I know it is not spring – do we have this season in Malawi? But there is no time like the present to take some time out to overhaul and tidy up your computer. For most of us, this device is used on a daily basis for at least 5-8 hours a day at work or home. So, are we looking after our computers properly? In our many years of IT support in Malawi, we have encountered a number of strange situations with faulty computers. These include dead geckoes, ant nests, and in one case, a nest of cockroaches inside both laptops and desktops!! Obviously attracted by the heat from the device. I trust your computer is not that bad, but here are some ways of making sure it is working optimally, and to your satisfaction. Most of this basic step by step guidance is aimed at Windows 10 users – however this guidance is similar for Windows 7 and 8 users too. Firstly, your software. Check that you have the latest Windows updates from Control Panel. Windows 10 does send you reminders on your updates. Allow these to run and be installed – preferably during off peak times as some of these can be very large. If you are running a separate anti-virus – check that this is up to date as well. An anti-virus solution is only as good as its last update – if not updated for a long time – you are vulnerable. And believe me – malware professionals are scanning for such vulnerabilities on a daily basis. While you are in Control Panel – select Programs and Features. A list of all your applications will appear here. You can choose to uninstall any of these you do not need. New computers do come with a lot of “crap ware” – free and trial software that you do not really need or use. Identify and uninstall these to free up space and sometimes background tasks. On your hardware, if you are running a modern computer by the main manufacturers, there should be a pre-loaded manufacturers diagnostic application that can be run to check the condition of the hardware components. On my laptop it is called HP Support Assistant and it is used to remind me of any hardware updates or diagnostics. If this is not available, do not worry. Windows 10 allows you to check the performance of your computer, by clicking CTRL+ ALT+ Delete. Select Task Manager, then the Performance tab, and then Open Resource Monitor. There is a wealth of information here – on how your CPU, memory and hard drive are working. It even tells you the traffic on your wireless or ethernet connection, and is the first check our teams carry out when troubleshooting a device. Next step is to go to your C: drive from your File Explorer. Right click here and select Properties. The first thing you will see is Disk Cleanup. Click on this and allow it to complete a scan – it will then tell you what files it has found which can be removed. Go ahead and run this. Next, click on the Tools tab in this function. This enables you to check and optimise your hard drive. Go ahead and run these. If you have any other partitioned drives, carry out the same steps on each of these. Once you have completed the above, you should notice a distinct improvement in speeds and response times of your device. If you wish to be more comprehensive, download a free tool called C Cleaner from http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner. We can highly recommend this freeware application, and this can be used to efficiently tidy up your registry, securely clean your drive and allow for safe uninstallations of unneeded programs. Finally – do take your computer to a support company and have them blow out your device to get rid of the dust that gathers around your fans and components, and any living or dead insects or reptiles that may have found sanctuary in your device!
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