Ever Checked If It's Already Time To Clean Your PC?

Aug. 28, 2009 - PRLog -- No worries, not too many people have the spare time set aside to clean their computer, but they do have the time to notice that their computer is slowing down. Regular cleanings of your keyboard, mouse and tower, especially since most are in a restaurant environment, can keep your system running smoothly and help you determine which files are still important from the ones that needed to be rid of. This can also get your restaurant Point of Sale system up and running perfectly as expected.

Below are some advices for spring cleaning:

1. Cleaning your mouse. No one ever suspects the little guy, but your mouse could hold many kind of harmful bacteria that may cause illness. Use a small amount of cleaning solution on a lint free cloth to clean the mouse every few weeks. If other people, using your computer, are getting ill because of it, you might want to do a more regular cleaning for your PC.

2. Clean your keyboard. Keyboards collect a lot of tiny dirt from you – little crumbs of food, dust from papers or folders going across the desk, and most of the times even from your unwashed hands on the keyboard. Getting your keyboard cleaned is not hard as it seems, first you have to turn off your PC, remove the plugs and take your keyboard to a trash can. Turn it upside down, to prevent it from falling to the ground, and lightly shake it or use compressed air to remove any dirt under the keys.

After you have cleared the debris from around the keys, use cotton {swabs|buds} with a small amount of cleaning solution like isopropyl alcohol to clean in between the keys. Next use a lint free cloth with a little bit of cleaning solution to wipe the top of all the keys. Finish up by wiping the entire keyboard with a dry cloth.

3. Clean your computer. The actual computer component that your monitor, keyboard and mouse plug in to is either a tower or desktop unit. These units can collect an astonishing amount of dirt, especially if they are placed on the floor. Did you just look down at your tower bewildered? If so, then it's definitely time for cleaning!

Using the same lint free cloth with sprinkles of solution, start wiping down the outside vents and around the connections. The key is to make sure you get as much dirt as you can out of the vents. The more dust, the more heat is produced.

4. Trashing old useless files. Can you still remember how long has it been since you visited the recycle bin and emptied its content? The recycle bin temporarily stores your trashed files before they are permanently removed from your PCs hard drive. To permanently remove all deleted files from the recycle bin, simply right click on the "trashcan" icon and select "Empty Recycle Bin", then choose yes among the "yes or no" options. This will remove all your recycle bin's content giving more free space on your hard drive.

5. Clear the cache. Another burden for your disk space which can be temporary internet files that have never been deleted for ages! To simply delete temporary internet files within Microsoft Internet Explorer, open IE, click on Tools -> Internet Options. At the Browsing History section, there's a button labeled "Delete". Click it and you will see several choices like Temporary Inter Files, Cookies, History, Form data and Passwords, which you can delete whenever you want.

Here’s a brief description of each choice:

Temporary Internet Files – Deleting this will remove all copies of the websites/webpages you've visited, images and media that are saved on your computer for {faster|quick} viewing.

Cookies – Also called the browser coockies, serves as the storage area where your web browser store bits of information. Deleting this will, remove all your website preferences such as login information.

History – Deleting the history will permanently remove all websites you have visited.

Form Data – This will delete any saved information that you have typed into forms.

Password – This option contains all passwords that are automatically filled in when you log on to your online accounts. Deleting this will permanently remove all saved info from all websites you've visited.

There's also the Delete button that can clear all info of the choices above.

So maintain a healthy PC! Always clean your computer regularly, especially if it is placed in an environment, like a restaurant kitchen, where dirts and spills are common.

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The author of this article is the Vice-President of Customer Relations at http://www.pos-for-restaurants.com with over 20 years of experience serving restaurants of all types throughout the U.S.

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