HomeProtecting & Maintaining Your Desktop
Top 10 Killer Mistakes
1) Clean it! I will never understand why manufacturer's do not have warnings and instructions for proper cleaning, maybe they're hoping to sell you a new computer sooner, I don't know. What I do know is that NOT cleaning your Desktop on a regular basis can cause serious damage. Fibers from rugs, pet hair, dust, cigarette smoke just about anything that can get airborne can get into your computer and cause problems this is especially true when it is sitting on the floor. Use the instructions, owners manual or the manufacturers online quide to open up your machine and gently remove the Heavy dust, dirt, etc out of the machine, off the motherboard and especially off of all heatsinks and fans. Don't just stick your vacuum hose in there either! Unplug the machine first, use an old toothbrush to clean the blades on all the fans, use a very soft paintbrush for the case and brush gently just above the motherboard letting the air from the brushing rather than the paint brush itself remove the heavy dust and dirt. Carefully, brush out the heatsinks, Yes this includes or should I emphasize especially includes; the fans and heatsinks on that little card down the bottom!! Now take the case if you can do it safely; and gently tip it so all the dirt and dust goes onto the floor, or at least onto a portion of the case that is unused and now you can vacuum up the dirt- again carefully, you don't want to be banging around in there or causing static charges that could fry the machine
2) Passwords- Just as with a Laptop I advise against using a BIOS password of any kind for any reason, they are, simply put, trouble with a capital T. If you're set on using a password, use a windows password, but do yourself a favor and write it down. I strongly recommend that your write it down three times, take 2 and hide them someplace you can remember, someplace far away from your desk and wallet, they're too easy for others to find that way. Give the third to someone you know you can trust implicitly. I would also recommend that you type very slowly and carefully when creating your password, no matter how good a typist you are; you can always make a mistake, a very costly mistake.
3)Upgrading, Reprogramming & Memory- My best advice is to use a professional, if you really want to do it yourself, for whatever reason, then do your homework. Spend time on the internet and/or at your local library doing some extensive research before attempting to do it yourself. Learn your machine, there are some things you will need to know about your machine, such as what type of memory does it use? How much will it support? (FYI: If You're using Windows XP 32 bit anything over 3.5Gigs is a waste, Windows won't see it or be able to access it,there are exceptions but you will learn these when you are more advanced in knowledge) Does your machine have a restore petition? Is my Hard Drive a SATA or IDE? What is the highest Processor my Motherboard can handle? What Socket is my CPU? etc. Many of these questions can be answered by going to the Manufacturer's website and looking up your particular model, some can be answered by looking under My Computer. If you don't know what these questions mean or why you need to know, keep researching until you do!
If you wish to seek the advice of a professional keep in mind that it is not their job to teach you, so if one does consent to give of their time and hard earned knowledge~ Listen!
The fastest way to convince any professional to walk away from you is to ask them a question and then talk over them when they try to answer or act like you already knew the answer. Again, they are doing YOU a favor, so show the proper courtesy and SHUT UP!! PS: Don't forget to say "Thank You" courtesy can go a long way and you never know when you might need their advise again.
4)NO Surge Protector? Are you NUTS? One of the very first things you should do is make sure that you have a surge protector and that the computer and all it's peripherals are plugged into one. NO exceptions. Two: make sure it's plugged into the outlet properly. Three: make sure it's on. One surge can be all it takes to fry an essential component. It may seem like a small silly thing but it really is not, so don't forget to buy a good quality one.
NO it should not be set to come on after. When you first do your settings, be sure to set the computer to turn off at a Power Surge and stay off. It's better to wait until you're sure there will be no more power surge's before allowing the computer to be turned back on.
5)Turn OFF During Thunderstorms- No not just thunderstorms either, make it a hard and fast rule to turn off all computers:
During thunderstorms, if there is lighting outside, if someone is working on the electrical system, if your lights flicker, anything that could potentially create a power surge; and keep it off until you are sure it is safe, even if you do have it on a Surge Protector. Keep in mind it is called a surge Protector not a surge Eliminator. A raincoat is rain protection- ever gotten wet anyway? Exactly my point.
6)Vacuum Cleaner- Okay, I vaccuum fairly often myself and can be pretty lethal with it, or so I'm told. But please, when it comes to complicated or expensive electronic devices~ Don't bang them around! Try to go around them gently or pick them up off the floor before you start vacuuming. If after vacuuming you find the computer isn't acting quite right- turn it off and check the connections first, see if something is loose or unplugged, if that's not the problem open it up and check the connections inside, including the memory, something may have gotten jarred loose and running it now could cause big problems up to and including frying your motherboard. Best Advise-don't leave it on the floor put it up on something sturdy and stable; this will eliminate not only the problem with the vacuum but also with people's feet and will cut down on the amount of dirt, dust and fibers that can clog up a machine.
