Your computer is like a best friend. You spend time with it just about every day. But have you looked at it lately? Ugh! Yeah it can get pretty dirty just like you would if you sat all day long in one spot and had everyone’s dirty hands all over you! Here are some tips for cleaning your laptop or PC.

The first thing to remember is even though your computer screen or monitor resembles a television screen, you don’t clean it the same way. Spraying Windex on your screen will create bigger problems. Computers work hard but they are delicate. Take the soft approach.

Cleaning the Screen

Whether a laptop or a PC, the screen will get dirty. You touch it and dare we say, probably have sneezed on it (deadlines still exist even when you are under the weather). Over time, all of this stuff builds up on your computer and needs to be cleaned off.

To see just how dirty your computer is, turn it off and stare at the blank screen. Before you scream, grab a lint-free cloth. You can buy them at any computer store.

Gently apply even pressure as you wipe dirt and dust off of the screen. Be aware that pressing too hard could damage the components in the screen. This is not so much the case with a computer monitor unless you have one of those newer flat screen ones.

If the screen is still not clean, you can apply a little cleaner specifically for computer monitors to the screen. When the hard stuff softens, wipe it away with a lint-free cloth. Commercial cleaners may say that they are safe for computers but using an approved is best and won’t leave a film on your screen.

Cleaning the Keyboard

The worst looking place on your computer is the keyboard. Over time, dust, lint, dirt, food and other small particles get wedged between keys. Since the keys are so close together, it is nearly impossible to clean between them with a cloth and not pop your keys off.

Instead, use a can of compressed air to clean your keyboard. Start at one end of the row of keys and direct the spray towards the other to move all the dirt out in one direction. Use some of the screen cleaner to wipe skin oils from the keyboard keys. Follow all of this up with a computer brush or computer vacuum to remove the last bits of debris.

Try to perform this maintenance on a monthly basis. It prevents sticky key situations and you scratching on the screen to remove dirt. Not to mention, those nasty germs will no longer linger and make you sick again! Take care of your computer and it will take care of you.

There are many reasons that computers begin to run slow: viruses, not enough memory, too many applications (goes along with insufficient memory) or a lot of files. Whatever the reason, something needs to be done so you don’t have to work at a snail’s pace.

Behind the scenes on your computer, many things are going on. If you get on the Internet, your computer may be allowing “cookie” files to be stored to remember where you’ve been. We download any and everything from music to videos to eBooks from the Internet. There are temporary files created for some of your downloaded items that can accumulate over time.

Sometimes, the hard drive just needs to be cleaned up a bit. With the defrag process, the computer finds ways to free up space on your hard drive. This cleaning process ensures optimal performance from your computer when something else is not the problem. Defragmenting your computer is a good first step when performance is not at its best.

If you are having a hard time navigating the various files on your computer, the proper name of the process used to correct this is “Disk Defragmenter.” You can use your program search bar on the Start Menu to find it easily. The defragmenter takes fragmented files and consolidates them or gets rid of them completely depending on what they are and if they’re needed.

This is not something that you need to do every day. Remember, you are maintaining here. Performing the operation once a week is good for those who use their computer every day and create a lot of documents and files. The best thing about Windows is that these maintenance operations can be set up on a schedule so that they work behind the scenes like Santa at Christmas. Schedule maintenance operations at odd times like early in the morning or in the middle of the night, when you are not at work on your computer in order to keep them from slowing down your PC while you’re trying to work.

In a nutshell, disk defragmentation is important for everyone. Scheduling the operation leaves your brain free to think about other things. If the defragmentation process does its job, your computer will continue working well for you without any hitches or glitches.

Your computer has a hard drive. And, that hard drive has a certain amount of memory on it. It is a good idea to buy a computer with hard drive memory in mind so multiple applications or multiple files won’t slow your system down. Sometimes, you need external storage for more versatility.

A flash drive is another form of storage device. They usually connect to your computer via USB ports. They can range from 256MB to several gigabytes in storage capacity. You can have huge external hard drives with terabytes of data storage space, but we will concentrate on the flash drives for now.

Flash drives have several advantages.

1. They are portable. You can use them anywhere you have a computer with a USB port. Your data is always with you when you need it.
2. They are durable. You can hang them on a lanyard; place them in your purse or even in your pocket. Because of their size and lack of moving parts, a little jumbling is tolerated well.
3. They can store massive amounts of data for almost instantaneous retrieval. Keep your pictures, music, videos and movies on flash drives to be used anywhere. They replace carrying around tons of folders in your briefcase.

Realistically, you only need as many flash drives as you have different tasks to use them for. For example, personal and business needs can be kept separate on two flash drives to avoid pulling up pictures of baby’s first bath at the monthly sales meeting. Buying a flash drive, with future storage in mind, ensures the most memory for your buck.

It is easy to check to see how much memory you have on a flash drive to know if it is time for another one to be purchased. When you plug one in to your computer, you can access information on it and about it. From your Start menu, go to Computer.

Here, all of your computer storage media are listed. Under Removable Storage, you will see your flash drive listed according to the port it is attached to. Right clicking on the picture will reveal a menu. Choose Properties and view a pie graph comparing used to free space.

