Computer Lesson 5

Lesson 5, Preventive Maintenance and Troubleshooting
Jay D Weaver
Preventing Trouble Through Regular Maintenance: There are several things which should be done on a regular basis (once a week):
1) Run Scandisk: Click on Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools and then Scandisk. Choose the drive you want to check. Click on “Standard” and be sure the box is checked for automatic fix. Then click the Start button. It will take several minutes to complete the process. This should fix a number of things which can go wrong on your hard drive. No need to run the “thorough” check unless you are having hard drive problems. The “thorough” mode checks the physical hard drive. This can take an hour or more, depending on the size of the drive.
2) Run Defrag: Click on Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools and Defrag. The purpose for running defrag is to put your files into contiguous form. When a file is created, it looks for open locations on the hard drives and puts a piece here and a piece there. As files become more and more fragmented, it takes longer and longer to load and save them. Defrag puts them back together. This may take a long time, depending on how badly the drive is fragmented. You can really cut the time by removing your screen saver, and closing down all programs and processes before beginning. A good way is to start your computer in safe mode.
3) About once a week, empty your Internet Cache. Check the help features on your browser as to how to do this. It is done from “preferences” in Netscape under the “edit” menu. It is done by changing “internet options” in Internet Explorer under the “view” menu. The purpose of the cache is to keep copies of often used web sites on your computer. This saves loading time. Only the new stuff is loaded from the internet.
4) There is a folder called “Temp” under the “Windows” folder. Check that on a regular basis (about once a week) and delete all the files which have collected in there.

Preventing Trouble by Properly Installing Software: You will have far less trouble with your computer by doing a “clean installation” of all software. Most problems with computers are caused by software conflicts. These usually arise because of “dirty” installations. To do a “clean” installation, do the following:
1) Do all 4 of the procedures in the paragraph on maintenance.
2) Close ALL programs that are running. This includes the obvious ones. However, there are many others running in the background that you may not be aware of.
a) Close all programs that are running on the taskbar.
b) Right click the icons running on the system tray and if it says “exit” or “close”, left click them closed.
c) There will probably be some left that do not close this way. Do a Ctrl-Alt-Del. That is while holding down the “Ctrl” and “Alt” buttons, hit the Delete button. A window opens listing the programs that are still running. You want to close all of them except “explorer” and “systray”. To close each of these, highlight it and click on “end task”. Sometimes they will not automatically close, and another panel will come up which asks if you want to end the task. Click on “end task”. By doing this one at a time, you will eventually close all the running programs. Be careful that you do not do a Ctrl-Alt-Del by mistake or your computer will restart, and you will have to start all over. This has often happened to me. It does no harm, but it is frustrating when you have most of the programs closed and you have to start over. If you accidentally close “explorer” or “systray”, your computer will also restart. Note: A much easier way to do this is to install the new software while in safe mode.
3) Install your software according to the instructions with your software. One suggestion; install all software in the folders suggested by the installation wizard. Many programs will ask if you want an express installation or a custom installation. If you are a complete novice, it is probably best to use the express installation. However, you may want to make some choices as to what portions of a piece of software you want to install. In that case, use a custom installation. It is not that difficult. One word of warning: If the software installs a version of “Internet Explorer” and you already have it installed, avoid installing an older version over the one you already have. You will always be given the option of installing it or not installing it.
If you follow these steps you should have a smooth running system.

