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New Year Computer Checklist

Here’s a toast to all of our fellow PC aficionados out there (sounds so much better than geeks, doesn’t it?). We hope you received all of the hardware and software that was on your Christmas, Chanukah or Kwanzaa wish lists, but that’s over now and it’s time to face another year. In your New Year’s resolutions, be sure to include some for your computer, and feel free to borrow from our suggestions below:

A. Throw out your garbage – January is an excellent month to clean out all the accumulated debris in your Temp and Temporary Internet Files folders. It’s amazing how much space these can eat up after a while, especially if you spend much time on the web or if you have system crashes now and then. Of course deleting these files only moves them to the recycle bin, so the next step is to flush the recycle bin and give yourself the gift of more free space on your hard drive.

B. Back up - Yes we’ve said it before, but it’s hard to over-emphasize this one. You should not only back up your essential data files on a regular basis, but occasionally also back up those old files that you don’t use much, and what better time than the start of a new year? Perhaps you can even delete them from your system once you have a backup. If your hard drive looks anything like mine, there are probably old .bmp and .mpg files that haven’t been touched since you bought that larger hard drive last year and copied everything over. Recently I was able to free up 30GB of a 120GB hard drive just by archiving this kind of stuff, and it’s still there on a back-up CD if I ever really need it.

C. Organize or Clean up your Desktop – No we are not talking about your office desk but that might also be something you need to do. We mean the Windows desktop, the one that started out with about six icons on it and now looks like the confetti at a New Year’s party. Sure it was convenient to have a shortcut to that file you were using regularly 8 months ago, and also the one from 3 months ago and of course you have to have the one for your current project. And every new application we try (even the demos) offer to put an icon on the desktop for easy access. Who can resist? Admit it though – you now have icons there you haven’t used for ages that are making it harder to spot the ones you do need every day.

As a first step, delete any shortcuts you haven’t used in a while, and be bold about it. The files and programs are still available and you can always add the shortcut again later. If your desktop still looks cluttered, try organizing the icons into categories. You can do this by making folders on the desktop and dragging the icons into them, or you can divide the display space into areas for the different categories, as shown below. The background image with the gray boxes and their labels was created in Photoshop, but Microsoft Paint or another graphics program would work just fine. After it was selected as wallpaper in Control Panel/Display, the icons were dragged to their proper positions. The truck photo is optional.

D. Add / Remove Programs – Yes it’s fun to try the shareware and free demos we find on the web or pick up at trade shows, user group meetings, etc. After the demo expires or it turns out that free Spinmaster 3000 software was worth just what we paid for it, how many of us take the trouble to remove it? Well, it’s about time. Go to your Control Panel – Add/ Remove Programs and start scrolling through the list of software you’ve accumulated. And if you don’t need it, delete it!

E. Organize your Favourites – Does this describe you too? Every time I come across a web site I think I might like to visit again, I add it to my Favourites list. Next thing I know, I’ve created a list of 100’s of sites, organized with the oldest selection at the top. Pretty useless, but easy to fix. In IE, pull down the Favourites menu and select Organize favourites. First get rid of any that aren’t your favourites anymore. Next, determine what categories apply to the survivors and create the appropriate folders. You can also drag and drop listings so that the top ones are the most useful rather than the oldest.

F. Treat Yourself – All of the suggestions so far have involved getting rid of something. That’s necessary now and then, but to balance things out in the universe you now need to get something new for yourself, maybe something that will help you in your job. We recommend diagnostic software, tools to manage your network, or maybe a certification course to help you get that next rise. For specific advice on these subjects, call one of our expert sales reps.

AND DON’T FORGET – Scott Mueller (leading computer industry expert & best-selling author) has a number of great books and recourse guides at a 30% discount, including ‘Upgrading and Repairing PCs’ and ‘Upgrading and Repairing Networks’, so now’s a great time to invest in yourself! For more info just click on the BOOK LINK on our web site.

Disclaimer - The Micro 2000 Tech Tip is a free service providing information only. While we use reasonable care to see that this information is correct, we do not guarantee it for accuracy, completeness or fitness for a particular purpose. Micro 2000, Inc. shall not be liable for damages of any kind in connection with the use or misuse of this information.