PC MAINTENANCE
    Not an exciting topic, but essential for productive typing! This page includes some sites and software designed to keep your PC productive by performing regular maintenance - and beyond. This includes
    things like defragging the hard drive, deleting unneeded files, cleaning up the start menu, combatting
    popup ads, dealing with spyware intrusion, virus protection, maximizing percent of computer resources
    free, emptying the recycle bin, deleting temporary files, uninstalling programs correctly, and so on.
    Without maintenance, computers can easily become clogged and sluggish.
    Windows PC's offer some built-in tools (e.g. Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools in Windows 98)
    for clean up and you can even schedule a time for Windows to perform some of them for you. Then
    there are tools that go well beyond these. It is advisable to make a backup of a file if venturing into unfamiliar territory. If you are just beginning to learn about PC maintenance, I suggest reading through several sites which cover the basics before implementing any specific suggestion.

    There is a vast amount of software designed to clean up and protect computers. The following are
    some possible starting points. I asked two people who are very knowledgeable, Mike DeTuri and Cheryl Flanders, to recommend some links, and theirs are included in the brief list below.  -Jon.

    Cheryl Flanders Tips 'N Techniques in MS Word
    www.cherylflanders.com/

    Mike Deturi Programs for encryption (MEP), abbreviation creation (Abcreate) and more. Also informative articles.
    www.deturi.com


    14Tonks' list Checklist from a thread on Harrie's Productivity Talk thread.
    http://www.productivitytalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1712&hl=

    PC911 contains many helpful guides.
    www.pcnineoneone.com/howto.html

    Andy Prevost is brief and to the point.
    www.techtips.ca/zoptimize/main.htm

    Annoyances  Articles about problems with Windows and solutions.
    www.annoyances.org

    Help.com Ask the experts.
    http://reviews.cnet.com/4002-7600_7-5082858.html

    Inside Outlook Express
    http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/

    McAfee Virus Scan Leading virus monitor.
    www.mcafee.com

    Myoan Older but has the basics.
    www.myoan.net/isp/compmain.html

    Norton Antivirus Another anti-virus standard.
    www.symantec.com

    PC Maintenance Shows items of basic maintenance using icons in Win95,98,ME.
    www.larp.ca/PCMaintenance.htm

    The Secret Guide to Computers
    www.your-computer-guide.com/fix_your_computer/computer_maintenance.html

    SF State Windows Maintenance Guide  Useful beginning site with screen shots. 
    www.sfsu.edu/~helpdesk/maint/pc-maint.html

    Tech tutorials Many useful articles.
    www.techtutorials.com

    Windows XP:

    Window XP News  Easy-to-understand language, good archives and search function.
    http://www.winxpnews.com/issues.cfm

    Windows XP Drivers
    www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/using/tips/maintain/finddrivers.asp

    Windows Drivers For Windows XP and many more. Must register, but it is free.
    www.driverguide.com/

    Black Viper   Optimizing Win2000/XP by shutting down background extras.
    www.blackviper.com/

    Complete Computer Resource
    http://groups.msn.com/TheCompleteComputerResource/windowsxp.msnw
     

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