How Can I Make My PC Live Longer?

Leave it on.... the most stressful thing in a pc's life is to be rebooted.. well that and get child maintainance demands through the post...



(don't you just know that some troll is going to post ..get a MAC!

Get a Mac! On average they live longer than PC's. The downside is you'll have to use a virtual Windows installation for a lot of the software people use in the IM world.

Excess heat is a major killer of electronic components inside your PC. Open the case and carefully vacuum out dust every six months or so. Also, make sure your CPU cooler and all fans are operating correctly.
As for extended warranties, check out Square Trade. According to feedback on Amazon.com, they are highly recommended.

Give it a dust off from time to time, even a small layer of dust will add to the amount of heat being insulated inside the machine, thus making it work harder to cool down.

Simple things like that can make a big difference

Use the Linux OS.

Steve, I'm not much of a techie either, but I know someone who is. Her name is Elizabeth Boston and she writes a weekly newsletter helping users with all sorts of computer problems. I suggest you write to her. Here's her website: Ask The Computer Lady - Tips & Troubleshooting For Computer Problems. Tell her "Boogie Jack" sent you.

Let's say I just want to shoot my PC and put it out of its misery...

Can I use my present mouse/keyboard/monitor and external USB devices on 64-bit machines?

The old stuff is running on 32-bit machine.

You can pick up a PC cheap now not like old days,with flat monitor.My first one old days was 2500.00 one I run on now Acer was 450.00 for the works.But I got to admit my commador 64 was the cheapest one.

Steven,

My God, man! Just buy a new one!

Even for $1000 a year, you can get a really good desktop PC.

And you can write it off on your taxes!

Hi Steven

I am a PC gamer, as such have built a few in my time.Here is what I found that you may consider

-Having the computer "well built" in the first place. When buying the computer, you may want to shy away from the big boxes manufacturers and buy something from a specialist builder. Gaming PC's tend to be built with demanding specs in mind and great care in the choice of components can be a life preserver to your PC.

-Some people mentioned the effect of switching it on and off as a potential detrimental factor although the jury seems to be out on that one:

Should You Turn Off Your Computer? - Planet Green
"turning off PC" = Good/Bad - CNET Desktops Forums

- I personally would pay attention to the cooling aspect of your PC, again, something that is usually well thought out in a gaming PC. Many motherboard come with temperature monitors and there are a plethora of software utilities to keep an eye on.

-Dust has been mentioned and I would second that. here are some NSBB (not safe before breakfast) images.Dust of course clog vents and clogged vents make PC overheat.

Filthy PCs: The X-rated circus of horrors ? The Register

-Re-install your operating system and software every 12 to 18 months, or at least run "cleaning utilities" on a regular basis (registry cleaner, defragmentation, etc...)

further readings:

Reader How Tos: Building For Stability : Introduction
It's an old article by the basics still hold true.

Computer Reliability Study Offers Unreliable, Bogus Data | BNET
Beware of statistics!


hope this helps

I just got my new PC today...

Here's a very useful site:
Ninite Easy PC Setup - Silent Unattended Install Multiple Programs At Once

It downloads and installs a bunch of popular freeware programs with a click or two...No need to download, extract and install each seperately.

One bad thing about having to change PCs is my Utunes account...Now I'm down to only two more PCs (out of 5) under their "fair use". I guess after that I'm out of about $1000 in songs.

Turn it off when you are not using it.

My opinion is that the simplest way to make a PC last longer is to buy a new expensive and quality one and then maintain it as good as possible!

Couple of things:

1. If you're going to buy a new one, first think about building your own. Much cheaper and you get to buy quality parts. If you're not a "techie" then ask for advice from a friend. If you're in the states, you can buy everything at newegg.com and they have the most competitive prices. They also have an incredible forum eggxpert.com. You can sign up, go to this forum and tell people what you want the computer for. They'll come up with some of the best advice within your alloted budget.

2. If you're not yet buying a new one, the first thing I'd suggest is to give it maintenance every month:
a) Get a program such as CCleaner and run it every so often (I run it on mine 2 times per month) - this should delete a lot of the files that are just taking up space in your HDD. It also cleans your registry for unneeded files or corrupt ones.

b) Defrag your hard drive every so often as well. I do mine once a month. This might be overkill for most regular people but I use my PC a LOT so I just like to keep it running as smooth as possible.

c) Clean it up a few times a year. This is very important imo. I live in a place that attracts a lot of dust. I open up my PC and vacuum it and clean out the fans about 3-4 times a year.

d) As suggested above, no need to constantly shut it off if you're going to use it again in a few hours. I've let mine run non-stop for as long as 2 weeks only needing to restart due to an update or a new software install requiring it.

e) If your concern is the power supply dying faster, these you can buy for very cheap with great quality (newegg.com). My original one is still going strong after 2 and a half years. It only cost me about $80.

