The document discusses computer maintenance and provides guidance on routine maintenance tasks that users can perform themselves as well as maintenance that requires an experienced professional. It recommends regularly cleaning computers and peripherals to remove dust, using utilities to defragment hard drives and free up disk space, and upgrading components like memory over time. Specialized maintenance like replacing power supplies or electrical parts should only be done by professionals.

1. 1
Lesson 4
Computer Maintenance
Computer Literacy
BASICS: A
Comprehensive Guide
to IC3, 3rd Edition
Morrison / Wells

2. Lesson 4
Objectives
 Identify problems that can occur if hardware
is not properly maintained.
 Identify routine maintenance that can be
performed by users.
 Identify maintenance that should be
performed by experienced professionals.
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3. Lesson 4
Vocabulary
 cable management
 corona wires
 cookie
 defragmentation
 ergonomic keyboard
 fragmentation
 maintenance
 Recycle Bin
 sectors
 seek time
 touchpad
 wireless keyboard
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4. Lesson 4
Introduction
 There are risks of computing if equipment is
not properly maintained, but there are
measures that can be taken to minimize
those risks.
 The type of maintenance determines whether
a professional or you as the computer user
should perform the maintenance tasks.
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5. Lesson 4
Maintenance Issues
 A computer is no different from a car—it
requires regular maintenance.
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 Managing computer cables is
an overlooked problem.
 Cable management kits are
available to organize and
protect cables.
Managing
cables

6. Lesson 4
Hardware Maintenance
 One of the best ways to cut down on
computer repair is through preventative
maintenance performed on a regular
schedule.
 As a general rule, you should clean a
computer every 3–6 months.
 In a dusty environment, you should clean it
more often.
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7. Lesson 4
Hardware Maintenance (continued)
 Keyboard and Mouse:
 Use a can of compressed air to remove dust
from the keyboard.
 Turn keyboard upside down if you spill liquid.
 Clean mouse rollers by removing the cover,
removing debris inside, and then
reassembling the mouse.
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8. Lesson 4
Hardware Maintenance (continued)
 Inkjet Printer:
 Access self-cleaning
mode through printer’s
control panel or use an
inkjet cleaning cartridge.
 Use a small vacuum or
roller cleaning sheets to
clean the printer rollers.
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9. Lesson 4
Hardware Maintenance (continued)
 Laser Printer:
 Should be cleaned when print quality deteriorates or
when you change the toner cartridge.
– Turn off printer and unplug it.
– Clean inside the toner opening.
– Remove paper fragments.
– Wipe up any spilled toner and dust.
– Clean the rollers.
– Replace the toner cartridge.
 Don’t brush or vacuum exposed corona wires.
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10. Lesson 4
Upgrades and Consumables
 Hardware components may be damaged
and need to be changed, or output and
production needs to be increased. This can
be enhanced by upgrading various
elements.
 Computer Memory:
 Adding RAM to a computer generally helps
increase performance, speed, and usability.
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11. Lesson 4
Upgrades and Consumables
(continued)
 Keyboards:
 Ergonomic keyboards
allow for a more
natural positioning of
your arms and hands.
 Wireless keyboard
reduces clutter and
improves mobility.
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12. Lesson 4
Upgrades and Consumables
(continued)
 Mouse:
 A variety of mouse devices are available, including
wireless, optical, ergonomic, and combinations.
 Touchpads can be used
instead of a mouse.
They sense the position
of your finger and move
the pointer accordingly.
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13. Lesson 4
Preventative Maintenance
 You should run utilities following a routine
maintenance schedule so that the computer can
run faster and more efficiently.
 Disk Defragmentation:
 Occurs when a piece of data is broken up into
many pieces that are not stored close together.
 The sectors are stored in blocks of nonadjacent
clusters, thus creating fragmented files.
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14. Lesson 4
Preventative Maintenance
(continued)
 Disk Defragmentation (cont):
 Disk seek time is one of the more time-consuming
elements in a computer’s
performance and can significantly slow the
speed of the processing cycle.
 Windows contains a defragmentation utility that
reduces the amount of fragmentation by
physically organizing the contents of the disk to
store the pieces of each file contiguously.
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15. Lesson 4
Preventative Maintenance
(continued)
 Recycle Bin:
 The Windows Recycle Bin is a holding area
for files and folders before their final deletion
from a storage device.
 Right-click the Recycle Bin icon to view the
contents.
 Right-click an item to access commands to
restore, cut, delete, or display properties.
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16. Lesson 4
Preventative Maintenance
(continued)
 Temporary Files:
 Created for three reasons:
– To free memory for other programs
– To act as a safety net to prevent data loss
– For printing
 Use Disk Cleanup utility to delete temporary
files and other files that are not needed.
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17. Lesson 4
Preventative Maintenance
(continued)
 Cookies:
 A cookie is a small
text file that a Web
site uses to identify a
specific computer.
 Used to gather
information; not a
threat to your
computer’s security.
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18. Lesson 4
Specialized Maintenance
 Some maintenance or repair should generally
be performed by a computer professional:
– Replacing the power supply or opening the power
supply case
– Replacing other electrical components
– Replacing the processor
– Replacing or adding a hard disk
– Replacing or adding additional RAM
– Monitor, printer, scanner problems
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19. Lesson 4
Summary
In this lesson, you learned:
 A computer requires maintenance on a regular
schedule to prevent problems such as the degrading
of the hard disk performance and monitor trouble.
 Damaged and poorly maintained cables can prevent
peripheral devices from communicating with the
computer. Unorganized and unprotected cables can
also create safety hazards. Cable management
should therefore be part of a regular computer
maintenance routine.
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20. Lesson 4
Summary (continued)
 To maintain the computer keyboard, use a
can of compressed air to remove the dust
from the keyboard every six months.
 Clean a mechanical mouse by removing its
bottom cover, removing debris from the
roller, and then reassembling the mouse.
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21. Lesson 4
Summary (continued)
 Printer maintenance helps to prevent many
common printing problems. Many inkjet printers
have a self-cleaning mode. If yours does not, use
an inkjet cleaning cartridge to flush dirt and debris
out of clogged printer nozzles. Clean a laser
printer when you change the toner cartridge.
 Adding computer memory often provides the best
value for increasing overall computer performance.
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22. Lesson 4
Summary (continued)
 All computers slow down as you work with them. To
improve or maintain computer efficiency, periodically
use Windows tools to defragment hard drives, empty
the Recycle Bin, delete temporary files, and remove
cookies.
 Some maintenance procedures are not suitable for the
average computer user, and should be performed by a
computer professional, such as replacing the power
supply or opening the power supply case, replacing
other electrical components, including the processor
and RAM, and adding an internal hard disk.
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