What to do When Trouble Occurs:
1) If possible, try to save your work, so that you will not have to redo it. That’s why when working on a complicated project or writing a long document, you should save it regularly. Say, every page or every 10 minutes.
2) If possible close the program you are using and any other software you have running. At this point, restart your computer by doing a warm boot. Remember, Ctrl-Alt-Delete. Try using "end task." If this fails, use "shut down."
3) If this fails to work, press the reset button on the computer. Do not turn off the computer with the on/off switch. By using the reset button the hard drive does not have to stop and start. That is hard on the hard drive.
4) If this fails, turn off the computer and let it set for at least several minutes. Now restart in the usual fashion. I even had one occasion where I had to pull the plug out of the wall to restart it. That is very rare.
5) Once the computer has rebooted normally, immediately run “scandisk”. Quite often an unnatural shutdown will necessitate certain fixes to be made by scandisk. If you are running Windows 98 or higher, scandisk will automatically be run when you shut down in an unnatural way.
6) This should correct most problems. If it doesn’t you must pursue other possibilities.

What to do if Further Fixing is Required:
1) Back up the data used by the involved program either on floppy disks or in another folder on your hard drive. That’s most important since you cannot replace your data. Programs can be re-installed.
2) Sometimes program files become corrupted. The only fix is to uninstall the software involved and re-install it. Many pieces of software have an “uninstall” program to do the job. If so, use that first. If that isn’t possible, got to “My Computer”, then “Control Panel”, then “Add/Remove programs”. Select the software from the list and click “remove”. If that isn’t possible, you should use a program to uninstall the software. Every computer should have such a program installed. There are a number of these available. You can NOT uninstall a piece of software by simply deleting the folder. There are many traces of the software remaining that need to be removed. Once the program is uninstalled, you may reinstall the software from either CD or floppy disk.
3) Under very rare circumstances it is necessary to reinstall Windows. This can be done without harming other installed software. It is also not necessary to uninstall Windows to do this.
4) There are catastrophic events such as hard drive failure which necessitate complete re-installation of all software. This should only be done by someone who knows what they are doing. This also points out why backup is so important.

What Happens if One Shuts Down Before Windows is Completely Loaded: Upon restart, Windows will load in Safe Mode. Fix anything which caused the problem, shut down normally if possible, and restart normally. Usually when this occurs the computer needs to do a large number of housekeeping chores. It may appear that for a matter of minutes nothing happens. Give the computer at least 10 minutes before you decide to again shut down and restart. If this doesn’t work, you may have to restart with your “Windows Startup Disk”. That’s often the only way to reboot. Be sure you have several of these made. You make them by going to “My Computer”, “Control Panel”, “Add/Remove Software”, and Click on the tab which says “startup disk” and click on the button, “create disk.” (Of course you need a blank floppy in the A: drive.) Note: You cannot create a startup disk with Windows XP. You must boot with the installation CD.

Recovery from a Catastrophic Disaster Using A Complete System Backup: One of the most important additions to any computer is a method of doing a full system backup. This can be done best by either using tape or another hard drive. It can also be done with removable storage such as a ZIP drive. It requires too many disks to do it with floppies. Of course you also need the software to do such a backup. You can get by doing a minimal backup. That is one in which you backup your root directory (those files stored directly on the C: drive) and your “Windows” folder. You must also back up the registry to restart. Most backup software will allow a minimal backup. Then you can re-install all your other software from the original disks. Of course, you should always backup your data folders and files. These can be backed up on floppies or other removable media or on a second hard drive. Backing them up on your C: drive will not help if your C: drive crashes. All backup software is different and you must learn how to use it properly. Particularly, be sure you have the manual to reinstall your Windows software and others if it is backed up.

Using Diagnostic Software to Find and Repair Problems: Programs such as Norton Utilities, and other such software can be very useful in repairing problems. Every user should have such a program. They are relatively easy to use and can fix many software problems. A clean, well-functioning computer is a joy to use. A trouble-ridden computer is a nightmare. If you want to be a computer user you must either learn how to deal with problems or be willing to spend a little money having a professional fix it. The best way to ruin a friendship is to have a friend try to repair it. If that friend is successful you will continue to rely on them and they will feel used. If the friend is not successful in fixing your computer, they will feel guilty and you will feel disappointed in them. For those of us who think we know something, it is not a good idea to mess with another person’s computer. Good Luck!!!!

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