Happy New Year Everyone…

For 2009 OnMouseClick will be featuring a question and answer (or Q&A) format. If you have a technology related question you would like to see answered, please submit it to Linda Quinn at Box 9-10, or via email at OnMouseClick@digitalquinn.com. And now, for the first question of 2009:

Q. It is a new year and I am a making a resolution to keep my computer running in tip-top condition. Any suggestions?

A. An excellent question for the start of 2009. Everyone knows that if you don’t change the oil in your car you are in for trouble, you have to mow your lawn to keep your property looking good, and you have to eat right to stay healthy — but do you know what you have to do to keep your computer in good, running condition? Setup a simple maintenance routine for your computer and you won’t be sorry. This week’s column will outline the routine. Next week OnMouseClick will cover specific software, products, and techniques to use in your maintenance routine.

1. BACK UP YOUR DATA — As it has been said many times, it is not “if” your hard drive fails, but “when.” Making regular back ups of the data on your hard drive is an essential part of any maintenance schedule.

2. RESTART YOUR COMPUTER — Many computer users select a sleep mode instead of turning the computer off every time they use it. Using the sleep mode works well, but after a while (how long a while depends on how much you use your computer) you may notice the performance of the computer slowing down. Restarting the computer cleans out the memory cache, removes temporary files, and refreshes the operating system. It cannot hurt to restart your computer once a day.

3. RELAUNCH WEB BROWSER — Web browsers are memory hogs. The longer they run, the more RAM they use. Even if you are not restarting your computer, it is a good idea to relaunch your browser after using it for an extended period.

4. EMPTY THE TRASH OR RECYCLE BIN — When you “throw” a file in the trash or recycle bin it is not removed from you hard drive until you empty the trash. Until then the files remain on the drive, taking up precious room. You should empty your trash once a week.

5. KEEP SOFTWARE UP-TO-DATE — Software publishers regularly release updates to fix bugs, resolve incompatibilities, and add new features. You want to make sure you are running the most recent versions of your software for the best performance.

6. FREE UP DISK SPACE — While emptying the TRASH or RECYCLE BIN will get rid of unwanted files, you probably have many files on your hard drive that you rarely use but you do not want to throw away. Burn these extraneous files on a CD or DVD, or move them to an external disk drive. It is good practice to free up disk space every few months.

7.TIDY YOUR DESKTOP — Icons on the computer desktop seem to multiply at an alarming rate. Once a month sort through the items on your desktop. Remove Aliases/Shortcuts that you no longer need, and move loose files to you documents folder.

8. CLEAN PHYSICAL HARDWARE — Once a month give your computer a gentle cleaning. Turn the computer off and use a special cloth to wipe the monitor and a damp cloth to wipe the outside of the computer. Use a soft brush or compressed-air to clean out vents and the spaces on the keyboard. A damp cloth can also be used to clean the keys. Wipe away dust that accumulates on the bottom of you mouse. Check to make sure your surge protector is working properly.

9. HARDWARE & SOFTWARE DIAGNOSTIC — Periodically run diagnostic software that will tell you if your computer is experiencing hardware or operating system problems.