Your PC maintenance

unfortunately for me, i have to live in a very dusty environment. so i clean regularly to make sure that the case is dust free. regularly however can mean anything from once a day, to once every few weeks depending on the dust levels. but i try hard.

as for computer maintenance? as far as defrags are concerned, i defrag everytime i uninstall/install something on my computer. no point in defragging if you haven't added or removed anything lately. it's hard to have file fragments with nothing happening.

typically my computer runs fairly smoothly unless i'm running skype. for some reason skype takes up enormous amounts of RAM just to run smoothly. and it sucks up bandwidth worse than a vacuum. dead god....

every once in a while, i'll feel like my hard drives are too cluttered, or my My Documents folder has too much crap in it, so i'll go in and go on a binge deletion spree to get rid of anything that i never use anymore or don't need anymore.

i also keep an eye on the temps inside my case. i live in a humid/hot area of the US so i have to keep everything in check. when i get my new computer, it will be no different.

No, mate, I've never reformatted to clean the junk out of my PC, it's loads of effort backing stuff up (IMO) and I only got an external drive in the last couple of months.

That's going to change soon, though, because I had Zone Alarm a while ago and my PC's never been the same since i uninstalled it, and I have no malware.

I do inside cleaning (mobo, hsf, etc) once a year or so.

Last time was just 2 weeks ago when my video card started acting up and finally it just wont reboot. Decided to wash (yes wash) the video card and put it in a basin for one hour with dishwashing soap and water. Blow dry it and put it back...voila! Video card works like it was bnew Now thats what I call clean.

BTW, you can do the same to mobo but I never tried it yet. Don't forget to remove the battery tho if you are going to try it on a defective mobo, who knows it might bring back to life.

Man you guys are sort of extreme... Listen! If you decide to clean a PSU, OK... I do it but let me tell you this- just letting it "sit for awhile", is not safe.
An easy way to discharge all power from it is to pull the plug and then press and hold the power button on your computer... I clean my pc every 3 or 4 weeks... I am just a nut about it as I have a nice gamer case with all the lighting mods and stuff as well as a mirror so you can see the video card.
A word of advice for those who use air cans DO NOT SHAKE THEM BEFORE USE!!! Do it once and spray it on something other than your computer and see what happens... I did, I never bought another can again... It is a paint brush for me.....

hey ppl.. juz wonderin.. defragment really works ??

everytime after i defrag.. it doesn't make any difference..

plus.. is it necessary to clear ur c drive to a minimum space requirement everytime u wan to defrag?? it says " needs at least dunno how much free gb but continue anyway?"

help pls >.<

You washed it?...........

That's normal... I disassemble my PC and put it in the dishwasher... mobo and video card go on the bottom with the pots & pans, ram goes in the basket with the silverware and everything else goes on the top rack with the cups. The tower I just take with me in the shower... body wash makes it nice and shiny!

Are you serious?

If you are, then I may have to start doing that.

If not, then I probably won't.....

Yes a defragment really helps, it helps reduce the amount of fragmented files. It helps move the files closer together so when the files are heavily fragmented it takes more time for the disk head to move in between fragments. The disk defragmenter could help increase the life span of the hard drive, it reducing head movement and simplifying data access. Also staying above the minium requirement is recommended because your computer will run alot slower, if you have this problem remove files you don't need, uninstall programs you have no need for. Download a trial version of Windows Washer ( on the right side of this window it says Try Window Washer for free / or you can try another brand that helps with unncessecary files ) http://www.webroot.com/shoppingcart/tryme.php?bjpc=4060&vcode=DT01
This program will help with files on your computer that you don't need that is using up space, and can improve performance. And you may not notice a performance increase when defragmenting if your below the minimum hard drive requirement for windows.

Joking I think.

If it works ...I suppose......

I'm not at all convinced it's a good idea to root around inside your computer with a paintbrush. The bristles in a paintbrush are made of synthetic (also natural bristle) fiber with composition unknown and/or nylon and other plastics. Synthetic fibers are quite often very electro-statically reactive. Then there's also the nasty, big, metal (electrically conductive) ferrule.
There are brushes available which neutralize a static charge. These are most often used (and sold) in the photographic industry to clean dust off off negatives. Negatives charge up real good and it's difficult to get rid of the dust. "Staticmaster" is the most popular brand. These brushes neutralize static electricity by way of a radioactive isotope of Polonium. Yeah, the same s*** that killed that former KGB guy in Britain a while back.

I suppose if the paintbrush technique seems to work for you, go ahead and do it. For myself, I'm way too superstitious.