It’s no secret that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That's why we brush our teeth and change our engine oil.

Well, your computer needs maintenance too. For your understanding, we’ll divide maintenance into the following categories:

Physical Maintenance

Proper airflow must be maintained throughout the case in order to control internal temperatures. A faulty fan or a build-up of dust will result in temperature increases to critical components. Heat is your computer's enemy -- Overheating will often result in unexpected system crashes and can even be the cause of catastrophic hardware failure and ultimately data loss. Hardware diagnostics or a review of the system logs can also help identify a problem before it's too late.

Malware Scans & Removal

Malicious software comes in many flavours but, generally speaking, once your computer has been infected things are going to go from bad to worse until you deal with the root of the problem. Regular scans by trusted security software can help prevent a small pain from growing into a large infection. Of course it's important to keep your security software up to date to ensure that it has the best possible chance of identifying an infection.

Operating System Maintenance

Unlike the human body, 10 years of aging should have no measurable impact on a computer's performance. So why does it seem to take longer for your computer to perform routine tasks? This is typically due to a lack of maintenance. File systems should be defragmented to improve load times and reduce wear on components. System start-up and general performance can be optimized by preventing unnecessary programs from loading automatically. Temporary files should be purged and software should be updated to benefit from improved performance and stability. Regular maintenance can help keep your computer performing its best for many years.

Installation of Critical Updates & Security Patches

Computer security is typically compromised when exploitable flaws in the operating systems are identified and used against you. Fortunately, Microsoft provides regular updates and patches for its Windows operating systems. However, these updates will not always install automatically. Larger patches or collections of updates (commonly referred to as Service Packs) often require user participation and can sometimes result in unexpected issues. It is recommended that you first complete a backup of your critical files and be sure to carefully read all of the release notes prior to beginning an update. It is also a good idea to avoid installing service packs at a critical time, when you may require the use of your computer, since these updates can take over an hour to complete and could possibly require troubleshooting or corrective measures should things go wrong during the installation.

So what's the solution?

Firstly, we recognize that everybody's needs are different. Home users will typically benefit most from our in-shop PC Tune-Up while many businesses prefer on-site maintenance of their computer networks. Pre-packaged or custom maintenance plans are available for all clients and will often provide these services at a discounted rate.