Computer Clean Up Tips

There is a general trend which is associated with computers. Just like automobiles they need to be taken special care of. Else problems maybe resulted and with the passage of time, such problems may turn to something which might take more time to be fixed. The development of a problem within a computer is analogous to a snowball rolling down the hill. Initially the size of the snowball will be small, but as the ball rolls down the hill the size keeps on increasing. Likewise one error might lead to an errors, which might in turn lead to another and the process continues until the computer is beyond the reach of recovery.

In this article we shall be looking into some of the easy methods to keep your computer clean of errors. And instead of relaying on third party utilities it is better to stick with the options which are already available as in built into the computer. The list is topped by disk cleaner. So what exactly does disk cleaner do? It searches the hard disk for error causing and non error causing junk files and removes them safely to the recycle bin, so that they can be deleted safely at a later time. Disk cleaner must be run at least once in a week or once in a month depending on the frequency of disk activity.

In the computer there is always constant disk activity. Files are written and rewritten at a faster pace and this progress is always done from the time you boot up the PC to the time you shut down the computer. This will result in the fragmentation of data all about the hard disk drive. In other words, the different parts of the same file will be placed all around the disk drives. So what is the result of such a process? The hard disk drive takes a lot of time to access the data, because it has to search for the data at different parts of the drive. With the help of inbuilt defragmenting tools the files are kept closer so that the drive doesn’t work that much and will result in higher performance.

Registry errors as well as errors caused due to improper DLL files must also be taken into consideration. The causative agents for registry and DLL errors are more or less the same. Improper shutdown of the PC, along with booting up and improper software installation un-installation process will lead to the registry and DLL errors. Some of the DLL files are shared by more than two programs and if one of these programs are uninstalled, then all the associated programs will start displaying error messages. Registry entries are created whenever any activity is done on the PC, and these registry entries tend to accumulate with the passage of time. Registry error checking as well as defragmenting utilities is available. Always install a good antivirus firewall combination to inhibit malware infection.

Many people find routine PC clean up too much of a hassle and choose to live without it. They find, for instance, the idea of opening up their computer casing and passing a blower through it too much work. They also find the idea of uninstalling software programs they installed but which they don’t ever use a bit off-putting, rationalizing the continued stay of the same software programs on the computers with saying that they might yet need them one day. Even the idea of removing redundant items and shortcuts on the desktop feels bad, with the people who want to avoid doing it rationalizing the continued stay of the redundant items and shortcuts on the desktop with a saying to the effect that the presence of so many shortcuts and items on the desktop shows that they are consistent (and serious) computer users.

Yet there are a number of very significant reasons why you should clean up your computer on a regular basis.

For one, the accumulation of clutter on your computer – clutter here being things like programs you don’t use, duplicate files and so on – slows down your computer. Indeed, it is not unknown for people who don’t ever clean up their computers to end up with machines that are actually slower than them. You know that you computer is getting slower than you if you can type a sentence and have to wait for a few seconds before it appears on your screen! And if this happens regularly, then it might be time for you to consider some serious PC clean up.

Another reason as to why you should clean up your computer regularly is because some of the elements that make up clutter in your computer also end up consuming your computing resources. Redundant programs, for instance, eat up computer storage space. And if such redundant programs are configured to run automatically when you start the computer (as they tend to be), then they end up increasing the time that you need to get your computer to start up. If you find that you have time to make a cup of coffee between switching on your computer and your actually being able to use it , then it might indeed be time you considered some urgent computer clean up because you really have a problem. In terms of competing with you for your own computing resources, computer clutter behaves like weeds (which compete with the useful crops for nutrients and other resources on a farm), and as any good farmer will tell you – the thing to do with weeds is to uproot them at the earliest opportunity.

Another reason you should clean up your computer regularly is because the accumulation of clutter on your computer especially on the most visible area (for instance having numerous redundant items and shortcuts on the desktop) leads to stress and feelings of disorientation. Deleting these things as part of your regular computer clean up is therefore bound to infuse you the feelings of clear-headedness and a sense of control which, by the way, are some of the major components of happiness.

Any introductory computer course will tell you that a computer is made up of hardware and software. Hardware components of the computer are the visible and tangible devices and peripherals that make up the physical computer while the software components are the programs – which though intangible and invisible – provide the instructions through which computer is able to perform its various functions.

Accumulation of dirt on either the hardware components or the software parts of the computer is bound to cause problems in the functioning of the computer. And although many people are able to notice and perhaps act on the accumulation of dirt on the hardware components of their computer (because such dirt is a highly visible eyesore), very few are able to notice the accumulation of dirt on the software components of their computer, much less to do something about it.

Dirt on the hardware components of the computer usually accumulates in the form of dust, food bits on the keyword and the mouse and so on. Dirt on the software components of the computer on the hand tends to occur in the form of clutter, this being un-used programs installed on the computer, duplicated documents saved on the computer, accumulated registry entries and so and so forth. Unfortunately, many of the elements that make up dirt in the software components of the computer are things that many people don’t recognize as such (as dirt) and which they are therefore less inclined to do something about.

The PC clean up to be done on the hardware components of the computer should really be quite easy enough. It generally involves the elimination of dust and other dirt particles accumulated on the computer components – and tools used for this role range from a piece of cloth dipped in alcohol (spirit) to quite sophisticated blowers used to blow away fine dust particles lodged on the various elements of the computer inside the casing and on the keyboard and the monitor.

