Keep your PC running in top form
In the past, we’ve covered several tips to help your PC run smoothly (if you missed them, they’re here). Now, here are four more chores that are worth learning to keep your computer in top shape.
CLEAR TEMP FILES
What it does: Gets rid of files used to install programs and other garbage data files left behind by various computer processes.
Frequency: For hard drives with lots of free space, twice a month. For hard drives with dwindling space, once a week.
Difficulty: Intermediate to advanced, depending on which version of Windows is used.
Time requirements: Five to ten minutes.
There’s a hidden folder on your hard drive called the Windows temp folder. It’s often full of junky files. When a new program is installed, it unpacks compressed files it brought with it for installation into this folder. Sometimes Windows puts files there that are saved data from system crashes. For example, if Microsoft Word 97 or 2000 crashes, you’ll often find a version of the file there that was auto-saved. It will be named something like 4197333571.tmp or something similarly weird.
Many programs do not remove these temporary files when they’re done with them. Over time, those files can take up a large chunk of hard drive space. Here’s what to do.
If you have Windows 95, click Start > Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer, or click Start > Run and then type explorer.
When the application opens, it will be organized into two columns. On the left will be the hard drive(s) located on your system, and on the right will be files located in a selected folder.
In the left panel, open your C: drive (or the drive where Windows was installed if it’s not “C” — but it probably is “C”). You may have to click on My Computer first to expose the “C” drive.
Select the Windows folder and then select the sub-folder called Temp. On the right, a bunch of files and directories will appear. Select all the files and folders stored in the Temp and delete them. Remember, these files will all go to the Recycle Bin, so they won’t be truly gone until you empty that.
If you have Windows 98, ME, or XP, this process is much easier. Go to Start > Programs > Accessories and then System Tools, and choose Disk Cleanup.
There will be a series of areas of the hard drive listed, including your Internet cache and your recycle bin. To the right of these there are numbers. This is the amount of data shown in megabytes (MB) occupying each hard drive area in the list. Check the items you want to clear and then click OK. The system will get rid of them, freeing up valuable hard drive space.
CLEAR THE INTERNET CACHE
What it does: Frees up hard drive space
Frequency: Once a week
Difficulty: Novice
Time requirements: A minute or so
If you are a busy Internet user, then your web browser will accumulate a lot of unwanted data. When you visit a web page, any images or bits of data used to display that web page are downloaded and stored on the hard drive in your Internet cache. This is to ensure that, the next time you visit that web page, this data is readily available and doesn’t have to be downloaded again. It speeds up web surfing.
It’s worth purging this cache from time to time. If you use Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6, here’s how to do it: Open your web browser and click the Tools menu at the top of the browser, and then click Internet Options. Then click Delete Files and then OK. Depending how large your Internet cache is, this process could take anywhere from twenty seconds to several minutes.
Instructions for all versions of Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer are here.
UPDATE YOUR DRIVERS
What it does: Improves the function of computer devices
Frequency: Once or twice a year
Difficulty: Advanced
Time requirements: 30 minutes or more
This tip has to do with the hardware installed on your computer. Most add-in cards, video adapters, network cards, and sound cards operate only as well as their drivers. Drivers are little data files that tell Windows how to use various pieces of computer equipment. Printers, scanners, keyboards, and mice also have drivers.
If your gear is manufactured by a reputable company, they will likely update their drivers every few months, or whenever bugs are found. If you are not sure what cards are present on your PC or who makes them try consulting the documentation that came with your system.
Each company should have a website with a Support page that allows downloading of new drivers. Select the drivers for your make and model of the add-on device, download them, and then follow the instructions to install them.
A guide on how to download files from the Internet can be found here: Dealing with downloaded files.
If you own a computer manufactured by a major company (Dell, Gateway, HP, Compaq, IBM, etc.) it most likely has a Web site that keeps track of available driver updates.
Step-by-step instructions on how to update your drivers are available in our FAQ How to update a driver for Windows computers.
UPDATE VIRUS SIGNATURES
What it does: Protects against the latest viruses
Frequency: Once a week, or as soon as you hear that a new virus has been discovered.
Difficulty: Novice
Time requirements: A few minutes. More if you have a slow Internet connection.
One of the most important parts of PC maintenance is making sure that your computer’s anti-virus program is up to date. It’s not enough to buy and install the program. You have to routinely download virus signatures from the Internet so your software always knows how to look for new viruses as they are unleashed on the world by virus writers.
Most anti-virus programs have a feature in them that, with a few clicks, will download the latest virus signatures (also called virus “definitions”) from the Internet and install them on your system. Each program does this slightly differently, so it’s worth checking your software’s documentation to understand how to do this.
Here’s how to do it in Norton Anti-Virus 2002, one of the most popular anti-virus programs available today.
Make sure you are connected to the Internet. Next, start Norton Anti-Virus, and locate and click the Live Update button. A box will pop up to prompt you to run it. Click Next.
The software will scan the Symantec updates database on the web to see if any new virus signatures are available. If there are, they will be downloaded to your computer (you may have to tell your software to proceed with that). The process should take between a few seconds to several minutes, depending on the speed of your Internet connection and how many new viruses are out there since the last time you updated.
Follow your software’s instructions until the process is complete. It’s advisable to do this at least once a week but, if you hear about a recent virus outbreak, be sure to take the time to do the virus update as soon as possible.
Also, check your anti-virus software to see whether you can set it to automatically check for and download updated virus signatures on a scheduled basis.