Sunday, September 27, 2009

Can You Tell Me How To Prevent Computer Crashes?

By Travis Van Slooten

Knowing how to prevent computer crashes can save us a lot of time, effort, and money. Plus, it can protect us from potential data loss that can be extremely frustrating. The good news is, most computer crashes can be avoided, and for those that can't be, you may be able to minimize the damage by proper maintenance. Computers can't last forever but if you take measures and ensure their proper care, they can perform better and give you many years of productive use. Here are a few tips that can help prevent computers from crashing.

The first step in computer crash prevention is proper maintenance. A well-maintained car won't break down on you. Just the same, a well-maintained computer will be more reliable. And when there is a problem, you will be more likely to spot it early. Proper computer maintenance doesn't just mean cleaning the dust out of the case every month. You also need to run scan disk and defrag programs about every month. You should run a registry cleaner just as often, if not more often. These programs are simple to use and will keep your computer running as smoothly as it can.

The next step is to keep your eyes and ears open. You computer can run diagnostics on itself and it is important that you pay attention to these when the computer starts up. Be aware of the signs of bad RAM or a hard drive going bad. If your computer is short on memory, a RAM stick may be going bad. If your hard drive is buzzing or clicking, you may want to consider backing up your data immediately. By learning to recognize the visual and auditory cues of hardware failing, you will not be taken off guard when something does go bad.

An important aspect of knowing how to prevent computer crashes is protecting it from outside elements that can cause damage. This can encompass a number of things. One is placing your PC in a well-ventilated area to avoid overheating. Another protective measure is positioning it such that parts of your unit like the CPU, will not be easily kicked or hit. Even seemingly minor bumps can lead to major damage. Further, make sure that you secure your unit from power fluctuations by using a surge protector, or you risk damage to your motherboard. Use a reliable and updated anti-virus protection that can keep any the risk of viruses at bay, especially when you browse or surf the internet often.

Computers are bound to quit eventually, but if you take time to apply the right preventive measures, that eventuality would happen later rather than sooner. Also, it shouldn't take a major computer crash for us to realize the importance of always doing a data backup of all our important documents and digital files. If you have an efficient backup system, properly maintain your computer, and learn all other methods on how to prevent computer crashes, you should have nothing to worry about.

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