Without the correct maintenance, your computer will get slower and slower. If your PC is 2 years or older, I can probably guarantee that it runs very slowly and crashes regularly. This doesn’t have to be the case, because simple maintenance can fix these issues very quickly. But there is a bigger issue that is often overlooked and we will get onto that shortly.

So how do you maintain your PC?

The basic principle behind PC maintenance is to keep your PC free from junk and clutter. Since everything is stored in the Windows Registry, this is where the problems can begin. If you have excessive software, Adware, temp files and disk clutter, you can expect performance to get very slow. Extra load means slowdown. Extra load also leads to less responsiveness and in some instances, crashes. Crashes can be very hard to fix, but are often due to software conflicts, invalid drivers or even Malware.

So in order to maintain your PC, just keep everything neat and tidy:

• Get rid of software you don’t use
• Delete duplicate files
• Get rid of temp files and defrag your hard disk(s)
• Remove Spyware and Malware and Adware
• Keep the Registry clean
• Remove unwanted startup items

Those simple points above are enough to dramatically improve performance. I am a firm believer that most modern hardware can run pretty fast for years. As long as you keep your PC optimized, then you don’t need to worry about upgrading hardware all the time. This is different if you are a game player, but for basic PC work use, average hardware works well on an optimized PC. On a PC that is not maintained, even the best hardware will still be slow.

If you won’t want to perform manual maintenance work on your PC, then just download something like PC Health Advisor. This products kicks butt and does everything in terms of optimization. It will quickly speed up your PC, in probably under 5 minutes.

I used to do a lot of manual work on PCs, but now its just easier to run software, and the software these days is pretty damn good. Maybe 5 years I wouldn’t have used it, but now the optimization tools have come a long way and they won’t break your computer.

The bigger issue behind PC optimization

OK, as I mentioned earlier, there is a more important reason why you should be optimizing your PC. This is called productivity. I don’t know about you, but for me, time is the most valuable asset. The last thing I want to do is lose 20-30 minutes per day due to computer crashes, slowness, lag and other errors.

Just think about it, if you are losing 3 hours per week due to computer issues, that is about 160 hours per year. That is like 4 whole months of work hours, for those of us that do 40 hours per week. That can equate to something like $20,000 in dollar value. This is the exact reason that I keep all my computers optimized and running fast. I don’t have to waste any downtime on crashes, reboots, frozen Word documents etc.

So keep your PC optimized and enjoy the extra time.

In Windows Vista and Windows 7, there were various new powersaving features introduced. Now these are great features and it is good to see moves towards helping the environment. We are all for that and you should be too.

I have seen some figures on how much power is wasted just by workers leaving on their computers 24/7. With some of the powersaving features, it can massively cut electricity usage. It is time for all of us to get a bit smarter in this regard. Funny thing is, not only do you save electricity, but money too. This goes for home and business users. Come on guys, switch it off.

Okay, enough ranting. What I wanted to say was watch out for the powersaving feature, because it might be turning off crucial hardware.

We have had users that unexpectedly lost their internet connectivity. This was for no reason at all and it wouldn’t come back until a reboot. It turns out the culprit was powersaving and the ethernet card being powered down.

So if you are running Windows 7 and you lose internet after a brief stint away from your computer, then check out the power settings. It is very possible that the ethernet card is being powered down. If this happens, you obviously lose all connectivity, but it’s a bit tricky to debug. Sometimes it doesn’t seem to power back, until reboot.

So check it out.

Here we will answer common questions and solve problems related to software, pc performance, hardware and much more.

If you want your problem solved, send us an email.