Computers are a lot like cars. If you look after them properly, they’ll give you years of good service. They won’t break down as often, and they’ll run smoothly.
With your car, you know you need to keep the tires properly inflated and rotated. Every so often you need to change the oil and replace the tires and wiper blades. Bulbs and spark plugs burn out, brake pads and batteries wear out, and wires corrode. If you’re prudent, you take your car in for regular maintenance and servicing. Sometimes it costs you a few bucks, sometimes it’s a little more if there’s a big job that needs doing. But there’s no escaping it, and the longer you leave it, the more it adds up until you’re faced with a huge bill or you have to replace the car.
Or, in the worst case, you ignore your maintenance completely, and then some essential piece of the car gives up at a critical moment, usually when you’re miles from anywhere and desperately trying to get somewhere important.
Computers are the same. To keep them running smoothly and reliably, you need to have a maintenance regime.
A typical maintenance program for a computer might run something like this:
- Continual virus and malware scans
- Weekly: update viruses and malware, delete unwanted files, empty trash, clean screen and keyboard
- Monthly: update programs and operating systems as required, uninstall unwanted programs
- Six-monthly: clean inside of computer, clean registry, update drivers
- Annual: update hardware (disks, memory, CPU etc)
Over time, you may end up replacing many parts of your system: with new disk drives, additional memory, and faster processors, you can keep it up to date long beyond the original manufacturer’s specifications. After several years, there may be nothing left of your initial computer except the case!
We recommend that everyone should have a computer service plan. Just like with your car, if you’re comfortable doing it yourself, that’s great. If not, then call a professional.
At PRR Computers, we can take care of whatever you need. Most jobs can be done over the Internet, so you don’t even need to bring it into us.
