Over time, you may notice that your computer isn’t running as smoothly or as quickly as it once did. There are many reasons why your computer’s performance may have declined with usage. Disorganized files, excessive software installs, unnecessary programs automatically run at start up – all these will eat up computer resources and significantly slow down its start up and processing time. Thankfully, there are basic maintenance tasks that a regular user can routinely perform to keep his/her computer running smoothly.
Organize Your Files
Keeping all your documents in one folder is the first step to maintaining a tidy computer. Windows has a default folder in which to store your documents called Documents. For an even safer solution, you can save your files directly to your OneDrive folder.
These simple precautions can save you time and energy in the event of a system failure -- an organized computer is much easier to backup than a computer that has its files scattered all over the hard drive, or if your files are saved to your OneDrive folder, you don't have to worry about the loss of your files.
Do Routine Backups
Get in the practice of doing frequent backups. This could make the difference between a computer failure being an annoying inconvenience or a catastrophic meltdown. Backing up your computer is a highly personal task, and one that only you can do with confidence -- no one but you knows which files are important and which are not. Suggestions for files that you will want to back up are: photos, email archives, bookmarks, personal projects (Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, etc), contacts, and purchased software and music. Programs do not need to be backed up. You can always back up your data to external media, such as an external hard drive or a flash drive, or also save your files into OneDrive.
