CVC’s Prevention of Computer
Problems
Dust can make
the chips inside your computer run hotter and also clog cooling vents. At least
once a year, unplug your computer, open the case, and blow out the dust. Do not
wipe it with a rag; use either your breath or an aerosol can of compressed air.
Your mouse and keyboard will also require
occasional cleaning. You can pop off the key caps on your keyboard to get at
dirt and hair between the keys. You can also remove your mouse ball to clean it
and the rollers inside the mouse. Use a commercial spray cleanser applied to a
cotton swab to clean your keyboard and mouse.
If your computer
develops a problem that keeps it from accessing your hard disk, you need some
other way to boot your system. The answer is an emergency boot disk.
Macintosh systems come with either a
bootable CD-ROM or a bootable floppy disk, as does Norton Utilities for
Macintosh -- a must for all Mac owners. If you own a Windows PC, you need to
make an emergency boot disk, which you can make with the Add/Remove Programs
control panel. Select the Startup Disk tab, and you're
led through the process.
Under Windows 3.1, you have to create the
disk yourself. Go to the DOS prompt and enter the following commands. Be sure
to have a blank floppy handy.
FORMAT /S A:
COPY C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT A:
COPY C:\CONFIG.SYS A:
COPY C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI A:
COPY C:\WINDOWS\WIN.INI A:
COPY C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\FDISK.EXE A:
COPY C:\ WINDOWS\COMMAND\FORMAT.COM A:
COPY C:\ WINDOWS\COMMAND\CHKDSK.EXE A:
COPY C:\ WINDOWS\COMMAND\SCANDISK.EXE A:
Now, if you can't boot from your hard
disk, you have a way to get your system started so you can deal with the problem
Backing up your
files simply means making a copy of them so that if the original is lost or
damaged, you can use the copy. You can back up your important files to another
location on your hard drive and on a hard drive on another computer on our network.
At home you can also back up to floppies (Back up each file on two
floppies since they are not dependable), to a Zip disk, or to a tape drive.
How often you back up depends on how
valuable your time is. If you're working on an important
file, save it to a floppy as well as to your hard disk. If you're
running a home-based business, you should invest in a tape backup drive and
back up on a daily basis.
Most home computers can get by with a
less rigorous backup schedule. Back up the files in your data folders once a
week, and perform a complete system backup every six months. You can back up
your data files simply by dragging their folders to the icon for your floppy
disk.. or backup hard disk.
If you're a Windows 95 user, you can use the Backup program in
Programs/Accessories/System tools. This lets you check off the folders you want
to back up.
High-capacity removable disks, such as
those you use with the Iomega Zip Drive, are great for backing up large files,
and they can help keep down the clutter on your disk. You can also back up with
a read-write CD. Zip Drives come with their own backup software. A tape drive
that can store from 400MB to 2GB of data is even better for backup, as it will
keep media-swapping to a minimum. All tape drives also come with their own backup software.
Once you've established
a system of where to save files, don't rename the program's directories or move
its files from one place to another on your hard disk. If you do, your computer
will likely lose track of key files. You can put your data files -- the ones
you create with the application -- almost anywhere. However, you be in control! Never take
default names. You choose WHERE to save a file, WHAT TYPE of FILE to save it as, and WHAT to name
it! You should organize the location of
where you save personal files so you can find them a year from now. Name the files so that you can find them in
the distant future, also!
Changing the
name or location of system files and folders is very dangerous. If you must
change the location of an application or any of its subsidiary files, you
should first uninstall the application and then reinstall it.
Never try to manually delete an
application on a Windows system. Most applications make additions to system
files when you install them, so it's best if the
application has its own uninstall program. If an application doesn't come with
an uninstall option, try the Windows 95 Add/Remove Programs Control Panel. If
the application doesn't support the Windows 95 uninstall function, see me for
another solution. As the Windows 95 uninstall utility is not always reliable
about removing all the pieces of an application, so be careful. Sometime, you
may want to use one of the commercial utilities, such as clean sweep. They do a
better job.
If possible, choose the programs you use
carefully, and stick with them.
See the CVC Howto page
for help on how to do this
Download RegCleaner and
clear out your registry of unwanted startup programs and programs that you do
not use. The fewer programs at startup the
better! This little program will help you manage this.