7) Desktops can overheat too! We often don't realize that our desktop is overheating because it sits so far away from us, but they can and do! A few suggestions, check it- if you suddenly get a strange error message on your screen, turn the machine off and check the side of the case to see how much heat is radiating off it. We already discussed two ways to prevent overheating- don't leave it on the floor and clean it regularly, here's another: Read Carefully, when installing any new device or program read the requirements carefully to be sure that your machine meets all of the specifications, this includes upgrading hardware internally as well, an overburdened machine can overheat quickly and fatally.
8) Unplugging - This may sound silly to you, but I've seen it. I actually had one customer who pulled so hard on the monitor cord that the back of the case was bent outward and the connection was ripped right off the motherboard! Check the connection don't just Yank! There may be screws, or releases that have to be loosened, squeezed or manuevered a certain way before that connection can be safely removed. The same holds true if you are installing or plugging in; as a general rule if it seems like it is harder then it should be; check it! You are either in the wrong place, doing it the wrong way, or forgetting some essential action.
9) Bad Sites- You've probably heard it a thousand times, but it's not just the porn sites, there are alot of sites that have viruses attached to them. Make sure you pay attention to those annoying little messages you get from windows and/or your antivirus program. They're really not there just to annoy you. The first thing however is to make sure you have a good anti-virus program such as McAfee or my favorite AVG. The second is to be smart and back up your entire hard drive just in case, because just like anything else in life, nothing can prevent everything 100%, and anti-virus programs are no different. Thirdly, stay away from email attachments unless you know who sent it to you and what it is or at least that they wrote it themselves. If you know who sent it but it's another of those forwarded messages Don't open the attachment! Feel free to read your friends/family members comments then Delete it- Immediately - if your friend really wants you to know what's in it let them tell you.
Here's another idea, if you like downloading movies and music you're going to get a virus at some point, like it or not no matter how good the site may be, it is going to happen, so buy an inexpensive possibly an older computer for $50- $150 that you can use for downloading. You can find these deals out there if you look around, look for Year round Flea Markets, if the person has been there for over a year they're probably pretty good at what they do, ask around, your friends, family members, even people you see in the neighborhood alot may know someone that has a small business, or a small shop somewhere that you can pick one up, the other good thing about these little shops and flea market enterprenuers is that most of the good, reputable ones will give you a significant break on any repair or reprogramming work you may have to have done (ask before you buy) and if you're nice to them and only take up their time when you're serious about buying or you approach them during their slow time (generally early morning or late afternoon, but ask) they are often willing to give you free advise and information. (Please remember: the only stupid question is the one you don't listen to the answer for! And you will piss off the professional if you do not listen to the answer and completely destroy any chance you have of receiving free advise in the future)
10) Don't install the same program more than once! Sound Funny? Guess how many of you do it?
The very first stupid mistake I made when learning how to repair and reprogram computers was just this. I had reprogrammed a Dell Tower, I was so proud of myself! So when the machine restarted and that little message came up "Press any Key to Boot from CD" I hit ENTER! and continued to press all the right buttons- until it dawned on me that I had already done this- so I asked the real professional (my new husband) Hey! Honey?! does this have to go through twice? The booming laugh that met my ears made me turn 4 shades of red and then 2 of purple. When he had finished, he explained that almost everyone fell for that at least once.
Okay, so from then on I learned to pay attention and after an installation I didn't just click on anything that came up - I checked programs first to see if it had installed properly instead, then opened the program to see that it was functioning properly. Some programs are famous for getting you to overinstall- AOL is one of the worst. If you're not sure your program is in or is in correctly, check it; if you still think something may be wrong make sure you go through the Unistall process and check to be sure that it has been completely removed from your system before reinstalling it- a double installation can cause problems and conflicts within your computer that can make your computer freeze up or run so slowly that you wish you could afford to take it outside and beat it to death! (Come on let's be honest- we've all wanted to do that at one time or another for various reasons. We're only human after all and it's not like you can send the damn thing to it's room !)
As always Remember to Back Up Your Entire Hard Drive on a Regular Basis and keep a Hard Copy (Paper) backup as well for all important information.
Good Luck and Good Health !!
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