Setting Up Your IT System

Tips for Keeping Your Computer Running Well.

If you own a car you know that you need to change the oil now and again, generally every 10000 Km. If you own a house you know that you need to change the furnace filter every 3 to 6 months. In addition, while most people who own cars and a house have a computer but do not maintain their systems. Your computers must be maintained as diligently as your car or furnace!

Here are some tips for helping you maintain your computers.

• Back up your data! There are several ways to do this. CD or DVD burners work or you can purchase a USB backup hard drive. USB backup drives are simple to use. You simply plug the hard drive to a USB port and install some software. Most devices have a simple button for executing the backup. My adage is that you should back up your data that you would miss if your whole computer were to melt down. 
• Lock down your wireless network! Too often users setup a wireless network with the default settings and relaxed security. This presents a risk to your computers and security. The simplest way to secure your network from most people is to enable WEP encryption. This makes it so that if you want to connect a wireless computer to your network you need the WEP encryption key. Set the key on the router and then configure your wireless computer to the same key. When the system tries to get on the wireless network, if it does not have the correct key it will be blocked.
• Memory. If you are using Windows XP, the box says that the minimum required memory is 64MB. In my opinion, this is analogous to putting a lawn mower engine in a car. Sure, it moves but boy is it slow. To get good performance from Windows XP, I recommend a minimum of 512MB of memory. The easiest way to see how much memory you have is to right click on 'My Computer', and go to 'Properties'. At the bottom right, it lists what the CPU manufacturer and the CPU speed. Next to that lists that you have xxx MB of RAM. To see what kind of memory you need go to www.crucial.com and use the Crucial Memory advisor tool. If you are using Windows 95, 98 or ME I would recommend a minimum of 256MB of RAM.
• Turn off the computer or leave it on at night? There is no right answer for this. Some say that it is better to leave it on; some say that it is better to turn it off. One advantage of leaving your system on is that when you need to do something it is ready to go. An advantage for turning it off is that you conserve power. Another option is to go to the Control Panel and select Power options. You can tell the system to turn the screen off or spin the hard drives down after a certain amount of time. You can also set it to go into 'Standby' after a certain amount of time. Find the solution that works best for you.