How to clean and maintain your computer

Background: this maintenance should be run annually to keep your computer running in peak condition. There are parts of this maintenance that should be run more frequently, but is beyond the scope of this task.

Safety First!Preliminary Steps:

• Turn off your PC
• Disconnect power cord from rear of case.
• Unplug any other cables as necessary to allow access to case (you’ll be opening the case).
  • Make sure if you don’t know what each cable is for to label it so you’ll know where it goes back to.

Clean the Exterior of your computer

• Clean the case
  • Wipe the case and clear its ventilation ports of any obstructions using compressed air (blowing out away from the interior).
  • Ensure all cables are firmly attached to their connectors on the case.
• Clean the keyboard
  • Turn the keyboard upside down and shake it to clear the crumbs from between the keys.
  • Blast the keyboard with compressed air, using short blasts to clean under/between keys.
• Clean the monitor
  • Wipe the monitor case and clear its vents of obstructions using compressed air (careful not to blow lint into the case). If you have a LCD monitor, you may be able to use isopropyl alcohol, but check your book/monitor user guide or manufacturer to be sure, also for LCDs, be careful as the underlying glass is fragile.
  • Clean the screen with a standard glass cleaner and a lint-free cloth.
  • For older monitors: degauss it using the degauss button (look for a small magnet icon), push it to clear magnetic interference.

Clean the Interior of your computer

CAUTION: INTERIOR COMPONENTS ARE SUBJECT TO DAMAGE FROM ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE (ESD). ENSURE YOU ARE GROUNDED TO THE CHASSIS PRIOR TO TOUCHING COMPONENTS WITHIN CASE.

• Open the case by removing the side panel(s).
• Using a small vacuum or compressed air:
  • Clean off all the fans within the case.
  • Remove dust/debris from CPU heatsink and fan.
• Using anti-static wipes, clean the interior of the case.
• Check connections within the case to include:
  • Power connections
  • IDE / SATA connections
  • Various other connections within the case.
• Replace the side panel(s).

Final Checks:

• Check connections
  • Check the surge protector indicator lights to make sure a power spike hasn’t occurred and the surge protector is working as advertised. If your surge protector doesn’t have indicator lights, replace it with a higher quality one that does.
  • Ensure power connectors are securely plugged into the surge protector.
  • Reconnect cables removed prior to starting maintenance.
• Turn on and log into computer.
• Run diagnostic programs to check computer:
  • Glary Utilities. This program checks for registry errors, spyware and various junk on your machine, it is a great program and it is free.
  • SI Sandra. This great utility can check your whole computer. It is a great way to perform an operational “check up” on your computer. For more complete testing of the BIOS area, run #1Tuff-Test lite.
  • Defragmentation. This is good housekeeping to keep your hard drive in good working order. To run this program; “START>ACCESSORIES>SYSTEM TOOLS>DEFRAG”
  • Check your swap file health, for more information visit PC World article http://www.pcworld.com/article/65144/hardware_tips_jog_your_memory_for_faster_pc_performance.html.

• That’s it; enjoy your computer.