Good Practices

**dieKatze88** · 02-28-2007, 12:09 PM

These are things you should do in the event you own a computer. They aren’t all required, but they are good to do.

1. Run backups at least once a month, more often if you’ve got more data you care about.
Nothing beats a good backup. Nothing. Having your data on another format or even just another hard disk in your system is the best way to keep from losing any of it.
2. Run some form of AntiVirus.
Don’t have money? Get AVG Free Edition. Something is better than nothing
3. Run some form of AntiSpyware
Don’t have money? Legitimate windows users can get Windows Defender. Spybot Search and Destroy is also free.
4. Run a Temprature/S.M.A.R.T Monitor.
Like Speedfan. Its also free.
5. Do Disk Defragments at least once a month.

This thread is being left open to discussion. What just happened to me is a rare case of up and died instantly, but lets try to avoid disasters with prevention.

Excel-2010 · 02-28-2007, 01:40 PM

I read in a magazine that recommends reinstalling Windows once a year.

I can attest for the backup part. I made a backup for my site and just an hour later it was crushed by a zealous twit.

*phuzion* · 02-28-2007, 08:24 PM

Crack open your computer every once and a while, and dust it out. (If we had a FLASHING RED HUGE ZOMFG tag, I'd be using it here)

No joke. You would not believe how many computers I have worked on, diagnosed a hardware problem, then went to open it up, and been attacked by a cloud of 6 years worth of dust. Dust leads to the lack of ventilation, which leads to overheating, which leads to failing computer parts.

kimcicle · 02-28-2007, 08:52 PM

I like to flatten and re-install windows about every 3 months or so. Makes it run in tip-top shape.

**dieKatze88** · 02-28-2007, 09:08 PM

I think you guys are just a little retarded with the reinstalls. Up until this morning, Bigcore had a nearly 9 month old install of XP That had 0 spyware and only 1 virus. The Virus was cleaned and we returned to normal. I think its really OK.

Evi · 02-28-2007, 09:10 PM

I approve of this thread.

p.s. Phuzion makes another very important point. Dust gathers up a lot more quickly than you'd think, and it's really fucking bad for your system. I personally blow out my entire case at least once a week, and a whole fuckload comes out every single time. Don't neglect your power supply, either. It gets really dusty up inside the fan, and it very often causes computer crashes and random reboots during high system load (read: gaming).

rmz · 02-28-2007, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimcicle

I like to flatten and re-install windows about every 3 months or so. Makes it run in tip-top shape.

*spit take*

I've had XP installs running for a year or a year and a half with zero issues whatsoever. There's a lot you can to do keep it running in "tip-top shape" aside from just flatlining it and starting over.

kimcicle · 03-02-2007, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmz

*spit take*

I've had XP installs running for a year or a year and a half with zero issues whatsoever. There's a lot you can to do keep it running in "tip-top shape" aside from just flatlining it and starting over.

Well, my issue is that i'm a packrat and my program files will get cluttered with a gazillion things. Since everything media related (pictures, videos, mp3s, etc) are stored on my other 3 harddrives, it doesn't take much for me to flatten and reinstall and get back up on my feet within an hour and a half. It's a pretty bad habit from when I would do that with Windows 95 / 98 / ME.

*phuzion* · 03-03-2007, 01:18 AM

kimcicle: Here's an idea: Set up your HDD the way you like it one day. Make an image of the hard drive, and keep it on a separate hard drive. When you decide that you're too fed up with your install of Windows, just re-image the drive.

**dieKatze88** · 03-03-2007, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phuzion

kimcicle: Here's an idea: Set up your HDD the way you like it one day. Make an image of the hard drive, and keep it on a separate hard drive. When you decide that you're too fed up with your install of Windows, just re-image the drive.

I do this with bigcore. Its nice if something ever happens.

kimcicle · 03-03-2007, 07:20 AM

Not a half bad idea.

I'm going to risk it and try to keep this XP install until I bother to crack open my Vista box and install that. I want to pick up a new graphics card and another gig of ram beforehand, and I'm trying to buy a lot of other shit for my apartment first so yeah. *shrugs*

stuartwood89 · 04-05-2007, 04:52 PM

My PC has a power supply fan, a processor fan, and two other fans which take air out of the machine. Will those two extra fans help to prevent dust from building up as well as improving circulation within my machine?

I've had to reformat my hard drive twice since I've had it (which is only about a month) The first time because the resolution was set incorrectly (my fault) and I had to wipe everything so I could actually see something on the screen. The second time was about a week later after my graphics card went fizzle and I had to borrow a spare from my school, but again I couldn't uninstall the old driver before hand because, again, I couldn't see anything, so I had to start from the beginning again.

Formatting, reinstalling Windows, and reinstalling an additional ₤1500 of software more than once in a month is not fun guys.

*phuzion* · 04-07-2007, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuart Wood 1989

My PC has a power supply fan, a processor fan, and two other fans which take air out of the machine. Will those two extra fans help to prevent dust from building up as well as improving circulation within my machine?

I've had to reformat my hard drive twice since I've had it (which is only about a month) The first time because the resolution was set incorrectly (my fault) and I had to wipe everything so I could actually see something on the screen. The second time was about a week later after my graphics card went fizzle and I had to borrow a spare from my school, but again I couldn't uninstall the old driver before hand because, again, I couldn't see anything, so I had to start from the beginning again.

Formatting, reinstalling Windows, and reinstalling an additional ₤1500 of software more than once in a month is not fun guys.

Your best bet to keeping your computer dust free has to do with something completely unrelated to computers. Your furnace's air filter. If you keep that replaced, your house's air will be much cleaner, and there will be far less dust in your house. Not only will your computers benefit, but your health will as well.

Air purifiers work wonders too.

chocori · 04-13-2007, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuart Wood 1989

I've had to reformat my hard drive twice since I've had it (which is only about a month) The first time because the resolution was set incorrectly (my fault) and I had to wipe everything so I could actually see something on the screen. The second time was about a week later after my graphics card went fizzle and I had to borrow a spare from my school, but again I couldn't uninstall the old driver before hand because, again, I couldn't see anything, so I had to start from the beginning again.

Wouldn't restarting Windows in Safe Mode have fixed both of those problems?

I personally hate running anti-virus software and intrusive firewalls - this website explains how to secure a WinXP webserver... even though I don't run a webserver, I found steps #2 and #3 to be very useful.

**dieKatze88** · 04-13-2007, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phuzion

Your best bet to keeping your computer dust free has to do with something completely unrelated to computers. Your furnace's air filter. If you keep that replaced, your house's air will be much cleaner, and there will be far less dust in your house. Not only will your computers benefit, but your health will as well.

Air purifiers work wonders too.

Now for those of you living in homes that are so old, they were prefab and came in on the ark, like mine, who do not have central heating, you may consider going to home depot, buying 5 dollars worth of screen, and wrapping your Fan Grills with the stuff. Its a pain to get the holes punched and all, but it does help a little. You just have to vaccum the screen off periodically.