The fact that almost all modern computer systems require constant care, apparently, all users know. But not everyone has a clear enough idea of what this should manifest itself in. To keep the computer, operating system and installed applications in the most efficient condition, it is necessary to carry out preventive maintenance of the PC software and monitor the hardware components (installed equipment). Quite often, it is difficult to establish a very clear line between these areas, since they are very interconnected, and the methods used, for example, of a software nature, can positively affect the improvement of the operation of "iron" components, as well as vice versa.
Ways to prevent PC
To begin with, let's clearly define what is meant by prevention in most cases, focusing on the two above-mentioneddirections. It goes without saying that, first of all, PC prevention measures related to monitoring the operation of installed equipment should consist in regular cleaning of the computer from all kinds of dirt and dust. In this case, for the most part, we are talking about stationary units, since it is not recommended to disassemble laptops yourself (yes, the likelihood of dust getting into them is much lower than with stationary PCs).
Therefore, it is recommended to periodically “clean” inside the system unit, using the most common household vacuum cleaner at home, turned on in the minimum suction power mode (this is necessary in order not to damage the important components installed on the motherboard). Apparently, there is no need to say that the ingress of dust can provoke the emergence of situations when the contacts are broken, and this is only fraught with the fact that the operating system or the program with the component will not be able to work correctly, and the appearance of errors will be accompanied even by blue screens of death. How often do you need to clean? It all depends on the design of the system unit. But on average, this may be required at least once a month.
If we consider the software methods for monitoring the state of the computer, offered in various articles and recommendations on computer assistance, among the most basic measures taken by the user, we should especially highlight such, again, regularlyactions performed:
- checking for viruses, and even despite the presence of installed standard protection tools);
- checking the disk for possible errors;
- cleaning up junk files, program remnants after uninstallation, system cache, applications and browsers, the presence of which leads to disk and registry clutter;
- defragment your hard drive to speed up access to frequently used software components (SSD drives do not require this action);
- timely installation of operating system updates and keeping device drivers up to date;
- disabling unnecessary components and services that can slow down your PC;
- remove unwanted apps, etc.
It goes without saying that these are not all measures, but only the most basic ones. But, if you focus on at least using them, you can quite simply achieve stability in the operation of any computer device, since absolutely all operations can be performed independently.
Prevention of PC viruses based on antivirus program: instructions
Unfortunately, most users mistakenly believe that it is enough to simply install an anti-virus program and forget about it (they say that it will provide the necessary protection itself). Not so simple. The fact is that a lot depends on the class of the antivirus itself and its capabilities. Some even popular packages like Avast! behave completely inappropriately, skipping threats, issuing false positives, and in some situations themselvesmay be exposed to the virus. That is why it is strongly recommended to install more powerful and reliable antiviruses from ESET or Kaspersky Lab. ESET shareware packages can be activated every thirty days without having to purchase them. If you need pure free programs, you can install the same package from Kaspersky or the fairly well-established Panda Cloud antivirus. Speaking about the prevention of PC infection with a virus, it should be said separately that when choosing an antivirus, special attention should be paid to the system for updating anti-virus databases, since new threats on the same Internet today appear like mushrooms after rain.
As for the performance of checks, it is strongly recommended to perform them at least once a week, and even more often if you are constantly working with the Internet. In this case, you can use either S. M. A. R. T scanning, which is available in almost all programs, or performing an on-demand scan with inclusion in the list of available elements.
Cleaning the hard drive and logical partitions from garbage
PC prevention is impossible to imagine without removing all kinds of computer debris that accumulates in the process of working with the operating system and installed programs. In the simplest case, you need to pay attention to regular disk cleaning (both system and logical partitions).
To perform such actions, if there is no third-party program at hand, you canuse at least the standard Windows tools, only in the list of items to be deleted, all items should be checked, except perhaps for updates. This will get rid of the cached data of the system and programs, temporary Internet files (but only in relation to "native" browsers), the contents of the Recycle Bin, etc. If you use the deletion of system files, you can perform a deeper cleaning. But in the case of the presence of third-party web browsers, the removal of temporary components, Cookies and all other garbage will have to be performed in them (usually such operations are performed in the section for clearing the browsing history).
