Extension+of+PC+Life

=How to extend a computer’s life?=

//Firstly to look at this we have to consider, what wares down a computer? Tags from delicious page: [|James Delicious]//
For a computer there are certain things that can cause it to ware and tare just by leaving it open, one of theses is the temperature caused by running of computer. (A processor can reach 30degrees even with its own fan) Additionally we have the air quality, due to the constant ventilation of the air within the computer there is a need for a good make up for the air around the computer, this air is also used to prevent overheating. Lastly there is electricity which is very hard to control. This will cause serious harm to your computer.
 * __1. A computer’s location has an affect on its life.__**
 * Temperature** - normally, a considerably good temperature should be between16 to 30 degrees C with humidity between 50% and 75%. This is to minimize any build up of static on the computer.
 * Air quality** – It is wise to keep your hardware apart, your tower, monitor and other peripherals sometimes have there own ventilation system. Therefore if all these devices were close together the concentration of different elements in the gas will change.
 * Electricity -** Electricity is of up most importance when it comes to determine the longevity of your computer. There are things considered as "dirty" electricity:
 * Brownouts** //–// voltage level is below the normal minimum level specified for the system
 * Surges/Spikes** //–// Sudden increase of voltage in electrical appliances
 * Sags** //–// Sudden decrease of voltage in electrical appliances

__**2. Security and Safety**__ When connected to the net your computer can get easily affected by a virus or any other potentially harmful stuff, in order to prevent this it is recommend to install software/hardware such as: This is also useful to constantly keep your drivers up to date, including updates for Virus protection etc. There are 3 simple things you can do: These are checks and precautions you can take to increase your computer’s life:
 * Virus protection / Anti-virus software** – Can be used to prevent and also clean-out virus, spy ware, Trojans or whatever which is on your computer. (Take note that it’s best to get ones recommended by a respectable company)
 * Firewall** (For some operating systems there is already a built in firewall//)// – A firewall is like a partially permeable membrane, it and allow, deny or proxy information through a computer network. With different levels of safety and danger levels.
 * __3. Monthly Preservation and Clean-out__**
 * Disk clean up** – Remove all unneeded compress files and temporary files
 * Defragmentation** – This is basically moving isolated files related to a certain program of software to its proper place in order to make it easier to access the memory and increase performance. (This process takes a long time depending on computer capabilities and memory)
 * Clean up of Tower** – After a while dust will accumulate within your hard drive it is good to get a dust blower of any sort to get rid of this. You can easily unscrew the case (don’t forget to unplug everything) and take some dust out of the system, this should remove issues with Air and Temperature.
 * __4. Independent Preservation of Computer__**
 * Start Check** – It is best to open the lid for these checks, you can identify a faulty peripheral by the sounds it creates. A grinding noise can easily points out to problem with the monitor, fan or hard drive.
 * Checking online –** You can simple get your computer sorted online at certain websites such as http://www.pcpitstop.com/, this site will give a performance check on your computer and provide valuable feedback**.**
 * Isolation of Computer –** By completely disconnect your computer for a short period or closing all programs and keep the CPU at 0%.
 * Cleaning and Removing of Temporary Files –** These are files accumulated by surfing the internet, it would be wise to delete these every now and then since they can start to build up. (Note by delete Temp. Files some website will load slow at start since files are needed to be loaded again)
 * Defragmenting and Restarting –** Defragmenting and restarting your computer will test its ability to restart, any errors during this process and you should see your local mechanic.
 * Updates –** Keep everything updated!

All these things are steps done in an individual scale. However there are bigger scales of movements taken into extending a computer’s life in order to avoid stacking of eWaste.