5 Ways To Help Your Computer Live Longer
December 20th, 2021
By Darren Jackson
- Blow out your computer (PC Tower) with air
Over time, your PC will suck in dust and debris from your home while it’s fans draw in air to cool all the components down. Depending where you place your tower, there can be a lot of dust getting trapped inside covering your components and potentially causing issues with the PC. Every six months, it’s a good idea to take your PC to a dry outside location and take the side panel off to clean out the dust. You’ll do this by using air to force the dust out of the PC body. But be careful! There is a technique that we recommend to not cause damage.
Canned air is our recommended tool to use when blowing out a PC. You can use a compressor, but we suggest nothing stronger than 100 PSI be used or else the air strength could damage the computer. You don’t want the air nozzle to be super close to components. Start farther away, and as soon as the air is strong enough to lift the dust out as you draw closer; stick to that distance and try not to vary too much. Lifting the dust out of the PC is the only goal here. Doing this every 3-6 months will keep the internal components of your PC from overheating in a blanket of dust!
- Don’t visit sites with which you’re not familiar with
Although this has more to do with the integrity of your data, it can impact your harddrive if ransomware was able to get onto your device. Ransomware locks your computer from accessing data on the harddrive without a password. This is maliciously placed on your PC by someone over the internet who has gained access to your computer via a weird link, or download, etc.
The only way to access your data is to pay them the ransom (e.i. ransomware) to have them give you the password. Sometimes, they just take your money and never give you the password! This is why it is so important to not click on links, websites, or download anything strange that could jeopardize your data.
- Use a surge protector
When you plug your computer directly into a wall, you are leaving it vulnerable to electric surges that can damage the internal components. In fact, all electronics are able to be damaged through power surges. Therefore, they should all be plugged into a surge protector. Surge protectors eliminate spikes of electricity that are too strong and maintain a level power for your electronics that require constant power.
- Make sure it has good air flow where it is stored
Sometimes computer desks and furniture have “cubbies” or hidden spots for your computer to sit out of sight. This is fine, as long as those spots have ample air flow to the computer and are not cut off/sealed from new air. If they are trapped in any way, the PC can overheat because the hot air the pc is pushing out is being recycled back in to get hotter and hotter; or the ventilation cannot get enough air because the PC has been put in too small of a space. This will heat the computer, and damage components. Make sure there is ample space and air flow getting to your PC to avoid this issue.
- Maintenance at least once a year
Computers tend to get boggled up with bloatware, viruses, and missing updates that really slow down a computer. Annual maintenance can go a long way to keep your computer running as smoothly and effectively as possible. Annual maintenance also thwarts little issues from becoming bigger ones. Servicing computer maintenance and repairs in St. George is TechMedic’s specialty, and it’s always better to maintain a computer; over repairing it! But regardless, we are here for you! Let TechMedic know of all your Tech Emergencies!
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