FAQs.......

Answer:        Computer Maintenance falls into four categories as follows:

                                             1. Backup of your data

                                             2. Updating and running your Virus Scanner

                                             3. Checking "Windows Update" and installing anything critical

                                             4. Maintenance of Hard Drive - DiskClean / ScanDisk / Defrag

1. Backup of your data:

Always back up your data on a regular basis. You do not have to back up your entire hard drive, including the Windows Operating System and your programs, you only have to back up your personal information which you created and would need if your computer crashed.

You can reload the Windows Operating System and your programs from your CD's, but your personal data may be difficult or impossible to replace (financial data, checking accounts, investment records, letters, pictures, etc.)

We recommend the Microsoft Backup program included with your version of Windows. If it is not installed on your computer (click start / accessories / system tools / backup) then it can be installed from your Windows CD, by browsing or doing a search for "backup".

The Microsoft Backup program will back up to floppy disks or a zip drive (if you have one). If you want to back up to a CD Burner or Tape Drive, then use the backup software included with the Burner or Tape Drive.

Whatever your method of backup, you should do it once a week, and have 3 sets of disks, labeled "A", "B", and "C". On week 1 use the "A" set, on week 2 use the "B" set, on week 3 use the "C" set, and on week 4 start over with the "A" set. This takes no additional time on your part, but if you go to restore and mess up the most recent set, you always can fall back to the set which is only one week older. If you mess up that set you can call for help and still have a set left that is only two weeks older.

2. Updating and running your Virus Scanner:

You must have a Virus Scanner, even if you don't spend time on the Internet. You can still get viruses from shared floppies and even loading programs from CD's. Just don't take the chance of not using one and not keeping it up to date.

There are two parts to virus scanning. First you must update your virus scanning program weekly. To do this you will need to be logged onto the Internet. This is how your program detects viruses, by the virus signatures you download. If you choose not to update for 2 years, then you are unprotected from those viruses released in those two years...    good luck!!    Once you update your virus scanner with the new signatures, you should run a virus scan. This checks your hard drive for the presence of viruses and eliminates them.

We recommend Avast 4.6, which is a very good (and free) virus scanner. The details for downloading, installing, and maintaining this product can be found on our FAQ's page  (www.faq.cpals.com ).

3. Checking "Windows Update" and installing anything Critical:

All recent versions of Windows have the "Windows Update" feature installed, usually in the start menu. Sometimes it is located elsewhere, but can be found by going to Help and in "index" type "Windows Update". If you cannot find it, log on the Internet, open your web browser (Internet Explorer) and type "www.microsoft.com/windowsupdate" and this will get you there.

You must be logged onto the Internet to do this. Once you click on the "update" link you arrive at a Microsoft page that will allow you to select "Product Update". Click on this and your computer will be checked for updates. You will be given a choice of updates available to your computer. Here we advise you to download (the install is usually automatic) anything listed in the category "Critical". These refer to fixes for security problems or program problems that have been found and will be fixed by downloading the critical update.

Other updates are for less critical matters; for example updating to the latest version of Microsoft DirectX (used for gaming), or Internet Explorer, or Driver (software) updates for your hardware (video card, sound card, etc.) These can be done or not done as you decide. But always do the ones marked "critical".

4. Maintenance of Hard Drive:

Your Hard Drive is the most vulnerable part of your computer. Eventually every hard drive will fail. The question is not "if" only "when". By doing regular backups, as suggested you will reduce the trauma of this event when it happens.

By following these steps you will probably extend the life of your hard drive and certainly allow it to run more quickly and efficiently.

These are the steps we recommend:

                               A. Disk Cleanup

                               B. ScanDisk

                               C. Disk Defragmentation  

A. Disk Cleanup:   Go to "My Computer" and right click on the "Drive C: Hard Disk Drive" (it may be labeled differently, but will always say "C:". After you right click on the C: drive left click on "Properties". A window will open to the "General" page and show you a pie chart of your hard disk, indicating in "blue" how much of the drive is filled with data and in "purple" how much of the drive is free to accept new data.

There may be a button beside this pie chart marked "Disk Cleanup". If there is not, skip this step. If the button is there, click on it. A list of categories will appear with numbers indicating how much data is in that category. We recommend to place a check mark only in those categories that have the word "temporary" included. Remove checks from all other categories. Then click "OK" and the files in those categories will be deleted. These were temporary files and not needed.

B. ScanDisk:  Now click on the tab marked "Tools", and in the section marked "Error Checking" or "ScanDisk" click the button marked "Check Now". When the window appears, click "Start". This will check your hard drive for a number of different kinds of errors. If errors are found you will be prompted to "fix" them. Select the option to "Fix" if any errors are found.

C. Disk Defragmentation: After the ScanDisk (or Error Checking) function has completed, you will be returned to the "Tools" window. In the "Defragmentation" box click the button that says "Defragment Now". The defrag window will come up and then click "Start" or "Defragment", depending on the version of Windows you have. The Defrag may take some time, but when finished all your programs and data will be in the optimal order (no longer "fragmented"), allowing your hard drive to run more quickly and efficiently (and not work as hard, possibly extending it's life).

With these three steps we have deleted the garbage, checked for and fixed any errors, and then put everything in order. Very healthy for your hard drive. 

SUMMARY:  These four steps of Computer Maintenance should be done weekly, or at least once a month.

Answer:     Yes, you should know and understand these terms as they influence the price and performance of your computer.

Let's start with 'MegaHertz' which is abbreviated 'MHz'. This is a measure of speed, and in our usage it refers to the speed of the processor chip, such as an Intel or AMD processor chip.

One 'hertz' is one cycle per second, meaning the processor chip performs one cycle of an operation or request you have made of the computer. One MegaHertz is one million cycles per second, and 800 MegaHertz is 800 million cycles per second. A one GigaHertz chip can perform one thousand million (or one billion) cycles per second.

These speeds quickly become more than we can comprehend, but the processor chips do achieve these speeds. Almost all home computers have only one processor chip, and the computer often takes it's name from the make and speed of this chip. For example, an 'Intel Pentium III - 800 MHz' (MegaHertz), or an 'Intel Pentium 4 - 3.2 GHz' (GigaHertz).

Obviously, the higher the 'hertz' number, the faster (and more expensive) the processor chip. However, this chip alone does not determine the overall speed and performance of your computer. It is the biggest single contributor, but the amount and speed of the RAM (random access memory), the access time of your hard drive and the amount of RAM on your video card, among other things, partake in the overall performance of your computer.

Now, let's consider MegaBytes which is abbreviated 'Meg'. This is a measure of size.

One 'byte' is one character, like those found on your keyboard. Examples of one byte would be the letter 'Q', or 'g', or numbers like '3' or '8', or symbols like '$' or '#'. Each of these letters, numbers and symbols require one byte for storage. One kilobyte is 1,000 bytes, one megabyte is 1,000,000 bytes and one gigabyte is 1,000,000,000 bytes.

But how can we relate to these figures. Let's consider that the standard floppy disk contains enough space to store 1.44 megabytes or 1,440,000 bytes. To gain perspective, let's understand the average typed, double spaced,  8 1/2" x 11" page of text contains 2,000 bytes or 2 kilobytes. So if a floppy disk can hold 1,440,000 bytes, it can hold approximately 700 pages of typed text. And a gigabyte of storage could hold 500,000 pages of typed text.

In summary, megahertz is a measure of speed, usually associated with processor chips, and megabytes are a measure of size, usually associated with the amount of RAM or the size of the Hard Drive, or any other unit of storage such as the currently popular jump drives and .mp3 players.