Computer cleaning

Computer cleaning is the practice of physically cleaning the interior, and exterior, of a computer including the removal of dust and debris from cooling fans, power supplies, and hardware components.

Backup

Important data stored on computers may be copied and archived securely so that, in the event, of failure, the data and systems may be reconstructed. When major maintenance such as patching

Patch (computing)

A patch is a piece of software designed to fix problems with, or update a computer program or its supporting data. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, and improving the usability or performance...

 is performed, a backup is recommended as the first step in case the update fails and reversion

Reversion (software development)

In software development , reversion or reverting is the abandonment of one or more recent changes in favor of a return to a previous version of the material at hand In software development (and by extension in content editing environments, especially wikis, that make use of the software development...

 is required.

Disk maintenance

Disk storage, such as your hard drive, fills up with unwanted file

Computer file

A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage. A file is durable in the sense that it remains available for programs to use after the current program has finished...

s over time. Disk cleanup

Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup is a computer maintenance utility included in Microsoft Windows designed to free up disk space on a computer's hard drive. The utility first searches and analyzes the hard drive for files that are no longer of any use, and then removes the unnecessary files...

 may be performed as regular maintenance to remove these. Files may become fragmented and so slow the performance of the computer. Disk defragmentation may be performed to combine these fragments and so improve performance.

Dust

Dust

Dust

Dust consists of particles in the atmosphere that arise from various sources such as soil dust lifted up by wind , volcanic eruptions, and pollution...

 and other cruft

Cruft

Cruft is jargon for computer software or hardware that is of poor quality. The term originates from source code that is rewritten leaving irrelevant or unwanted data within the code.-History:...

 may accumulate as a result of air cooling. If filters are used to prevent this then they will need regular service and changes. If the cooling system is not filtered then regular Computer cleaning may be required to prevent short circuits and overheating.

Law

Computer maintenance activities are specifically exempt from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...

 and so copies of copyright files may be made in the course of maintenance provided that they are destroyed afterwards.

Registry

Operating systems files such as the Windows registry

Windows registry

The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores configuration settings and options on Microsoft Windows operating systems. It contains settings for low-level operating system components as well as the applications running on the platform: the kernel, device drivers, services, SAM, user...

 may require maintenance. A utility such as a registry cleaner may be used for this.

Service intervals

Depending on your environment computers should be serviced at least once per quarter, though monthly service is optimal. This will ensure your computers run at their peak performance.

Software updates

Software packages and operating systems may require regular updates to correct software bug

Software bug

A software bug is the common term used to describe an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes it to behave in unintended ways. Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made by people in either a program's...

s and address security weaknesses. An automated or semi-automated program such as Windows update

Windows Update

Windows Update is a service provided by Microsoft that provides updates for the Microsoft Windows operating system and its installed components, including Internet Explorer...

may be used for this.

External links

• Microsoft on Getting started with computer maintenance