Does my computer need regular maintenance?

Back in the "old days", when computers cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, it was normal for your hardware engineer to show up every few months with a bag full of tools and spend a couple of hours cleaning your computer to make sure that everything was running to spec.

But that was a long time ago. What about now? Does a computer that costs less than a thousand dollars really need regular maintenance?

The short answer is: yes, more than ever. You see, modern computers do far more "stuff' than their older counterparts. The computers of yesteryear pretty much performed a single task: typically, managing your business environment, with software provided by a single vendor.

But modern computers do many, many things, using software from many, many vendors. You browse the web, read your email, create documents, edit photographs, balance your cheque book and lots more. And you use software from many different vendors.

All of that takes a toll on your computer's reliability and performance. And as a result, over time, your computer will get slower and less reliable. Fortunately, regular maintenance will mitigate those results. Here's a list of some of the maintenance tasks that you should be performing:

  • Defragment your hard drive (usually automatic)
  • Run a regular virus scan
  • Run a regular malware scan
  • Periodically run a "Registry Cleaner" like Piriform CCleaner
  • Uninstall old or unused software
  • Delete temporary files Organize the files on your computer into logical folders

Sound like a lot of work? Maybe, but it pays big rewards in performance and stability. And the good news is that if you're on a Managed Services plan from Connectability, we take care of most of that for you.

So that takes care of software maintenance. But what about hardware? Does a personal computer need regular hardware maintenance?

Well, that depends. If your computer is fairly new and your office environment is very clean, then perhaps not. But most office areas tend to be surprisingly dirty and it's not unusual for us to open up a 12-month old computer and find it nearly choked with dust. And that can cause overheating and system crashes. Ideally, it's worthwhile to pop the side of your computers once a year and give them a good spray with a can of compressed air. That can make the difference between a long lifetime and a premature failure.

For more information on the importance of computer maintenance, please contact us at 416-966-3306 or email us at [email protected]