Back to
Writing Credits

DEWelch
Main

WelchWrite
Main

Maintaining your investment

Douglas E. Welch

Small Business Gazette

COPYRIGHT 1999 Douglas E. Welch

A computer system is a major investment and like any large investment it has to be maintained to retain its value. You service your car and make repairs on your home. You have to maintain your computer so that it remains a productive tool in your small business.

One of the most talked about dangers to your computer are viruses. Despite what you might have read elsewhere, it is fairly easy to protect yourself from these nasty pests. All it takes is the installation of a commercial or shareware anti-viral program. There are anti-viral programs available for all different types of computers and they range widely in complexity. Look at all the possibilities and then chose one that meets your needs for basic protection without getting in the way of your work. Anyone not currently running an anti-viral program is asking for trouble.

This first basic step will provide protection from perhaps 99% of all the known viruses and a good backup program will provide the last 1%. That is the next step in the maintenance process.

It seems that no one truly understands the importance of backing up their computer until it crashes. Despite constant warnings, demands and sometimes even begging most computer users have not backed up their systems. If you are one of these people take the time right now to back up your system. Go ahead. We’ll wait for you.

It isn’t necessary to back up your entire hard disk. Programs can be re-installed from their original floppy disks but data will have to be recreated. You might want to make a copy of important configuration files, like WIN.INI on Windows systems or AUTOEXEC/CONFIG.SYS on DOS systems, but data files are the first priority. If you have a tape drive or removable hard disk that allows you to easily back up your system, by all means, do it but don’t think you have to use 100’s of floppies when you only have a few megabytes of data.

Since you should now have a good backup of your data it is a good time to look around your hard disk and see if you really need all the data you have. A general rule is that if you haven’t used a file in over three months it is time to move it to floppy disk for storage or delete it. This regular pruning of your data will allow you more room on your hard disk for those files that you do use regularly.

Some care is required though. Don’t start randomly deleting files, especially in a directory that contains a program as well as data. It is very easy to delete a file that a program may require. If this happens the program may stop working. It is a good idea to move these files to a separate directory and then run the program to see if it still works. If it does then you can probably delete the file. If not, then you can easily move the file back to its proper location.

Third on the maintenance agenda is the upgrading of your application software. In these days of multi-megabyte programs it is not odd to upgrade a program quite frequently. Usually this is to correct small problems that have come to light during its use. These updates are usually represented by appending a letter to an existing version number of a program i.e. Excel 4.0a, Word for Windows 2.0c. These "bug fixes" may help you solve a particular problem or just improve the general operation of the program.

Unfortunately, software manufacturers are not very reliable in notifying users about these updates. It is always wise to subscribe to at least one computer magazine dedicated to your type of computer. These usually contain a regular listing of program updates that have been recently announced. This will allow you to keep your software at the most current version and working as well as possible.

Along with this recommendation comes a small warning. If there is a major upgrade, i.e. version 1.0 to 2.0, then it may pay to wait a short time before upgrading. Often new versions can introduce new bugs into the program. It is best to let others sort through these initial problems before jumping in yourself. Again, keep a watch on your favorite magazine to see what problems the new version might have and only upgrade when you are sure the software is working properly.

Now that the inside of your computer is clean, let’s take a look at the outside. Dust, smoke from cigarettes, animal hair and other gunk can quickly bring a computer to its knees. Dust bunnies in the disk drive or a layer of dust on the screen reduces your ability to work and may even lead to damage of your computer. It is time to get out the household cleaner and rags.

Always unplug the computer before cleaning. This will prevent any danger of shock or short circuit. The monitor screen and other exterior pieces can be cleaned using standard household cleaner or window cleaner. Do no use industrial strength cleaners or solvents. They may damage plastic parts. Always put the cleaner on a towel or rag first, then apply it to the screen or computer. This will prevent liquid from running inside the computer or monitor.

A small vacuum cleaner or a can of compressed air can be used to remove dust from disk drives and the inside of the computer. Be careful not to jar anything loose. It is probably best to take the system outside if it is extremely dusty. Otherwise you will just putting the dust back into the air where it will be sucked back into the computer by its cooling fan.

Be sure to arrange your computer so that all its vents are free of obstruction. If your system is crammed into a small desk or on the floor, buried beneath piles of paper, give it some breathing space. Heat is a computer’s worst enemy. Anything you can do to improve the ventilation around the system will further its life.

Protect your computer investment by establishing regular maintenance procedures. Whether you have one computer or dozens, don’t wait or you may end up pulling your hair out over lost data, lost time and maybe even a lost computer.