Hopefully the title says it all.  Have you performed any routine maintenance on your PC lately?  My guess is that the answer is no.  Unfortunately, most people are never educated about regular PC maintenance and are doomed to follow the same destructive pattern that keeps PC manufacturers rolling around in money.

Buy a computer -> use it for a year or two -> have trouble -> repeat

What You Will Need To Get Started – Tools

All of the tools you will need for this routine maintenance are posted and available for you on the JumpstartMyPC.com Tools page.  We add new items to this area from time-to-time and keep all of the links updated with the most recent versions of each application.  Simply locate an application that you would like to use and click on the Software link out to the right.  You’ll be directed to an external site and the download will begin.

JumpstartMyPC.com Tools Page

5-Point Maintenance Plan

There are 5 main areas that you will need to focus on each time you perform maintenance on your PC.

• Defrag – A defrag of your hard drive makes it easier on your PC to locate files and extends the life of your hard drive.
  Program:  Auslogics Disk Defrag (available on the tools page)
  Article: Defragmentation: A Simple Task for a Huge Result

• Update – Microsoft releases regular updates for your operating system.  There might be a security or bug fix waiting for you. 
  Program: Windows (already installed on your system)
  Article: Warning Lights on Your PC Shouldn’t be Ignored

• Scan – Malware, Spyware and other unwanted malicious programs are installed without your knowledge.
  Program: Spybot Search and Destroy (tools page)
• Clean – As you surf the internet, your browser collects files in a temporary folder.  These files are not deleted until you tell your computer to do so.
  Program: CCleaner (tools page)
• Registry Cleaning – The registry stores configuration settings and options for Windows.  Unfortunately, it never cleans out old files.
  Program: Abexo Registry Cleaner (tools page) NOT FOR WINDOWS 7 USERS
  Article: Your Registry is Probably in Need of a Cleaning

Tags: Auslogics Disk Defrag, CCleaner, defrag, defragmentation, Maintenance, Malware, registry, Spybot Search and Destroy, Spyware, Updates, Windows

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 10:30 am and is filed under Free Programs, PC Support, Tips and Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.