Do It Yourself

Here are some things you can do yourself to keep your system running at peek performance. These are basic maintenance steps that should be preformed as you feel the need, if your computer is running out of hard drive space, crashing, or slowing down.

These instructions are written for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installed.
Please do not attempt anything you do not feel comfortable doing yourself, Deepnet Consulting is not responsible for any undesired results while following these tutorials.

I often get asked what anti-virus software I recommend. Avira makes a very good anti-virus package that won't slow your computer down as much as Norton or McAfee. If you are a home user they have a free version. Always make sure you completly uninstall your current antivirus software before installing another.

If you are having trouble with pop-ups or spyware/adware you can download a free version of SUPERAntiSpyware. It is a good idea to remove any other spyware software (Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy) you have installed before installing a new one.

If you have any questions about these instructions e-mail:

Keep Windows Up to Date (Locking all the doors to your house)

Microsoft releases security patches on a monthly basis. You should check Windows Update once a month to keep your computer up to date. This is the most important step in keeping your machine secure.

To run Windows Update

  1. Close any open programs you are running
  2. Make sure you are connected to the internet
  3. Open Internet Explorer
  4. Click on the "Tools" menu
  5. Click on "Windows Update"
  6. If you get a Security Warning from Microsoft click yes to accept it
  7. At the Welcome page click "Express (Recommended)"
  8. After it is done scanning it will show you a list of "Critical Updates and Service Packs" to install
  9. Click on "Install Now"

    This step can take up to a few hours depending on the speed of your internet connection and how many updates you have to download and install. Typical download times on broadband are just a few minutes.

    After the updates are completed you might be asked to restart your computer.

  10. Close Internet Explorer

Windows Temporary File Cleanup (Taking out the trash)

To run Disk Cleanup

  1. Close any open programs you are running
  2. Open "My Computer"
  3. Right click on your C Drive, and select "Properties"
  4. Click on the "General" tab
  5. Click on "Disk Cleanup"
  6. Select all the options except "Compress old files" and "Catalog files for the Content Indexer"
  7. Click on "More Options" tab
  8. Under System Restore click "Clean Up"
  9. Click "Yes" on the pop up that says "Are you sure you want to delete all but the most recent restore point?"
  10. Click "OK" on the disk cleanup screen
  11. Click "Yes" on the pop up that says "Are you sure you want to preform these actions?"
  12. Click "OK" on local disk C properties
  13. Close "My Computer"

Hard Drive Checkup (Going to the doctor for a checkup)

To run Check Disk:

  1. Close any open programs you are running
  2. Open "My Computer"
  3. Right click on your C Drive, and select "Properties"
  4. Click on the "Tools" tab
  5. Under Error-Checking click "Check Now…"
  6. Check the boxes for "Automatically fix file system errors" and "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors"
  7. Click "Start"

    At this step it may ask you to schedule a scan the next time your computer starts, if it does, select yes and then restart your computer, and it will run a scan automatically before windows boots up.

    This step can take up to a few hours depending on the speed of your computer and how many files you have.

    If it doesn't ask you then it should have already started scanning.

  8. Click "OK" on pop up that says "Disk Check Complete."
  9. Click "OK" on local disk C properties
  10. Close "My Computer"

Defragment Hard Drive (Organizing your filling cabinet)

To run Disk Defragmenter:

  1. Close any open programs you are running
  2. Open "My Computer"
  3. Right click on your C Drive, and select "Properties"
  4. Click on the "Tools" tab
  5. Under Defragmentation click "Defragment Now…"
  6. Select your C drive, and click "Defragment"

    This step can take up to a few hours depending on the speed of your computer and how many files you have.

  7. Click "OK" on pop up that says "Defragment Complete."
  8. Click on the "X" in the top right to close Disk Defragmenter
  9. Click "OK" on local disk C properties
  10. Close "My Computer"

Online Virus Scan (Cleaning the house)

To Run an Online Virus Scan:

  1. Close any open programs you are running
  2. Make sure you are connected to the internet
  3. Open Internet Explorer
  4. In the address bar type http://housecall.trendmicro.com
  5. Click "Scan Now"
  6. If you get a Security Warning from "Trend Micro inc" click yes to accept it
  7. Wait for the download to complete
  8. Click on the check box for "Local Disk (C:)"
  9. Click on the check box for "Auto Clean"
  10. Click on "SCAN"

    This step can take up to a few hours depending on the speed of your computer and how many files you have.

  11. Click ok on the end of scan message
  12. Click close on the Housecall window
  13. Close Internet Explorer

PCPitStop.com Checkup

To Run a Full PC Pit Stop Checkup:

  1. Close any open programs you are running
  2. Make sure you are connected to the internet
  3. Open Internet Explorer
  4. In the address bar type http://www.pcpitstop.com
  5. On the top left side of the page under "Tests and Scans" click on "Full Tests"
  6. Click on "New Members"
  7. Then on "Don't Create An Account"
  8. Then "Let's go!"
  9. This can give you more places to look for problems with your PC.
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