Clean Out Your Computer Day 2015
So, some of you might be sitting there, victim of a lagging PC or laptop. Well done, you’re doing well coping with hell. With the holiday season coming up, it’s time you start it with a pleasant attitude. You’ve got to respect your beloved PC as much as you respect yourself, as well as that special person who’ll be expecting presents on Valentine’s day.
Clean Out Your Computer Day (9th February 2015) is the annual reminder for every one of us tech heads to stop, turn our PC off, open it up and give it a good, careful clean up treatment. Not just clean out the physical elements, you should also give the internal elements a decent tune-up. There is a huge range of software-programs to polish your system. An excellent example is the Iolo System Mechanic, which is the perfect and must-have tool to revive your PC or laptop.
Now that we’ve gone through the basics, you better get your hands dirty!
Be sure to unplug your computer before you start. Second, never spray liquid cleaners directly into your system. If you use any liquid to get rid of dust, pour it lightly onto a cloth first.
Fans and Vents
When it comes to the hardware portion of a routine PC clean-up, your best friend is a can of compressed air, which will allow you to blast every fan and vent on the outside of the tower.
Tackling the Interior
First, touch something metal for several seconds to ground yourself and prevent static electricity from damaging the sensitive inside components of your system. Next, remove any added video or audio cards and place them aside. Other components, like audio connectors and port extensions, can be taken out too. Be careful when using a vacuum—it's effective for much of the built-up dust, but don't get it near any PC components. Get out the brush and compressed air you used for the exterior and very gently get to work on the motherboard and slots.
Piecing It Back Together
Before you seal the machine back up, carefully clean all of the components you set aside with your brush. Then put them back where they belong, ensuring that you replaced everything to its rightful position and you didn't leave any cleaning materials inside the case. Close it all up, but wait at least half an hour before plugging in your now-clean and fresh PC and booting it up again.
Clearing Out The CRUDD
Go through your applications folders. Chances are, there will be some programs listed you've barely even noticed before—some of them may have come pre-installed and others may have installed themselves without your knowledge. Regardless, if you don’t need them, you can delete them. It is the best option to delete unwanted apps and software as they will just sit there and take up a lot of storage space. Some can even be very dangerous and lead to viruses. Better be safe than sorry!
Update Everything
Set aside some time to tackle updating all the software you've been putting off. Installing software updates will speed up your system and make sure your computer is protected against many of the latest security threats, which get patched regularly within programs but remain unpatched in older versions.
Benefits of Backup
Just to be on the safe side, back up your files on an external hard drive, a USB drive, or better yet, store your data in a cloud storage system, such as DropBox or Google Drive. Then go through your library and delete some of the stuff you don't use very often anymore.
Get Rid of Fragmented Data
Run a defragmenter to remove clutter from your hard drive. Like many of the processes on this list, you should do it more regularly than once a year.
Finishing Touches
Finally, have a good go-over with screen wipes to make sure it looks as shiny outside as it does inside. And don’t forget to clean your keyboard, mouse, screen and the general area around your computer too. It will make work more pleasant and increase your efficiency.
Now you’re well on your way to a squeaky clean computer, which should be safer and faster! Comment about what your top-tips are for a squeaky-clean PC or laptop! Stay tuned for more upcoming blogs and enjoy your TechDependent life!
