As a computer technician networking specialist, one of your tasks will be to keep the computers in your organization running properly by conducting routine maintenance. The focus will be on computer hardware, computer data, and computer software maintenance.
Importance of Conducting Routine Maintenance of Your Computer
- Your computer needs to run smoothly. You don’t want dust causing short circuits or viruses giving you the Blue Screen of Death.
- Keep the outside of the computer clean. Too much dust on the monitor can give you eye strain. Make sure to disinfect your computer, as well, to keep it clean.
- Conducting routine maintenance keeps the computer running faster. Taking away all the unwanted software, extensions, and applications will free up RAM and make your computer run faster.
- Your computer will be safer. Backing up your data will make sure you always have a copy if something goes wrong. Use antivirus software to keep out viruses and Trojan horses.
Computer Hardware Maintenance
Computer hardware needs to be in working order to keep running smoothly. Routine maintenance of the computer hardware includes the computer, keyboard, monitor, and mouse.
Computer – Dust and debris may accumulate in the computer hardware and may cause a short circuit or overheating. Routinely open the case of the desktop and make sure the fan is working properly.
Keyboard – Do you eat at your desk? Get crumbs and food in the cracks between the keys on the keyboard? To remove the crumbs and dust use pressurized air. Use a computer cleaner that is safe on plastic to clean off the keys of the keyboard. To sanitize the keyboard, use disinfectant.
Monitor – Use a special monitor wipe to clean fingerprints and dust off your monitor. Smudges and dust can cause eye strain if not removed on a regular basis.
Mouse – Make sure the mouse can slide freely and that debris is not stopping the mouse from gliding properly. The top of the mouse can be cleaned with a plastic friendly cleaner. Be careful not to damage the laser on the bottom of the mouse when cleaning.
Computer Data Maintenance
To keep computers running at top efficiency, it is recommended that they are routinely backed up, optimized, and secured.
Computer Backups – The computer can be set to routinely back up the data on your computer, so if something goes wrong, you can go back to an iteration when the data was not corrupted. It is also common to use an external hard drive to back up important data for safekeeping. New companies are offering cloud backup plans, including Google, iDrive, and Carbonite.
Disk Cleanup – This is a tool from Windows that removes old and temporary files that are stored on your computer. While you browse the internet, your browser will keep temporary files so that it doesn’t have to load each webpage from scratch each time you surf it. These temporary files can slow down your computer.
Drive Optimizer – As you load and delete data on your computer, it will become fragmented on the hard drive. Use the defrag tool to clean up the data on the hard drive and open up new space to allow your computer to run faster.
Browser Extensions – Make sure to remove any browser extensions and plugins that you are not using anymore, as they may open up your computer to vulnerabilities.
Passwords – It is important to keep your passwords secure. This is another way that hackers can get into your computer. Use a tool like RoboForm to keep all your passwords secure and at your fingertips.
Computer Software Maintenance
It is recommended that computer software be up-to-date, secure, and free of unwanted applications. This will keep the computer running fast and safe.
Software Updates – Software providers update their products on a regular basis in order to make them perform better or to fix a bug that might be in the computer. Check for software updates on a regular basis to make sure you are using the most up-to-date version of the software.
Security – Make sure your computer has up-to-date antivirus software to manage the vulnerability of the computer.
Software Install/Uninstall – This is a tool that will allow you to uninstall software that you are not using or is running in the background while your computer is on. Routinely free up disk space and allow your computer to run faster.
Task Manager – How do you find those applications that are running in the background on your computer? Open up the Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Delete on a PC and Command+Option+Esc on a Mac). Some of the applications running in the background may not be needed, and uninstalling them will help your computer run faster. Uninstalling those unwanted background applications will free up RAM for a faster computer.
Did learning about conducting routine maintenance on your computer interest you? The Computer Technician Networking Specialist program is designed to prepare computer networking students for entry-level positions in the fields of electronics, computer technology, and networking. Students build their own computers and use them in the learning process. Graduates are prepared to pass the CompTIA (Computing Technology Industry Association) A+ certification exam.
Contact us today to find out more on how to become a Computer Technician Networking Specialist on Long Island.