Care and Feeding of Your Computer

The Care and Feeding of Your Computer

External Maintenance: Keeping your computer clean and the vents free from dust helps to keep your system performing at its best. You may want to gather these items and put together a computer cleaning kit:

A soft cloth
Window cleaner (not for use on LCD panels)
An aerosol can of air that has a narrow, straw-like extension
Cotton swabs

ALWAYS TURN OFF THE COMPUTER AND OTHER PERIPHALS BEFORE CLEANING

Keyboard Cleaning: You should clean the keyboard occasionally to free it of dust and lint trapped under the keys. The easiest way to do this is to blow dirt from under the keys using an aerosol can of air with a narrow, straw-like extension.

If you spill liquid on the keyboard, turn off the computer and turn the unit upside down. Let the liquid drain, and then let the keyboard dry before trying to use it again. If the keyboard does not work after it dries, you may need to replace it.

Cleaning the Screen: If your computer screen is an LCD panel (laptop or flat screen), use a soft cloth and water to clean the screen. Squirt a little water on the cloth (never directly on the screen), and wipe the screen with the cloth.

Caution: An LCD screen is made of specially coated glass and can be scratched or damaged by abrasive or ammonia-based window cleaners.

If your computer screen is CRT screen, use a soft cloth and window cleaner to clean the monitor screen. Squirt a little cleaner on the cloth (never directly on the screen), and wipe the screen with the cloth.

Cleaning the Exterior: Use a damp, lint-free cloth to clean the computer and other parts of your system. Do not use abrasive or solvent cleaners because they can damage the finish on your components.

Your computer is cooled by air drawn in through the vents on the chassis and blown out through the power supply exhaust fan, so keep the vents free of dust. With the computer turned off and unplugged, brush the dust away from the vents with a damp cloth. Be careful not to drip water into the vents.

Mouse Cleaning: If the mouse pointer begins moving erratically across the screen or becomes difficult to control precisely, then cleaning your mouse will likely improve the mouse accuracy.

Turn the mouse upside down.
Rotate the retaining ring on the bottom counter-clockwise.
Remove the retaining ring and mouse ball.
Remove any dust, lint, or dirt from the mouse ball with a soft cloth.
Clean the mouse rollers with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol.
Replace the mouse ball and lock the retaining ring into place.

MAINTAINING THE INTERIOR

Windows 98

Located in Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools are the tools needed to maintain your computer. We will discuss three of the tools.

Disk Cleanup helps to free up space on your hard drive. Disk Cleanup searches your drive, and then lists temporary files, Internet cache files, and unnecessary program files that you can safely delete. Perform as needed.

ScanDisk checks your hard disk for logical and physical errors. ScanDisk can then repair the damaged areas. Perform monthly.

Disk Defragmenter speeds up access to your hard disk. Disk Defragmenter rearranges files and unused space on your hard disk so that programs run faster. Perform monthly.

Computer Lockups: If the computer locks up, press the key combination Ctrl + Alt + Del. This brings up dialogue box which displays all open applications. If next to one of the open applications, you see (not responding). Click on that application, and choose End Task.

If this clears the lockup, save all unsaved data and reboot. If pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del does not bring up a dialogue box, then you will need to manually reboot the system. If your computer consistently lock up, please consult your departmental technical support person.

Macintosh OS9

Disk First Aid checks your directory structure for errors. Disk First Aid is located in the Utilities folders on the hard drive. Perform monthly

Rebuilding the Desktop: If the desktop database on your hard drive becomes damaged, you may see generic (blank) icons instead of distinct icons, or if you have trouble opening icons by double clicking, then rebuilding the desktop my solve the problem.

To rebuild the desktop hold down the APPLE KEY + Option key during startup. At the end of startup, the Finder displays a message asking if you want to rebuild the desktop. If you have you have more than one hard drive or have partitioned you hard drive, the Finder displays a separate alert box for each. Perform monthly.

Memory Defragmenter: The Macintosh OS does not come with a memory defragmenter. However, there are third party utilities containing defragmenters such as Norton Utilities or Tech Tool Pro. Consult your departmental technical support to see if he or she has the appropriate software.

Crashes and Freezes: First thing to do is to Wait. If your Mac appears to be frozen, wait at least a minute or so before taking action, particularly if the pointer has become the wristwatch icon. Even if the pointer has not changed to a different icon, it is still possible that your Mac is performing some time-consuming operation. If the problem occurs during startup, it is best to wait at least several minutes, because at startup the Mac OS performs some diagnostics and may be repairing itself.

Using the keyboard to cancel an interminable operation:

APPLE KEY + period (.) cancels the operation in progress.
APPLE KEY + S saves the current open document.
APPLE KEY + Q quits the application running in the foreground.

If you are able to recover from a frozen mouse using these key combinations, it is good idea to restart your Mac.

Forcing an Application to Quit: To force an application to quit press + Option + Escape. If the command is successful, this brings up a dialogue box enabling you to force quit the application. You will be asked to restart the computer.

Restarting a locked computer: Before pulling the power cord, first press the power button to see if it will restart, or try + Option + Power. If neither of these work, then you will to pull the power cord in order to restart the computer.

Tips for all users

Backing up files and removing them from the hard drive frees up space for new files. It also protects you from losing valuable data. Hard drives fail. If you back up your files and organize software disks and serial numbers so the software can easily be reinstalled, then you will be prepared if your hard drive does fail.

Recovering from Freezes and Crashes The steps you take right after a problem occurs can determine how quickly a problem can be resolved. Some actions can make the problem worse or even create new problems. Document the problem. In many cases, simply restarting your computer can solve the problem. However, if you do not document exactly what happened and ignore the problem, chances are excellent that the problem will occur again, possibly with more serious consequences.

Right after the problem occurs, you should make a note of the following:

What you did immediately prior to the problem
Other applications that were running at the same time
Whether you had recently installed any other software
What exactly happened, including the precise wording of any error messages

This information can often enable you to figure out the cause of the problem fairly quickly, or at least narrow the causes.

Virus Software: One a weekly basis, update your virus software. Most virus software have automatic updaters, please consult the help that comes with the virus software or contact your technical support person.