Bay of Isles Computers Support and Technical Tips

Bay of Isles Computers

63B Dempster Street
Esperance WA 6450

Ph: 08 9071 5542
Fax: 08 9071 5549

boic@boic.net.au

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Care & Maintenance of your New Computer

Keeping your computer clean
Shutting down your computer
Cleaning your mouse
Cleaning your printer
Do not restrict airflow
Correct Computer Posture
Deleting temporary files
System crashes
Deleting temporary internet files

Keeping Your Computer Clean
The first thing you should know about your new computer is how to keep it clean. Ideally, you should refrain from eating or drinking while working at your computer. Drinks spilled into the keyboard are among the most common accidents to computers. However, if your keyboard does get dirty, you can clean it with your vacuum cleaner and the brush attachment first. Then use a mild detergent or a mild alcohol based cleaner. The cleaning solution should be poured onto a paper towel that will not leave lintballs or an anti-static wipe.

Shutting Down Your Computer
You should always shut your computer down, by going to the start button on the Windows toolbar, hitting it and selecting Shut down. Then either choose shut down or restart depending on what you want to do. If you don't shut your computer down properly, it will create temporary files, and reduce the performance of your computer.

Cleaning your Mouse
You can also use the anti-static wipe in conjuction with your mild cleaning solution to clean your mouse. Just turn the mouse over on it's back, pop out the tracking ball by either popping off the cover or unscrewing it, depending on your mouse brand. Then clean the tracking ball, as well as inside the mouse especially the rollers.

Cleaning your Printer
Mild cleaning solution in conjuction with the anti-static wipes is also great for cleaning your printer. Just open up you printer by lifting the lid or panels, and use rubbing alcohol to clean the rollers. This will minimize paper jams and your headaches.

Do not Restrict Airflow
As part of keeping your computer clean and running smoothly, you should also be careful not to restrict the airflow surrounding your computer. Your system will generate a tremendous amount of heat that is cooled by an internal fan. The internal fan can fail because of dust and dirt that gets sucked into them. To avoid this,

Do not put your computer in an area with a lot of dust and dirt.
Do not stack books or other items on or around your computer.

Correct Computer Posture
Now that you know how to take care of your computer, it's important that you understand how to take care of you while you are working at the computer. Some guidelines you should follow to avoid eyestrain, carpal tunnel syndrome and neck and back injury:

Place the monitor on the desk at eye level. If the monitor is too low, set it on top of a monitor stand. If it is too high, tilt it accordingly or higher your chair.
Position keyboard so that when you type, your arms are at a 90 degree angle extending from your shoulder to your fingertips.
Make sure you did not tilt your wrists forward or backward when typing. Purchase a keyboard holder and mouse tray, if you are currently lifting your arms to type.
Your mouse should be located next to your keyboard. You should not have to stretch to reach your mouse.
Your feet should be placed flat on the floor while you type and your legs should be at a 90 degree angle.
You should sit up straight and maintain a good posture. The best chair to sit in while working on your computer is a high back chair with lumbar support.
If you spend long periods of time working at the computer, you should take a break every 30 minutes to relax your eyes. Get up from your desk and look away from the computer about 20 feet and try to focus on something else for a couple minutes.

And that's it, that's all you need to know to enjoy your computer experience without injury.

Deleting Temporary Files
Open Windows Explorer and go to: C:\Windows\Temp\ Select only those files that end with .tmp and hit the delete key.

System Crashes
Windows temporary files are created when your computer system crashes. System crashes will happen from time to time on any computer. They can be caused by software conflicts, hardware conflicts or other reasons.

If Windows freezes or gives you a General Protection Fault - restart Windows and try it again.
Try reinstalling the application software or the Windows operating system if you get frequent errors. It is possible a needed file was deleted, moved or overwritten by a previous file version.
Surf the web for patches or updates for your software or hardware components.

Deleting Temporary Internet Files
Temporary internet files are created as you surf the internet. Every time you go to a website, the HTML and pictures on the website are cached (stored) on your hard drive. This is nice for sites that you bookmark or visit often. Because once the images are cached on your hard drive, it will load faster every time you go back. But after awhile, this can build up on your hard drive.
To delete temporary internet files, go to Windows Explorer and go to:

C:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files (for Microsoft Internet Explorer) or
C:\Program Files\Netscape\Users\Your Username\Cache (for Netscape Communicator)

Select only those files you wish to delete, and hit the delete key.