Comments on: Tom’s Tuesday Tech Tip: Clean Up Your Act (and Your PC While You’re at It)

By: Tom_Ziemba

Tom_Ziemba — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:22:53 +0000

Paula,
Your documents shouldn’t magically disappear. They’ll still be in the “My Documents” file or where ever else you stored them.

Whatever freeware you try should be able to see the documents. Just make sure that you pick one that is compatible with MS Office and can open .doc or .docx formats.

By: Paule Toon

Paule Toon — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:17:25 +0000

Thanks for the cleaning advice. Here is a “no-brainer” question for you. Almost two months ago I purchased a new computer. It is just about time for the free MS Office trial to expire. If I decide to use one of the freebees you recommended, what happens to the documents that have been saved through MS Office? Will I still be able to retrieve them? Will they some how interface with the new office suite applications? Thank you so much for all the tech info that you continue to offer. As you have probably guessed by now, I am trying to become “computer literate.” Have a good laugh on me and thanks for your continued support!

By: Tom_Ziemba

Tom_Ziemba — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:13:48 +0000

Claire,
I wouldn’t advise a cover as that will just retain the heat and defeat the fans.
If you don’t want to clean it yourself, take it to a shop (but be prepared for a computerless wait of a few days or more). Just make sure you let a professional do it (not the janitor).

By: Claire Hull, RN,CCM,CLNC

Claire Hull, RN,CCM,CLNC — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:53:00 +0000

Hi Tom.
Thanks for the reminders I think. Guilt abounds.
I just finished a large case and this is what happens. My desktop from all of the research and such is just loaded with things I have “saved” . Some of it I use, some of it never gets touched again. I’m not complaining. I love the cases, but the world around me seems to stop and I just focus and go! Sometimes, the computer isn’t turned off for days. (Either have I).

The poor fan on my computer sucks in so much dirt! It has “bunnies” coming out of the little air vents…. Usually when I’m working a case, if it’s big enough, everything around me seems to stop (including daily cleaning). it does get hot and I probably should be taken to the shed.
But I simply don’t have time. What about one of those computer covers. Do they work?

I think you told us once we should shut down the computer every now and then (I thought it was you). I shut my computer down last night. It had been on for several days, maybe 14 (just till we went to trial). Well, at least everything turned out well! All of that sucking dust might be the secret to good research, who knows?

I have a little guy who cleans my office, but my computer is off limits. Maybe I should have a change of heart and let him at least vacuum? I know you get busy. What do you do? Do you let someone else clean the computer?

By: Joyce Emilio, RN

Joyce Emilio, RN — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:55:12 +0000

Hi Tom!

Thank you for the reminder. It is time for me to clean my PC again.

Thank you, also, for all the tech information. It is always helpful.

By: Diana Schmitt, RN, BSN, CLNC

Diana Schmitt, RN, BSN, CLNC — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:15:42 +0000

The computer tech replaced a fan and cleaned out the inside of the modem for me. My home sets pretty close to a dirt road so dust is something I struggle with in my office and in my house. When I lived in town, I dusted very often. I have lived in the country for 25 years and I gave up trying to have a dust free environment a long time ago. However, I do try to keep my office equipment dusted and vacuumed. Thanks Tom for the do-it-yourself tips (anything the computer tech is willing to do I take advantage of).

By: Tom_Ziemba

Tom_Ziemba — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:53:45 +0000

Amy,
If your computer was pretty dust-bound, I’d strongly consider popping off the case and blowing out the inside. It’s not a necessity so you could put it off until your PC is 2 years old or so, if it wasn’t that dusty.

Regarding your “recovery drive,” most newer computers come with their hard drives “partitioned” (geek-speak for divided) into two drives, a C: drive where your programs and data reside, and a D: drive where information necessary to recover the computer in case of an upset reside.

To explain, if your computer were to crash, the crash would occur in the programs (and operating system) running on the C: drive, not in the D: drive. The files in your D: drive technically aren’t active and shouldn’t be affected by a crash. Then, in conjunction with your recovery CDs, you can restore your computer using those files in the D: drive. You’ll need to follow the instructions from Tech Support or your owners manual for your PC. If you haven’t created recovery CDs yet, pull out that manual or call Tech Support and get them created.

The files in your recovery drive should not be messed with under any circumstances so KEEP OUT. The files in your C: drive are fair game for deletion however. If you need to clean up your PC – do it in the C: partition — not your recovery drive.

By: Debbie M. Wuerl

Debbie M. Wuerl — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:29:56 +0000

That goes for me, too! Thanks for the reminders.

By: Amy Baker, RN

Amy Baker, RN — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:38:14 +0000

Guilty as charged! I was truly surprised one day when cleaning my desk and moving it in front of the window for a nicer view! The vents on my PC were covered with so much dust I was amazed. (And I really do vacuum every day!!)

I did take the time to clean the computer with the vacuum, but have to admit I did not take the case off, maybe I should?

Another question I would like to ask you is not related to the dust bunnies but to my drive ‘D’ which is my recovery drive. The resource meter states it is only 8% free, not to go into this drive as I could erase things if not done properly. Drive ‘C’ is my hard drive which is 68% free. I need to clean up this drive to increase my memory for my new cases when I receive them. In looking in the help section on the computer it says to make sure I have the ‘recovery discs’ in case something goes wrong. My question is this, do I go into this drive and try to clean it up, or take it to a tech person to do this for me? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I thoroughly enjoy your information blog and look forward to it every week, I have learned quite a lot from you regarding things I did not know existed!! Thank you, thank you, for all your information.