All said an done, the best route is ensuring you're using quality parts. I built mine myself and I had never done that. I used to have your same issue with my previous Dell and Compaq machines. I did some research and learned how to build it myself and I can tell you I will NEVER buy retail again. Much more bang for your buck.

Hope these tips help ya out some.

Avoid downloading from untrusted website, Use Licensed Antivirus to Secure data and PC. The main reason of crashing of Hard disk is virus. So try to use best antivirus like avira, norton, nod32 or escan.

Actually, forget Acronis too. A few years back someone on this forum pointed me to this:
Windows backup, disaster recovery and drive image software

which they explained is the technology Acronis ises in their product.
I yhink Acronis might be a bit esaier for the less technical inclined, but ShadowProtecthas the HIR (Hardware Independent Restore) technology. With this you can take the image you make and put in on a new machine. While I do own version 3 of this product,I have not had the need or opportunity to actually try this feature. But if it does what it is suppose to then its pretty amazing.

Doesn't making an identical clone of a fragmented, slow-running Windoze installation kind of miss the point here? :confused:

The solution to Steven's problem seems to involve combining a fresh re-install of Windows with apps that have already been installed.

Could the OS and the apps be put onto separate drives, so that a format/OS install on the primary drive wouldn't affect the apps that Steven doesn't want to laboriously reinstate?

Buy Cyberdefender by MyCleanPC. My laptop was terminal until i purchased it. Now its running smoothly and faster than ever.

I repair PC's for a living: Laptops and Desktops

Here's my take on it.

1. Dont faff about with an old PC. It will cost more money to maintain and you run the risk of something dying at any moment. If this is a 'work' PC you then have the cost of repair plus the downtime and associated costs & hassles. Honestly, you are asking for problems using anything more than 2-3 years old

2. Dont use XP. I know there are a lot of fan boys/girls out there who love this OS (myself included), but it is not a secure operating system. What that means is that its full of security holes that make it vulnerable to malware and hacks. There's plenty of downtime/repair potential here. If you're using it, its time to ditch it. Its a dinosaur.

3. Run a machine with enough RAM. When you dont have enough physical memory in your machine, it will use the hard disk to 'swap' the memory out. This slows the machine, but in maintenance terms, it makes the hard disk work very hard and will increase the speed at which it will fail. Enough RAM => 2GB XP, 4GB Vista/7

4. Keep Windows, Adobe products and Java up to date on your machine. Use MSupdate to ensure windows is automatically updated when the patches come out. If you see a prompt to update Java, Flash, or Adobe Reader - update them. These apps are full of security holes (thats the reason they are patched so regularly). This will help to protect your machine from harm online.

5. deleted

6. Dont open file attachments from people you dont know.

7. Use an up-to-date, reliable AV system. Microsoft Security Essentials is a good free option. Kaspersky is very good if you want paid. Malwarebytes is a very good investment in addition to either of these.

8. Agree with all of the above posts about dust and heat. Not sure if its been mentioned, but make sure nothing is obscuring the vents on the machine. Side vents will sit flush against desk cabinets, reducing air-flow. Make sure all the vents are clear. If using a vacuum cleaner to dust out a PC (shudder), make sure the nozzle does not come into contact with components. Vacuum cleaners discharge static electricity, which can harm components. Best practice is a pure-bristle brush (not nylon) and a can of compressed air (from an electronics shop)

With Laptops, absolutely keep them clear of dirt and dust. Make sure when they are running, the fan vents are not obscured - best idea is to use a tray or a hard surface underneath them. Running a laptop on a bed with it perched on top of your quilt is not a good idea. Avoid using a laptop in a dusty environment - their heatsinks are susceptable to getting blocked with debris and the associated overheating can be an expensive repair.

9. Make backups, regularly. Back up your operating system using something like Paragon Free. If something goes wrong, just connect the machine to the disk with the image on, boot to cd, and restore everything.

For documents, photos, business files, etc (critical personal information) make sure you have an automated backup system in place - an external hard disk that is always plugged in is ideal. karens Replicator is a good program for this purpose.

