that if you ever have to format your drive and reinstall windows you wont lose any of your files.
 
Keep your drivers updated
CCleaner helps keep your computer clutter free.
Delete cookies and history.
Disable start-up processes.
 
Dont forget literally cleaning it lol, get a blower to blast the dust out. Also check the TIM on the CPU heatsink, over time the TIM dries up. Also clean-up restore points, as they take a hell of a big amount of HDD space xD
 
Between these you should be able to keep your pc running great

CCleaner
Defraggler

Run CCleaner and Defraggler ATLEAST Once a month

Also make sure you have a good antivirus and that it stays updated

Good Av's ESET, AVG, Kas
 
lubo4444 said:
Install Windows updates when available is one way.
Click to expand...
From Programs > Windows Update. I've got 2 important updates that are reccomended.

PaulPool said:
Keep your drivers updated
CCleaner helps keep your computer clutter free.
Delete cookies and history.
Disable start-up processes.
Click to expand...

I'm havingh a hard time with understanding drivers being updated. So do I unistall the old driver when I install the new ones. And when im upgrading a windows driver I have to leave the orginal one? And when it comes to drivers being updated should I be downloading it from my manu. website or the actually manu. for that certain part?

CClarner is that a free program or do you have to pay for it monthly ?

Start-up processes such as what ? hotmail, firewall .. etc

Turbo10 said:
Dont forget literally cleaning it lol, get a blower to blast the dust out. Also check the TIM on the CPU heatsink, over time the TIM dries up. Also clean-up restore points, as they take a hell of a big amount of HDD space xD
Click to expand...

TIM ? How do I clean-up restore points ?

G25r8cer said:
Between these you should be able to keep your pc running great

CCleaner
Defraggler

Run CCleaner and Defraggler ATLEAST Once a month

Also make sure you have a good antivirus and that it stays updated

Good Av's ESET, AVG, Kas
Click to expand...

Good av's/Eset/AVG/Kas are all confussing

-------------------------------------

Thanks for the input havn't been in awhile due to sports / family and vacations but it looks like im gunna be downing some research on some of these items because all of the questions i've posted I have no idea about. So ill be back on this thread whenever I got an issue or im just confused.
 
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what kind?

So what OS are you running? There are tons of helpful sites out there that can tell you what you can turn off of need to leave running, etc...

I have read some articles that helped me understand what all I can do to make my pc run faster. I'm on XP and in Task Manager I am running a page file of 415 MB when idle and my processor is at 0% when idling. I set my computer to run as minimally as possible.

Let us know what kind of computer you have and its specs, also what OS you use (and its bit version: 32 or 64). This would help to point you to tutorials that can tell a lot more than we could ever put here. One of the tutorials I use is at least 100 pages long, so.... yeah.
 
I'm getting my computer back in 3-5 days. So far I've gone through 70% of the stuff except for

Cleaning up restore points. Probably going to research about that.

And the TIM on the Heatsink, i never really got anything about that.
 
pro blelm

I dont mess with the restore points unless there is a problem. You definitely dont want those turned off or deleted, cause thats when you'll need them.

The only time i get rid of restore a point(s) is if its necessary during a virus removal.

If your computer is running correctly, leave the drivers alone. They have to be installed just right, or trouble.

CCleaner is free, and it does a good job. I would read about it some before using it though. That way you can understand what all it does and you can set it to do the things you want.

Certain startup processes can be eliminated. But not any that relate to your computer security, or operability. Be careful what you disable in msconfig. Do research on that first, look in msconfig, find things that look odd, then google them. Or ask here about them. Just dont change anything unless your totally sure about it. If you have ANY doubt about an entry in msconfig or elsewhere, then dont mess with it. Research first.

Do you have an Anti-Virus program, such as AVG, Kaspersky, Microsoft Security Essentials, or other...

One thing to keep in mind is that you should only use one Anti-Virus program. Using more than one may sound better, but in actual use they will conflict with each other.

A few great programs to have for virus removal are Malwarebytes and Super Antispyware. Note, these are virus REMOVAL programs so they will not conflict with any of the Anti-virus programs you may install. The purpose to these is to catch things that your Anti-virus program may miss.

And for general security, dont download torrents, dont use limewire, dont use illegal software, only open emails from people you are certain you know, keep away from porn sites, and definitely stay away from web sites that look like this:

!!!!!FREE FREE FUN FREE CLICK HERE FOR FREE STUFF!!!!!!

