Developing a Preventive Maintenance Program

Developing a preventive maintenance program is important to everyone who uses or manages a PC. There are two types of preventive maintenance procedures exist-experts classified it active and passive.

Active preventive maintenance includes steps you apply to a system that promote a longer, trouble-free life. This type of preventive maintenance primarily involves periodic cleaning of the system and its componest(every 3 months is the usual).Examples of active preventive maintenance are resocketing and cleaning of card edges, removing dust on your Mainboard and related peripherals, check up of software conditions.

Passive preventive maintenance includes steps you can take to protect a system from the environment, such as using power-protection devices, ensuring a clean, temperatured controlled environment; and preventing excessive vibration. In other words, passive preventive maintenance means treating your system well.

The importance of Preventive Maintenance & Backups

Preventive maintenance is the key to obtaining years of trouble-free service from your computer system.A properly administered preventive maintenance program pays for itself by reducing problem behaviour, data loss, component failure, and by ensuring a long life for your system. In several cases, I have "repaired" an ailing system with nothing more than a preventive maintenance session.Preventive maintenance also increases your system's resale value because it will look and run better.

Creating backup files of data in one's PC is sometimes taken for granted. And the sad reality in the computer repair and servicing world is that hardware can always be repaired or replaced, but data cannot.Most hard disk troubleshooting and service procedures, for example, requires reformatting.This procedure overwrites or deletes all your important data.So next time, make sure to have your data backed up regularly.

Mouse Problem

Problem Description: While you are in the middle of something, your mouse pointer just run havoc all over your desktop and messing up all the settings of your document.Mouse is uncontrollable. You reset your PC and everything is working fine again, after a while the problem came back.

Suggested Solution: Replace your mouse device first, before attempting different troubleshooting approach.

Trouble Shooting Tip (Part 1)

Proper way to troubleshoot a particular problem!
Problem: No display appears on your monitor screen upon turning on your PC

Performs the following:

1. Check both power indicator of your monitor and CPU it its lit? If it's lit observe HDD LED if its actively blinking or press Numlock or Capslock keys to see if keyboard responds. If keyboard responds, it is possible that the problem lies in your monitor(try also adjusting brightness control of your monitor-applicable for older models only).If none of the above works,chances are that you have a defective monitor.
2. If you hear beeps (usually 3 beeps) just after you turn on your PC, keyboard is responding and HDD LED is active, the problem maybe cause by a defective or ailing VGA Card, try re-socketing the card and clean its contact edge by a pencil eraser. Try replacing a known good VGA card when you feel necessary.
3. Check for loose cable connections.
4. If Keyboard dont responds and monitor displays "No signal", its possible that the problem lies in the CPU unit,try removing the memory chips and clean contacts by a pencil eraser. If still nothings happen continue your isolation test in your micro processor, mainboard and power supply.You may also try removing other devices attached to you PCI slot, until the defective part is identified.

Note: When attending a specific pc problem, always perform basic troubleshooting first,before suspecting a defective hardware device . Ask,Is the power cables, keyboard and mouse connectors properly connected? Is the power rating going to the PC sufficient?Performing this simple task might save you time in fixing a particular problem.