We get asked all the time what things you can do to prolong the life of your system and keep it running in top shape. We have put together a short list of our favorite tips to help you maximize that investment of yours. Use these tips to keep your system cool, running fast, and lasting longer.

I Thought I Saw A Bunny Wabbit

The main enemy of your computer is heat. Heat will destroy a computer given a high enough temperature or a long enough duration. When you machine is nice and new, heat shouldn't be a problem is a well designed system. Well, if it isn't a problem when you bought it, why is it a problem now? The answer are two simple words: dust bunnies

Those pesky dust bunnies will multiply in the sanctity of your computer case like real rabbts in the wild. The dust will build up on the components and cooling fins trapping in heat. Now I know that now self respecting computer stud wants to ask the wife to borrow the dust buster, heaven knows you might get trapped into cleaning something else while you are at it. In our book, the best cleaning is to take the machine outside, remove the side panel, and use a good air compressor or canned air to clean off all of the components. Be sure and use the little straw to get deep into the power supply. More power supplies are lost every year to dust buildup than any other cause. Before putting the cover back on, check all the cards and RAM to make sure it is seated well.

Do The Defrag

When do you defragment your drive? This is an age old question that I will put to rest right here and now. You do NOT need to defragment your drive every day, nor every week, and many people don't need to even do it once a month. It really just depends on how much your use your system. We reecommend a defragmentation about once a month. In an upcoming article, we will actually show you how to automate this process.

Backup

Enough said. If you are not backing up your data on a regular basis, then paint your face, put on a funny wig and a rubber nose and hang out with Bozo, cause a fool you are. Read this sentance carefully: your hardrive will die someday...period. It is only a matter of when. how often should you back up? That depends again, how far back to you want to go when your hard drive dies and all of your data is gone? Every business should be backing up their data monday through friday, preferably with the ability to go back to any day's backup for at least two weeks.

Whose got the power?

One of the most overlooked problems that will reduce a perfectly good computer to a pile of rubble in no time flat is the quality of the power coming into the system. If the power fluctuates up and down even a small amount, it puts a tremendous strain on the power supply to filter it and deliver clean power to the system components. At minimum you want a good surge suppressor. I am not talking about the $2.99 hardware store specials, I am talking about a good quality, brand name (like Belkin) surge suppresor. If you spend less than $20 on it, it is not providing adequate protection. If you really want ensure good quality power to your system, invest in even a small battery backup system. A small UPS will smooth out the power spikes and drops end deliver smooth, consistent power to your system.

About the author:

Kerry Garrison is the Director of Technical Services for Tech Data Pros, a southern California IT Consulting firm, and is the publisher of The Geek Gazette and VOIPSpeak.net.