Imagine for a moment . . .
Never change the oil in your car again!

Forget about diets and exercise, eat and drink all that you want, whenever you want! Never mow your lawn or weed your flower beds again! Let your business run itself!

Wishful thinking but... as individuals and business owners we know all too well there are many aspects of daily living that require regular care and maintenance. Your business, house, vehicles, finances, your health and a number of other possessions all have maintenance tasks associated with them that must be done in order to keep them running well. After all, how long would you expect to keep a car if you never had the oil changed or had the engine serviced? What about your home? The gutters, heating system and the yard, if left in disrepair, would soon look like the "Munsters" lived there. With your health, we all know the importance of yearly checkups, eating the right foods, exercising regularly and continuing the learning process in order to maintain our sense of well being.

But what about that little beige or black box we have come to rely on more and more? You know... the item that has become a critical business tool, a gateway to a world of resources and even an entertainment device. I'm referring to your Personal Computer. Your computer also needs regular maintenance if you expect it to perform at its peak and deliver the services you want, when you want them, right?

What follows are a few simple and cost effective "Do It Yourself" tasks to help keep your computer running well.

1. Update your operating system: Windows XP has a feature that will automatically download and install critical updates and security patches when your computer is connected to the Internet.

To turn the feature on:

- Right click on My Computer
- Right click on Properties

Then choose the setting you want located on the Automatic Updates tab.

2. Anti-virus software: With nearly 100 new viruses being released every month, you can't afford not to have current anti-virus software on your computers. Typically, it will cost you approximately $30 to $40 per computer, per year to stay protected, but the benefits of doing so will more than pay off in the long run. Anti-virus software can be configured to update itself, scan your computer and fix virus problems automatically.

3. Cleanup after yourself (part 1): Did you know that hundreds or even thousands of temporary files find a home on your hard drive just by browsing Internet sites and that when you delete files they stay in the recyle bin until the recycle bin is emptied?

It's a good idea to delete those temporary and recyled bin files on a regular basis.

- Click on the Start button
- Choose Programs
- Choose Accessories
- Choose System Tools
- Select Disk Cleanup.

Windows will analyze your hard drive and report back to you what can be safely deleted.

4. Cleanup after yourself (part 2): In the process of creating, saving, re-opening and resaving files and documents on your hard drive, files are not always stored in continuous locations of your drive. Windows Disk Defragmenter utility analyzes and re-organizes the files on your hard drive so your hard drive doesn't have to work as hard to retrieve files for you. Running Disk Defragmenter regularly will make your computer run more efficiently and can add years to the life of your hard drive.

To run Disk Defragmenter:

- Click on the Start button
- Choose Programs
- Choose Accessories
- Choose System Tools
- Select Disk Disk Defragmenter.

5. Cleanup after yourself (part 3): You would be amazed at the amount of dust that collects inside your computer's case. A buildup of dust can clog and prevent proper air flow to the components housed in the computer. Excessive heat can damage the computer's components and can cause the computer to malfunction or eventually not function at all. Once a year, disconnect all the cables connected to your computer, open up the case and blow out all of the dust that has collected in there.

6. Backup, Backup, Backup: Your best defense against computer viruses, hard drive problems and even user errors is a good current backup of your data. As we rely on computers more and more, more data is being stored on the hard drives of our computers. Ask yourself these questions regarding your data.

1. What information on my computer's hard drive is critical to my business or me personally (documents, contact files, digital images, accounting files, databases)
   
2. If I suddenly lost all of that data due to a hard drive crash or an error, could it be replaced or reconstructed? If so, how long would it take to recover from the loss and what would be the impact of the loss?

There are simple ways to protect yourself from losing important data. Backup software, tape and portable hard drives can be setup to create a backup copy of your information automatically on a regular basis. Whether for personal or business reasons, choose a hardware or software backup method and be sure to back up frequently. It is important to make the backup process as automated as possible and to create multiple sets of your data, it is also a good idea to store a "good" or verified copy of this data off-site at all times. You also want to test your backup plan by restoring backed up data to make sure you can retrieve information you've backed up and to be familiar with the process.

As you can see…. a little bit of "Do It Yourself" maintenance can go a long way in keeping your personal possessions and your computers running well.

Have a Question? E-mail it to: info@homeandofficeworks.com