There are different items in keeping your computer clean,
internal it is about viruses, spyware, trojans, and temporary files. Externally it is about dust
and dirt.
Viruses, spyware, and trojan programs are not only destructive they can send your data to a criminal. Identity theft is
one of the larges threats to your well being to day.
Another threat is the common dust particle. Left alone
over a period of time this little innoxious piece of material can build up and
cause heat damage to the components of your computer.
The last threat to your computer are the files that are created when you use
programs like email,
a word processor, a spread sheet, or your browser, temporary files.
So how do you clean these things out of your computer?
Lets start with the Virus/Spyware/Trojan problem. If you have reputable
programs installed and you keep them up to date then this should not be a problem unless you
download one that is not in the current data file for the anti-virus,
anti-spyware, or anti-trojan program.
So how do you clean your computer if it becomes infected? Assuming you have
the anti-virus/spyware/trojan programs installed or will get them installed
before starting this procedure. Also this procedure is for Windows 2000, XP,
and Vista only.
Symptoms:
Sometimes there aren't any warning signs that your computer is infected
then sometimes these things happen:
Your computer restarts with out warning
You open your browser and all the sudden you have browser windows popping
open all over the place and you can't stop them.
Your system all the sudden is extremely slow, yesterday it was fine today
it takes a long time to open a program and when you use the program it drags.
How to clean the infections:
What is the best way to clean a virus from a Windows
system? To get the best results you should clean your system in the
'Safe Mode'. Safe Mode uses the minimum of services and programs. Thus if in
Safe Mode you will get all the infected files disinfected that you would not in
normal mode because the Operating System will lock certain files from being
modified while they are in use.
Before going into
'Safe Mode' have your Anti-Virus, Anti-Trojan, and Anti-Spyware programs loaded
on the infected computer. Start the computer and when the splash
screen 'Starting Windows' press the F8 key, this will open a startup menu,
select 'Safe Mode'. You will need to have either the local administrators user
id and password or your ID will have to have local administrative rights to log
on.
Once in 'Safe Mode' run your Anti-Virus, Anti-Trojan, and Anti-Spyware
programs to clean your computer of all infections.
How to deal with dust and dirt?
When you turn on your computer one or more fans start to operate. One is in
the power supply (if you put your hand behind the computer you can feel the warm
air coming out of the power supply). Another fan will be on the top of your
processor. There may be more fans, one on your video card, one in the front of
your computer case, sometimes there are extra fans for the hard drive. Three
fans that are of the most importance are the power supply, the processor, and
the one in the front of the computer case. The power supply fan is an exhaust
fan, that it pushes the air out of the computer. The fan in the front of the
computer is an intake fan, it brings in fresh cool air (and dust) into the computer. All
other fans are circulation fans, that is they move the heated air away from the
component that the fan is close to or mounted on.
Symptoms:
Your computer shuts down with out notice.
You computer speaker (not your stereo speakers) emits a series of beeps
ever so often.
If you have a temperature monitoring program installed it tells you that
the temperature is at or above the maximum threshold.
Your computer may need a dusting...
So how do you clean out the dust and dirt? You have to open the
computer to do this task, be sure to have a grounding strap connected to you
and the
computer or
ESD may damage a component. You can use these items to clean
out the computer: canned air, a vacuum, and a stiff bristle paint brush (the
small 1/2 inch artist brush works very well, it is small enough to get into
the crooks and crannies inside the computer).
Using the canned air with the extension nozzle attached blow the air into
the power supply (be aware that a large cloud of dust will emerge from the
power supply). Blow the air on the fan from outside the power supply, clean
off the dust that has accumulated over time. Then blow the air from the inside
the computer through the cooling holes in the power supply, do it from
different positions on the power supply, normally when no more dust comes out
of the fan you have cleaned if fairly well.
Next take the paint brush and starting at the top most part of the
computer gently dust down all the components you can reach. If there are some
places you can not reach with the paint brush use the canned air to blow out
the dust (like the fan on the processor and video card).
Once you have 'dusted' down all the components you can vacuum up the dust.
Be aware that the suction of the vacuum can damage components so keep it away
from the surface of them. You can use the paint brush to get any stubborn dust
loose.
Now you have cleaned out the computer it will run cooler and last longer.
I try to (it is hard to remember to do it!) clean out my computers every six
months.
Cleaning out temporary files and keeping your hard drive defragmented to
insure that it operates at optimum efficiency.
Symptoms:
Your system is sluggish, sometimes it takes a long time to open or save a
file.
You get the Disk clean up wizard when you try to access a file or open a
program.
You can not save any file, you get an error that the hard drive is full.
So clean out the temp files!
Temporary files are created by programs as a 'holding place' for changes.
You open a document with your word processor, as you read/modify the document
the changes are save in a file called <name of file>.tmp or <name of
file>.temp such as this document as I type it: cleaning-a-computer.tmp. Now
some programs are very well behaved and clean up when they are closed, that is
they delete any temporary files the used while you were using the program.
Others are brats. They create temporary files and do not delete them when they
are done, not only that they don't put the files in the normal place where you
would expect to find the temporary files, such as in the temp directory (or
folder).
So how do you find the errant files cluttering up your hard drive and
wasting precious space? Search for them! Sure, use a tool that is made for this
type of task. Go to Start/Search, type in the search box *.tmp. When the
search is complete in the right hand window select all the files you found and
press the delete key, answer 'Yes' and then empty your recycle bin. Repeat
using *.temp, and using
~*.*. This will get rid of all those pesky temporary
files. One thing you should be aware of is when you do this you should close
out all your programs, other wise the delete will cause an error on the first
open file, then you have to start all over with the delete.
Last thing you need to do on a regular basis is to defragment your hard
drive. See my tutorial on
Defragment.
Now you have a nice clean computer, lets go get it dirty! :)
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