Clicking into a website like that is just asking for problems. If they were legitimate they wouldn't need gimmicky stuff like that to lure people in. (And no that isnt really a link, I am just making a point with exaggerated fonts and colors.)
 
gamblingman said:
CCleaner is free, and it does a good job. I would read about it some before using it though. That way you can understand what all it does and you can set it to do the things you want.

Certain startup processes can be eliminated. But not any that relate to your computer security, or operability. Be careful what you disable in msconfig. Do research on that first, look in msconfig, find things that look odd, then google them. Or ask here about them. Just dont change anything unless your totally sure about it. If you have ANY doubt about an entry in msconfig or elsewhere, then dont mess with it. Research first.

Do you have an Anti-Virus program, such as AVG, Kaspersky, Microsoft Security Essentials, or other...
Click to expand...

Yea, I really thought it was helpful for getting it downloaded, but then again, it brought me to a new chapter. I didn't really know how to operate it safely. I'm definitely going to do some background research on CCleaner. It will help me for sure if I do some research. Just for my information, do I use the program to tell me some important points ? or is there a website for that

gamblingman said:
One thing to keep in mind is that you should only use one Anti-Virus program. Using more than one may sound better, but in actual use they will conflict with each other.

A few great programs to have for virus removal are Malwarebytes and Super Antispyware. Note, these are virus REMOVAL programs so they will not conflict with any of the Anti-virus programs you may install. The purpose to these is to catch things that your Anti-virus program may miss.
Click to expand...

I've got Norton 360 FW & AV I believe gotta double check on that when I get my computer back.

BTW, As I truely believed that I didn't know what I was doing with driver updates, its a possible reason why I could've made a bigger error on my gpu. I downloaded the driver with the ati catalyst manager. I really didn't know what was performing during the download on catalyst or express upgrade. But after that download/upgrade whatever it was, I just restarted my computer from there. I don't know if that was the final step or not. Yesturday I was researching how to upgrade gpu drivers safely, and apprently I had to save the file on a certain folder/location where I could get easy access to and use for refrence. Then after I fully download the driver update I had to do some manual system update driverby going to my computer > devie manger > gpu > driver details or driver update & if not, a manual driver serach which was put into that "certain folder" I never really did that. Is that the appropriate way of doing it ? I used CClearner to get ride of my old gpu driver, then did the updates/installmens I listed here up to the point where I let ATi Catalyst Manager do its job.
 
updog the downbite

D_ii_4_I3_L_o said:
Yea, I really thought it was helpful for getting it downloaded, but then again, it brought me to a new chapter. I didn't really know how to operate it safely. I'm definitely going to do some background research on CCleaner. It will help me for sure if I do some research. Just for my information, do I use the program to tell me some important points ? or is there a website for that



I've got Norton 360 FW & AV I believe gotta double check on that when I get my computer back.
Click to expand...

What I meant by doing some research before using CCleaner is that I would recommend learning the items are that CCLeaner will clean. The folders and places that will be analyzed such as:

*Browser History: Do you want to keep the history of where you have been? Or more importantly do you NEED to know where other people have been going online, got kids?
*Auto Complete Form History: Do you save your passwords when you log into, say Facebook? Having the browser remember your passwords can be good and bad.
*Temp Files: Using this cleaning option can be a bit tricky right at first. But it is definitely good to clean these out. Mainly because over time the number of the temp files can accumulate to unbelievable levels.
*Other Applications can be cleaned as well. Also the objects left in clipboard, in temp files from running programs, leftovers after running a program...

Get CCLeaner then look through it, as you go through it Google items with which you are unfamiliar. Analyze your computer with the cleaner tool, then go through the temps (for instance) and see what is there that you know should be left alone. For instance, I want my Oblivion quick saves left alone. So I added the appropriate folder to the Exclude list in the Options section. CCleaner also has a forum that is only for CCleaner, nothing else. Not that we cant help you here, its just another resource. Not running something like CCleaner is what will cause you problems.

Start learning today and Google an item like "What are Temporary Files" (see link)

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=what+are+temporary+files+&aq=f&aql=&aqi=&oq=&fp=435311d5ec9ae78f

When you said "...I've got Norton 360 FW & AV...". What did you mean by "... AV...", I dont know what you mean.

About the drivers....Ugh. I hate messing with drivers, they are such a pain to install. I had to do my Video card and BIOS last year. Also keep in mind that drivers need to be installed in a specific order. Though I cant make heads or tails of what you said about what you did. Maybe someone with more experience in that field can help you.

My rule is: If the computer runs correctly and well, leave the drivers alone. Some people will tell you that its unsafe to have out of date drivers. But frankly driver/BIOS infections are so very rare, that its a non issue to me.

More questions?
 
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