Computers are supposed to make our lives easier, and let's face it, they do, until they don’t! There's nothing worse than losing hours of work or feeling like there's a ghost in the machine whose mission it seems is to make your life difficult.
For most of us it’s inexplicable that these things just happen but in truth they do for various reasons: Viruses corrupting drives, hacking attempts and often because the machine acts on a command inadvertently given by pressing a sequence of keys.
There are however some basic maintenance processes that may help prevent a future PC crisis:
If your PC appears to be misbehaving, do not panic! Just restart it. This often resolves problems by clearing temporary files and refreshing the operating system.
Always keep multiple copies of important data. Stores backups on both an external drive and cloud storage.
When buying hardware, consider last year's model for better value and reliability. Tech manufacturers charge a premium for new hardware. Opting for slightly older best-in-class hardware offers capability and performance at a cheaper price.
Read the manual: You may discover new features and get more value from your device, enhancing your user experience.
Update your software regularly. Although the reminders can be annoying, clicking 'Update now' ensures full functionality and vital security patches to prevent crashes and data loss. This includes antivirus software.
Regularly updating your antivirus is crucial, as thousands of new virus variants emerge daily. Without updated antivirus signature files, the software cannot effectively detect or defend against new malware infections. Most antivirus packages update automatically to protect against such threats; however users should ensure that updates are indeed happening.
Wired ethernet is consistently faster and more reliable than wireless networking. For activities that need a constant internet connection, connect via your network cable for better speed and stability without the interruptions that can impact wireless connections.
If your computer experiences frequent crashes, the Windows Reliability Monitor may assist in identifying the problem. Accessible through Control Panel > System and Security > Action Centre > Reliability Monitor, this utility meticulously records all hardware and software malfunctions as well as warnings, categorising them by date. By selecting a specific entry within the monitor's log, you can access comprehensive details regarding each incident.
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