18 Jun Simple Maintenance Tips for Your PC Hardware

When you think about “maintenance” for PC hardware, you might imagine the task is suitable only for IT experts. While it’s true serious computer problems – such as failing hardware or buggy systems – do require trained hands to solve, anyone can perform basic quality-of-life maintenance on their computational equipment.

Even simple maintenance tasks can improve the lifespan of your computer hardware, preventing the need for professional intervention.

What problems impact my PC performance?

If you notice your PC or laptop running sluggishly or behaving abnormally, that’s a clear indication something has gone wrong. Typically, we think of viral intrusions or failing hardware as the culprit behind these scenarios. But that’s not always the case.

Dusty fans, temperature problems, overloaded system memory (RAM), excessive tabs and background operations, and low drive space are a handful of potential PC problems that can wreck your performance. These days, PC processes are highly automated, implying certain operations are occurring without your knowledge. Therefore, it’s easy to lose track of system drags and feel overwhelmed. Performing quality-of-life maintenance can rectify these issues and keep your computer systems running smoothly.

Performing Simple Maintenance

There are several ways to help PC performance and ensure you improve the lifespan of your computer devices. Think of it like performing a tune-up with your car or visiting the doctor. You don’t have to unscrew a case or switch out a component; you just need to know how to run some built-in performance boosters and have some PC friendly cleaning supplies.

If you’re planning on doing physical cleaning and hardware touch ups, you’ll need a few supplies. For software and memory adjustments, you can perform maintenance operations with the system’s built in tools.

For Hardware:

Very simple hardware maintenance involves cleaning dust and debris from computer components and accessories. Dust can build up and gradually cause temperature increases. In very rare cases, this can lead to your system crashing to protect the CPU and critical components.

Have these handy for deep cleans.

• Isopropyl alcohol
• Compressed Air
• Microfiber/Static Safe Cloth

Software and system maintenance require only the operating system. For instance, Windows has built-in tools to defragment drives. Or, we can utilize certain software tools to check background operations, cut down on files, and check for viral intrusion.

Before you start!

The golden rule of performing any physical maintenance on a PC system (or laptop) is to power it off and unplug it. Static and electric discharge can harm or permanently damage the sensitive electronic components in your systems.

Do not use water or soap for cleaning, as this can rust/damage your system. If you do get any part of the system wet, you will need to wait 24-48 hours for it to completely dry before turning your system(s) back on.

Simple Hardware and Surface Maintenance

If you didn’t already know, dust is the primary target of your PC cleaning tasks. It creates passive heat which, overtime, potentially damages sensitive components or raises the computer temperature to dangerous levels. Fortunately, dust removal is straightforward. You can eject it from your laptop or desktop with several methods.

Pressurized Air

You can find these at almost any retail store. They provide a targeted, high-pressure blast of compressed air in small crevices, cracks, and otherwise difficult spots to reach. It’s recommended to blow air into the system’s fans (like the GPU, CPU, and motherboard).

You may need to open up your desktop case to do this. Most modern cases have accessible screws that makes them easy to remove. Once it’s safely off, place the included nozzle into the tiny spots and apply blasts of air (typically in short bursts). Be careful not to aim at sensitive wires, as in rare cases, you can damage components or loosen them.

Static Friendly Cloth

Simply wipe down dusty surfaces on the exterior where dust/debris has collected. Only use a microfiber cloth if you need to wipe the internal casing, as regular material can build up static and cause a discharge. Cloth is best used for dusty “gunk” that compressed air cannot remove.

You can use isopropyl alcohol, but remember to never leave any electronic component wet before powering your PC on to avoid damage.

Keyboards and Mice

Using isopropyl alcohol and pressurized air, you can clean out the dust/debris caught between the keys. If you know how – you can also take off the individual keys to wipe underneath the harder to reach spots.

Storage and Software Maintenance

Other simple maintenance tasks require no screws, tools, or cans of air. Instead, you can improve the performance of your laptop/desktop by managing files and software.

This will require some fine-tuning, but it is not difficult when you know what tools to utilize.

Check Memory Load

Windows comes with a program called “Task Manager,” and it’s exactly what you need to get an immediate picture of your computer’s memory load. In other words, how much memory is used by an executable, background task, and/or application. A high memory load leaves little room for the system to perform essential operations.

You can access task manager by finding it in your program list or simply using the keyboard command CTRL + ALT + DEL (pressed at the same time, do not include “+”). Once done, you’ll have an immediate overview of any currently used programs and background operations, complete with their utilized memory load.

It is normal to see active programs utilizing system resources.

Close Excessive Browser Tabs

Do you have numerous browser tabs open? It’s a good idea to get in the habit of keeping only a few open. Modern web browsers can consume a surprising amount of computational performance. So, try exiting out of excessive tabs. If you notice a performance bump, you’ve found your culprit (or one of them).

Identify High Usage

Part of improving and troubleshooting slow PC performance is identifying high memory users. In many cases, there are processes and background operations you may not be aware of consuming excessive system resources. While it’s normal to see some system usage for background processes and active programs, you’re looking for high loads currently chewing up both RAM and CPU space.

If an active program is using excessive resources, it can mean your computer’s current hardware is not ideal for running said software. You can also identify programs running in the background (sometimes anti-virus or similar) hogging up hardware capital. If you need to terminate these programs, you can right-click and force close them from Task Manager. Be aware, though, you’ll lose any important data if you do so.

Conclusion

With these simple but effective tips, you can perform routine maintenance on your PC and laptop systems without complex IT knowledge. Like an oil change for your car, intermittent checkups for computer systems keep them running smoothly.

For other performance tips and help, contact Bytagig for more information.