Also consider an online backup system like Mozy. If you google 'mozy promotion code' or similar, this service can be had for about $6 per month. What it does is take all your critical data and automatically back it up online to a storage could. If you have a theft or a fire or an act of god or whatever that destroys your local data, its just a matter of making the insurance claim, buying a new machine, then downloading all your files once you're online.

10. Consider using Firefox with the following addons as your primary browser-
Adblock Plus
Mcafee siteadvisor
WOT
-- some AVs (like AVG) will have a similar solution to siteadvisor or WOT but a second opinion is never a bad thing.

11. Don't log in as Admin. Admin accounts are not designed for everyday computing. When you are online using an admin account your machine is a lot more vulunerable. You can remove 90% of this vulnerability by using a limited 'user' account for day-to-day computing, and using 'run as admin' to do any necessary software installs or machine maintenance.

12. If you want to minimise maintenance costs, use a tower pc rather than a laptop. Laptops are really best for portable computing, because when they break they can be very expensive to fix. Desktops are more 'modular' - if something goes wrong its cheaper just to swap out the broken part. The parts are a lot cheaper, and they are easier to fit - making the repairs on them a lot more affordable.

Hope it helps

Jim

" looked at that shadow protect, and it appears to be total overkill for what Steve needs as that thing is for whole networks...not a single computer"

Then you didn't look at the correct one. Thdre is ShadowProtect for the home user and for network use. Of course my whole point of mentioning it was that you said get Acronis, and my point was why get something liecensed from someone when you could get the orginal. That being said,ShoadowProtect might be overkill for the casual user,even the home version.

While there are many things that can cause you to lose a computer, in my experience the two main causes are virus infections and a crashed hard drive.

To prevent viruses and/or make them easier to remove:
1. Don't use Internet Explorer as your browser. I recommend Google Chrome or Firefox.
2. Make sure that your firewall is enabled.
3. Use active antivirus protection. If you don't want to pay for it use AdAware Free.
4. Create recovery disks if your computer didn't come with them.
5. Create system restore points regularly.
6. Run Windows updates regularly.
7. Don't download anything you're not sure is virus free. Type the name of the software and the word "reply" at Google to find forum threads about that software from people who have downloaded it. Free stuff and porn are the most virus laden items.

If your hard drive crashes and you have made recovery disks, it's relatively easy to replace the hard drive and reload the software that originally came with your computer. A crashed hard drive usually makes a "click ... click ... click" noise that comes from the hard drive.

I know that stuff might sound a bit overwhelming to some but most of it is not that hard once you've done it once. Otherwise your alternative is to hire someone to do it for you or just buy new computers regularly.

Good Luck!

Install antivirus and spyware software programs. You can choose a commercial product like Norton's Anti-Virus and spyware suite, or a free antivirus solution like Avast! Antivirus. Note that Avast is only free for home use. Options for free spyware software include Windows Defender, Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy. Keeping these software programs up to date creates a protective shield for your computer that keeps your computer humming along happily without viruses that can clog up the works and make it run slowly or even destroy files.

Protect electrical components. Put all your computer components on a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) that has a strong surge protector to prevent shorting out delicate computer components. Some power companies offer rental services for whole house UPS systems that will protect all your household electrical components.
Clean and protect your computer from dust. Even in the cleanest environment, computers can develop dust buildup. Shut off your computer and disconnect it from the power supply. Gently wipe down the outside of your computer, especially around the fan. Occasionally clean the inside of your computer as well. If you are uncomfortable with doing this cleaning yourself, find a computer technician to provide a proper cleaning.

Run routine diagnostics. Schedule routine disk defragmentation and disk cleanup processes. These tools are usually found in system tools under accessories. Whenever your computer seems sluggish, these are the first tools you should use.
Uninstall unused software programs. Legitimate software programs and web surfing can lead to a build up of unnecessary software programs that bog down your computer. Routinely review the programs on your computer and remove any programs that you don't need. This frees up storage space on your computer and makes it run smoother.

Add RAM. If you find your computer is not up to speed after maintenance and uninstalling programs, increase the RAM on your computer. This low cost investment can add useful life to your computer. Consider upgrading to at least 1 gigabyte of RAM, or more if you have memory slots available. Crucial.com offers a scanner tool that lets you know your current memory and your upgrade options.

Add extra storage. If digital pictures and videos are eating up your available hard drive space, add an external storage device or new hard drive. By shifting these items off your primary hard drive, you free up sace that can allow your computer to run faster. After you copy your files to a new location, delete them from your hard drive and then run disk cleanup and a system defragmentation. This step should make your computer last longer and keep money in your pocket.