PC clean up to be done on the software components can be trickier for some people, though it is in fact less physically involving than the PC clean up done on the hardware components. PC clean up done on the software components ranges from the use of registry clean up software to clear redundant (and erroneous) registry entries to the use of anti-virus software to rid the computer of virus and spy-ware that might have found their way into the computer and that are in all honesty, dirt in the computer. PC clean up as done on the software elements also includes de-fragmentation (windows comes with a de-fragmenting tool) which can help you save on disk space. And of course, a discourse on how to clean up your computer won’t be complete without mentioning something about clearing your computer’s desktop by deleting unneeded files and shortcuts. It might seem inconsequential, but doing clearing your desktop of all clutter tends to leave you with a good clear-headed feeling – and should thus be included as a part of your regular PC clean up routine.

At times it happens that the computer takes longer than it should. There are times when many programs are running at the same time and it causes a strain on the memory of the PC. This is when you need to clean your computer. Some tips given below can be useful before you call in for hardware professional.

Try running the Anti virus software or the Anti Spyware:

Spy ware is software which tracks down cookies when you visit a website. It is essential for keeping your computer healthy and in good working condition. These soft wares are automatically embedded on your PC and then the computer starts running these programs in the background. Use this software at least once a week so that unnecessary junk is cleared from your PC. Lavasoft’s AdAware and Beta Defender of Microsoft can be freely downloaded on your computer.

Another very useful software is the Anti-Virus software. Viruses can be harmful for your computer and it can damage your system. Some of the viruses erase out important files and documents from the system. Make sure you run this anti virus software weekly on a manual basis, if your system does not do it automatically. Some recommended anti virus softwares are the Norton Antivirus 2004 and PC-Cillin 2007.

Disk Cleanup

It is a very simple task and it can be initiated on the hard drive of your computer. Click on the start menu, select My computer. Right click on the drive; ‘C’ drive is drive which is normally selected. Go to properties. Select the General tab on the pop up window. A pie chart of the drive appears. Besides this, you would find the button Disk Cleanup. This program would identify all the junk files and you could delete most of them as they would not be of any value. Deleting these files would create more space on the drive. Ensure you repeat and initiate all the steps for all the hard drives on your computer.

Run Disk Defragmenter – This is one activity people neglect doing on the computer. The Disk Defragmenter is basically cleaning software which clears all data pieces or fragments on the hard drives. These fragments have been created while you have tried to create or delete some files. Defragmentation helps in better performance of your computer and the PC would work in an optimal fashion. Though defragmentation is a time consuming activity, it is worth doing this activity. This activity can be done either at night or while you are away and not working on the PC.

Organize your files – Everyone needs to organize things, be it files or data. Delete unused pictures or heavy data which you may not need. This would create more space on your hard drive. Organized files also are easy to maintain. An easier way of organizing files is to drag them to separate folders.

Upgrade the PC memory- There are computers which can handle only 512 memory megabytes, but there are few which are able to take the load of about 1 to 2 gigabytes. Upgrading the computer memory improves the speed and performance of your computer. The advantage here is you can run many programs at the same time without decelerating the efficiency of your PC. The memory you purchase should also gel with your present system.

A computer’s hard drive is one of the components that determine its efficiency. If the hard drive is cluttered with various redundant items, then the computer performance is likely to suffer in various ways.

For one, a cluttered hard drive will most likely lead to slower computing speeds. This is because the various elements that make up the clutter continue to eat up computing resources even when those various elements are not in use – especially when they happen to be redundant programs. This is because a considerable number of programs are nowadays made in such a way that they continue to run in the background as long as the computer is on.

Secondly, clutter accumulated in a computer is likely to lead to increased frequency of various computing errors while the various programs are running. This is because, as mentioned, the various elements that make up the clutter eat up computing power, sometimes to such an extent that the levels of computing power that are left are simply not enough for the functioning of certain programs. This is where you are, for instance, where the computer tells you that you don’t have enough space for such and such a program you want to run and so on and so forth.

In the worst case scenario, accumulated clutter on your computer increases the risk of the computer crashing during its operation. Now this is a very worrying prospect, because in many cases, when a computer crashes, most of the information stored in it tends to get lost. Yet as it were, the computing requirements of the elements that make up the clutter (especially when they happen to be programs running in the background) combined with the computing power requirements of the useful applications you happen to be running can often overwhelm the computer, leading to a situation where it just crashes.

Clearly, in the face of these effects of clutter in a computer, it is advisable to incorporate a regular hard disk clean up routine as a part of your computing discipline.

In the hard disk clean up routine, you should at the very least ensure that you delete redundant files from the hard disk. Redundant files include multiple copies of files that you are using and whose duplicate copies are not being kept for back-up purposes. In any case, the best place to back up your files is not in your hard disk, because backing up files you have made on the computer on its hard disk is quite defeating. This is because people back up files to mitigate anything that could happen to the hard disk. Clearly, then, if you are backing up the files in the very same hard disk, all you could be doing just duplicating the files.

Another element that needs to be weeded out as part of your hard disk clean up experience is redundant programs – these being programs that you installed in your computer for some purpose, and which you no longer use. Take note, as you do it however, that just deleting a programs icon does not solve anything. You have to uninstall the program – and make sure you have actually effective uninstalled it for you to be sure you have gotten rid of it.