During the lectures on “The PC”, system maintenance was identified as an important aspect of computer utilization in order to maintain optimal performance. Mr. Olson stated that most people simply assume they need a new computer when the existing one begins to slow down or show signs of instability. Mr. Olson also mentioned that often, increasing RAM will fix the problem. However, just like your car, your computer needs a good maintenance plan to keep it running as expected. Unfortunately, most of us face time constraints that don't seem to allow for these tasks.
Microsoft identifies some basic yet very important measures to take to achieve optimal performance – automatically and all for free. To reiterate Mr. Olson, no plan is a plan for failure. Developing a plan for your Windows platform using the Task Scheduler frees up your time for other things while achieving necessary preventative maintenance. This tutorial is intended to provide guidance on how to automate some of these important tasks.
Upon completion of this tutorial, you should be able to:
Upon completion of this tutorial, you should be able to:
- Identify core processes to maintain your system speed and performance
- Develop automated schedules for those processes
- Develop a plan for backing up your system and data
1) Disk Clean-up
This task cleans the hard disk, removing temporary files which bog down speed and performance.
Recommended schedule: Weekly
Schedule this task for a time when you will not be using your computer. Do not schedule this task at the same time as any other scheduled task. Check the task settings to review the job run options.
2) Check Disk
This task corrects errors caused when a program crashes during use, which causes your computer to slow down over time.
Recommended schedule: Weekly
Schedule this task for a time when you will not be using your computer. Do not schedule this task at the same time as any other scheduled task. Check the task settings to review the job run options.
Recommended schedule: Weekly
Schedule this task for a time when you will not be using your computer. Do not schedule this task at the same time as any other scheduled task. Check the task settings to review the job run options.
3) Disk Defragmenter
This task re-arranges file fragments that accumulate over time which slows PC performance when you attempt to access that file because your computer has to look in so many different places to put the pieces of the file back together.
Recommended schedule: Monthly
Schedule this task for a time when you likely will not be using your computer. Do not schedule this task at the same time as any other scheduled task. Check the task settings to review the job run options.
Recommended schedule: Monthly
Schedule this task for a time when you likely will not be using your computer. Do not schedule this task at the same time as any other scheduled task. Check the task settings to review the job run options.
Automatic Back-Up and Updates
Every good PC maintenance program includes a back-up plan. The purpose of a back-up is to provide a copy of your files in the event of PC failure. If your PC crashes, you won’t lose your files, but you will have to configure another computer (which is time consuming). You don’t want to save your back up files on your PC – otherwise, you’ll lose your back-up when you lose your primary files. There are a number of options for back up file storage: USB, CD or DVD, tape, external hard drive, third party vaults, etc. Every user has to determine the best method for them but should ensure the back-up receptacle has at least as much storage capacity as the PC, if not more.
This link provides an informative, very easy to follow set of instructions for this task.
Click here for a comparative review of comprehensive and very affordable back-up software.
A peer student also developed a fabulous tutorial blog on back-up options:
http://waynesufblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/tutorial-blog1additional-backup.html
Finally, updates for Windows and Microsoft are another important aspect of keeping your system and MS applications performing optimally. These updates include patches that fix known issues such as software compatibility problems, as well as security updates and other important functionality.
The end user must decide exactly how these updates are to be applied. http://waynesufblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/tutorial-blog1additional-backup.html
Finally, updates for Windows and Microsoft are another important aspect of keeping your system and MS applications performing optimally. These updates include patches that fix known issues such as software compatibility problems, as well as security updates and other important functionality.
Click here for a quick link to Microsoft updates.
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| Quick guide to set up automatic updates. |
Schedule this task for a time when you will not be using your computer. Do not schedule this task at the same time as any other scheduled task. Check the task settings to review the job run options.
This is the conclusion of this tutorial. I hope you find this information helpful.
This is the conclusion of this tutorial. I hope you find this information helpful.