Flash drives are useful for portable storage when you don’t need to take your laptop along. This is great for PC users who can’t possibly drag their desktop everywhere with them. Buy flash drives with sufficient memory for present and future needs.

What is a video card? It is the component responsible for the pictures that you see on the computer screen. The video card is essential for gamers, graphic artists and the everyday website surfer. Before getting just the basic video card or the top of the line one, know how to shop for one.

A video card has four basic criteria for choosing one:

• Price
• Speed
• Resolution
• Card Slot Type

Video Card and Graphics Card

You may hear people talk about video cards and graphics cards. They are similar in what they do. Video cards are more useful to gamers. A gamer wants to have the greatest amount of memory on their video card so that they can play faster. Certain games take up a lot of space and no one wants to have technical difficulties just as they are about to slay the giant beast.

Video games have advanced beyond the huge rectangular blip that was the ball in the Atari table tennis game. Resolution is important but some gaming worlds are so advanced that faster play is more of the essence.

Graphics cards are desired more by graphic artists and those using CAD. Here, attention to detail is essential in your designs so that is what will be the main consideration here. The same goes for the casual user who surfs the Web.

Types of Video Cards

This depends on what type of connection you have for a video card. The video card can already be installed to your preference in a new computer. If you build computers, this information is helpful.

Just so that you know, there are three main connection types for video cards. The ones that you will see used most often these days are AGP and PCI-E. Older connections use a VGA cable.

Price

Video cards range from moderately expensive to quite expensive. A website surfer won’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a video card, but a graphic designer might to suit their job needs. Cheaper doesn’t mean inferior quality, just fewer bells and whistles. That’s okay if you are not into gaming or computer design.
Not sure what all the letters mean? Talk to someone at your local computer store who can help you choose your video card wisely.

Most new computers are equipped with a sound card. The sound card allows you to hear what is happening on your computer screen. Some people don’t notice that there is no sound card installed because they don’t use the computer for surfing the Internet. If you are creating and managing documents on your PC no sound is required.

If you are one those computer owners that installs a PC game and finally realizes that you can’t hear anything coming from the screen, don’t be alarmed. You have not gone deaf. All you need is a sound card.

Just about any office supply and computer store sells sound cards. Before buying one, you can check the computer compatibility specifics either on the PC or in the user manual to see if there are any guidelines for choosing a sound card. If you have no clue, you can always ask the store personnel. Describe your computer system and they can recommend a sound card. Creative makes the Sound Blaster series of sound cards that most people are using these days.

Installing a sound card for the first time is relatively simple for anyone to do. Just a few suggestions: Before opening the back of your PC tower, make sure that it is unplugged and you are grounded to avoid any unfortunate accidents. It’s also good to stay away from carpet when performing the installation. Problems with static electricity are not an urban legend.

1. Find your sound card slot on the back of your tower. On most computer towers, empty slots are covered over with a metal bar. Use the first empty slot after an occupied one for the sound card.
2. With a screwdriver, remove the metal bar over the slot.
3. Remove your sound card from its packaging. Be careful not to touch any of the colorful connections on the card as this may damage them.
4. Slide the sound card into the open slot. It will click into place. If you feel any resistance, stop. The card may be inserted upside down. Remove and start again.
5. Once the sound card slides into place screw it back in. turn your PC tower upright and reconnect your peripherals (mouse, keyboard, etc.)
6. Turn on your computer. It should detect the new sound card when it boots up. If not, the instruction manual will guide you through the set up.

You are now ready to hook up those speakers and experience mind-blowing sound at every turn!

When you buy a computer, it comes with a certain amount of memory already loaded on. This storage is where you can save files, applications, music, videos, pictures and anything else you’d like. It would be great to have unlimited memory but that is not always the case.

Maybe you have noticed that your computer is running slower than usual. You have used Disk Defragmenter to combine files and get rid of others that you don’t need. A computer that still runs slow may need a memory boost.

You can check the memory capacity on your hard drive. If you go to Start Menu, click on Computer. You’ll see a visual representation of your hard disk drives (C and D). The C drive is what you are looking at. It will show you how much of the total memory is still free, such as “231GB free of 285.”

When you need more memory, it’s not that hard to find. The quickest way is to check with your manufacturer. Most name brand computers have websites where you can find everything you need with a few clicks.

Let’s use Dell for example. On the bottom of a Dell laptop or on the Dell PC tower is your service tag number. With that number, you can access all of the information about the computer that they built for you. Now, you can find out which memory options you have for that model.

Memory comes in different configurations depending on the age of your computer. It doesn’t require an expert, but you will need to pay attention to the instructions carefully to get it right. For a laptop, the memory can be inserted in the underside of the device.

In either case, be sure that the device is turned off and everything is unplugged before beginning. Working on a kitchen table away from carpeted flooring is best to avoid problems with static electricity. Be sure that you are grounded to avoid shock.

Read all instructions before beginning. There are dedicated slots for memory expansion in both devices. Before you purchase a new computer, see if it is more feasible to add memory for better performance.