Computer Maintenance
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Maintenance
System Information
Maintaining your computer can be very tedious, but with the proper knowledge you can simplify this process by automating many features so they run and function with minimal or no user input. Turning on Window’s automatic updater will help keep your system up to-date. You can set the updater to check at set times with Microsoft to see if there are any new updates available.
Knowing vital information about your system is an important step in keeping your system running properly. By using the System Information Utility you can familiarize yourself with all of your systems components and drivers. Using this utility you can view any conflicts that might be causing errors in your system or get in-depth information on any drivers your hardware uses.
Scheduling tasks is another way to simplify your computer maintenance. You can use the Scheduled Tasks Manager to set tasks and programs to run at specific times. This utility can be very powerful with the proper knowledge to use it. You can even have it call shortcuts to programs you have made to run specific parameters included through the shortcut and can fully eliminate user input on certain programs such as the disk clean up utility.
Networking Concepts
Having a base understanding of networking and internet concepts can save you a great deal of stress when having to configure and setup networks. When it comes to internet connection, everyone today needs to have the quickest connection that can be provided for them. Majority of towns and cities offer high-speed internet connections available in two major choices: cable or DSL.
Cable Internet is faster of the two, but for the average user the difference is never noticed. DSL will provide a more solid less erratic connection then cable with a higher upload rate, unfortunately the downside to DSL is easy interference since it uses your phone line to transmit the data. If your phone lines are old and have not been replaced in decades the wires can break down and corrode causing a drop in speed and performance. People who are not fortunate enough to live in an area that offers high-speed internet have dial-up as an option to supply their internet needs. Dial-up is slow and extremely touchy to the quality of your phone line, often people will wait for high-speed to be installed in their area or resort to using a satellite internet connection. Satellite is available practically anywhere and can provide high-speed internet access, but it comes with a hefty cost of service, installation, bandwidth limit, delay in connection and is susceptible to weather conditions.
Basic networking concepts such as an understanding in how an IP address works, and what protocols are used in normal networking operations will give you an upper hand in dealing with issues if they arise in your network. IP addresses are 4 groups of 4 byte code separated by a decimal mark that are easy for computers to use and store in temporary files for quick reference. These addresses make the internet possible; they allow each computer to be able to travel with its own unique mark. This unique mark prevents information from being sent to