Check and defragment disk
Unfortunately, the appearance of errors on the hard drive can be attributed to one of the most common problems. Many articles on computer help indicate very clearly that they can cause both the operating system and the programs installed in it to malfunction as a result.
The system itself has a standard checker called from the properties of a disk or partition in Explorer, but it is very often recommended to use the command line, which uses the check command entered with several additional attributes. But in both cases, it is necessary to use not only the detection of errors, but also their correction, as well as the restoration of bad sectors. If desired, you can also perform surface testing, but such actions are best done usingspecial utilities.
Another problem that many ordinary users very often do not pay attention to is that over time, calling programs and opening files is much slower than it was immediately after installation. This is due to the fact that during the operation of Windows and frequent installation of applications or performing actions with user files, the hard drive is fragmented, that is, the files are scattered throughout the hard drive, due to which the speed of their search and start, depending on the save area, decreases. PC prevention in the sense of disk defragmentation allows you to move frequently used objects to the fastest areas of the hard drive (closer to the central part of the plates), and at the same time organizes the file structure. Please note that for SSD media with their design that differs from conventional hard drives, it is not recommended to perform defragmentation at all under any pretext.
Working with system updates
Permanently installed or proposed system updates also play an important role. Despite the fact that very often packages are, to put it mildly, unfinished, and their installation causes critical failures, which is especially noticeable in Windows 7, and more recently in Windows 10, it is still necessary to install them in some cases, because they may contain not only security patch tools, but also important updates to embedded platforms and system components.
However, sometimes even with the automatic update disabled, it would be nice to set the search for available packages manually. If you wish, you can not install some updates (exclude updates for other Microsoft products from the list, remove failed updates, etc.). Very often, without the latest updates, even some third-party programs refuse to work.
Keeping drivers up to date
Another stumbling block in PC prevention is device drivers. They are the most, if you do not take into account problems with hard drives and RAM, cause the most critical failures in the system, which are the evidence of those same blue screens of death.
In the "Device Manager" it is better not to update the control software, but to entrust this procedure to special programs like Driver Booster, which access the Internet resources of equipment manufacturers and install the latest versions of such software on their own, which excludes the penetration of viruses, and failure of the equipment itself.
Performance optimization
Now a few words about how to prevent a computer at home, if we are talking about some software components that can slow down the system.
In this case, we are talking not only about the startup section, in which many installed applications create their own modules,that start with Windows, as well as about some unused services and system components. You can also disable all this manually, but you need to clearly understand what exactly can be deactivated without significant consequences. In this situation, you can use third-party utilities like Windows Manager, which have tools for managing such components.
Remove unnecessary software
When installing programs, you should also be careful, especially since some of them can additionally install some partner software (if anyone does not know, information about any file is entered into the system registry, and the larger it is, the longer it will take to start systems). To carry out PC prevention in this regard, for starters, simply go to the programs and components section, and then remove everything that you do not use in your daily work.
Using automated uninstallers
But, since their own built-in application uninstallers often do not completely remove installed programs, it is best to get rid of them using narrowly focused utilities. One of the most powerful is iObitn Uninstaller.
With its help, you can uninstall not only user applications, but also many extensions or browser panels. You can even get rid of programs built into the shell of the operating system. At the same time, such applications automatically remove absolutely all residual components, including files with folders and registry keys.
Automated optimizer programs
Finally, you can optimize by automating many processes by using special applications called optimizers (CCleaner, Advanced SystemCare, etc.). Most of these programs have many tools for fine-tuning and maintaining your PC, including even one-click quick optimization modules.
It's enough just to mark the necessary tools and run a scan, after which the identified problems will be automatically fixed. Among the most relevant modules, it is worth highlighting cleaning, fixing and defragmenting the registry, removing unwanted software, optimizing system boot, checking and defragmenting the disk, strengthening security, and much more.
Summary
Summing up, we can say that the prevention of a computer and its components is mostly carried out using the methods described. However, in order to produce a comprehensive service, they must be applied in parallel. Of course, optimizers look very effective, but some operations cannot always be performed with their help (for example, updating drivers or providing anti-virus protection). If there is nothing at hand at all, use the standard system tools to the maximum. Finally, if you have the necessary knowledge, do not forget to update the firmware of the primary BIOS / UEFI systems in a timely manner, which can sometimes prevent many problems with new hardware that may not be possible with older firmware.supported.
