Thinking of Buying a New PC?

Tired of your computer, being slow, shooting error messages at you or even locking up? About to pull the trigger on purchasing a new PC? WAIT!!

So long as the hardware is working fine, there are many tips and tricks to help keep your old PC running, and even better than ever! Below are my tips to help solve the problem or premature disposal of your computer system! It is not only going to make your PC run like new, but it is a good way to learn about how computers work and keeps you busy during the Winter months!

(Always make sure you are grounded while working on a PC, you can purchase items to ensure this at your local computer store)

1. Clean It Out!: Buy a can of compressed Air from your local big box store, unplug the PC, set it up on a table, open the case and get to cleaning! This will make a mess that will get dust from 5+ years ago all over the area you decide to clean, but your PC will thank you for it. Dust can insulate a PC's internal parts and over time can cause them to over-heat. Make sure to spend a little extra time around the power supply, heat sink and fan for the processor and any internal fans you may have. Don't forget to go around the hard drive and optical drives as well, you don't want to see any dust on the system that can be removed by simply blowing it away.

2. Back It Up!: Make sure you have the original software disks for your system along with any important application disks that you can not recover by simply downloading them on-line. If you need some good free software for Office Applications, Spy-ware, Virus Protection and the like, check a previous post of mine to see where you can get it. Next, back up all of your important files to a CD, External Hard Drive, or USB Flash Drive. Use all 3 if they are available to make sure the files are saved. Next, I suggest finding a very useful application called Wipe Drive, simply put this disk in your system, start the system up from the CD and get the program going. It completely zeros out your hard drive in a half hour or so. Just get it started and walk away for a while and when you come back you will have a clean slate to re-install your Operating System. Say goodbye to all the clutter, spy-ware and virus you had on the system!

3. Add Memory: Find what type of memory your computer takes by doing a search on Crucial.com. All you need to know is the Brand and model number of your system. Find how many slots are available and which ones are being used. If you are running XP I would suggest a bare minimum of 512MB. I highly recommend upgrading your system to 1GB. It will run you around $120 or so, but its cheaper than a new PC and will really make your system fly! I would even suggest adding a new hard drive of 120GB or more for photos and videos.

4. CD/DVD Burner: This is an option if you currently only have a standard CD/DVD ROM Drive. The ability to make your own CD's/DVD's is just another great option for backing up important files, saving home movies and of course, music!

5. Update!: Once you have upgraded and reinstalled your Operating System, make sure you UPDATE EVERYTHING!! From the OS itself to all the applications you put on it. Update, Update, Update!! Spy-ware, Office Suites, Virus protection, get it on there and get it done! Yes, its going to take a day to download it all, but it is worth it!

6. The Final Step: Clean Up! I would suggest once all the files and apps are back on the system to run the De-frag. It may take a bit of time, but it will put everything in order for you. I also suggest a little application called CCleaner. This will remove all the old, unused files and extensions on your system and sniff out any problems in the Registry for you. Best part is, it is free! It saves space and fixes any errors you otherwise would never know about, let alone know how to fix. Run your defrag, disk cleanup and CCleaner once a month, along with your Spy-ware and Virus software and you will be able to buy a few more pain free years for your computer for under $300!