In my “PC to the Cleaners” thread, I’ve dusted you off, cleaned out your private data and today I’ll speed up your computer (at least infinitesimally). My final topic on cleaning is how to clean up (and out) your hard drive.
Technically we’re in the midst of spring. After fall, summer, winter and my birthday, spring is my favorite time of year. But Spring carries with it special responsibilities and one of those is to take care of the computer you use in your legal nurse consulting business.
My hard drive is filling up fast and getting slower than an office nurse. I’ve only got about 320 GB total space, and with all my photos, music, audio and video recordings and legal nurse consulting business-related documents, it’s darn near full. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s time to clean things up before I run into serious issues.
One of your New Year’s resolutions should be to clean up not just your act, but also your computer. In prior Tech Tips I’ve talked about physical maintenance, file maintenance and hard drive maintenance, so this blog is about removing those programs you no longer use. Every flavor of Windows® comes with an uninstall program. It’s located in the Control Panel with the name Add or Remove Programs. Just about every peripheral device (printers, wireless cards, etc.) comes with associated software and, like most other programs, often has its own uninstall routine that usually works pretty well. My problem with the Windows uninstaller is that it runs slowly and Add or Remove doesn’t reflect everything installed on your computer. Plus, just about every uninstaller tends to leave odd bits, files and folders on your computer and in your Windows Registry, which over time can affect performance.
As even the most astute of my CLNC amigos has noticed it’s November and we’re about six months past Spring (depending upon how you measure the seasons). That means that not only is it Fall and you have to get up, but that it’s been some time since you’ve done any Spring-cleaning in your home, your office and especially your computer and legal nurse consulting files.
Last week I explained to Certified Legal Nurse Consultants how to delete a file when Windows® won’t let you. This week, I want to remind you that it’s a good idea to do an occasional spring or early summer cleaning of your documents, photos, folders and files. Take some time and make sure you find all the legal nurse consulting flotsam and jetsam (not to mention detritus and other cosmic debris).
The other day, an Institute staff member came into my office and complained that her computer was running slowly. I asked her if it was slower than normal and she looked at me sort of funny, then said yes. We went back to her desk to assess things. She had her usual 30 programs running with more open windows than a New Orleans nunnery in the summer.
I then asked when she had last turned off her computer.
Three weeks ago I bought and installed a larger, faster hard (disk) drive for my laptop. The old drive sat safely locked in a desk drawer waiting for disposal, until last Friday. That evening I took it home and hammered it to death in the street while one of the neighbor’s kids watched.
*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.
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