Having a computer is a must in this 21^st century, considering that office work and school related work is heavily carried out on them. Not only that, but computers allow us to catch up with old friends, watch funny videos on the internet, and learn new things.

With heavy usage, computers are likely to face a lot of problems and as a owner, it’s your duty to make sure that you are doing everything that you can to keep your computer working well.

To help you make that happen,  we are going to list down some maintenance things that you can do in order to keep your computer fast.

13 Maintenance Tips For Computers That You Can Do At Home

1. Clean fans

The first thing that you want to do in order to keep your computer fast is to make sure that the fans of your computer are clean.

In order to benefit out of the fans, you need to clean them once each month, considering that dust build up can travel from one fan to other components in your computer, which can then travel other fans, and the cycle keeps on going. After some time, dust build up can worsen and can slow down your fans and in the worst case scenario, they can stop working.

When cleaning the fans, try to bring them out of the case, clean them with a brush or a blower. You can also use a wet cloth to remove the small dust particles that are present on the fans.

Please do keep in mind that you cannot submerge the fans in water when you are cleaning them. They have a motor inside them, so it’s important to keep them away from water.

2. Get a genuine Windows copy

Another thing that you want to do is try to get yourself a genuine copy of Windows OS. May it be Windows 10 or the Windows 11, you need to get one so you can get updates and keep your data safe all the time.

Before you install Windows in your old PC, you wan to backup the files that you currently have. Doing this will help you out a lot in just copy pasting the things that you need in the OS that you are about to get. Also, try to buy keys on the internet, they are way cheaper and can help you the hassle of going out of your house and driving to your local tech store.

3. Empty Recycle Bin

 The third thing that you want to do is empty the Recycle Bin in your Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer, considering that it can have over 2GB of trash inside it all the time. If you have never cleaned it, boy oh boy, you need to go and check it out.

Try to clean your Recycle Bin every 2 to 3 months, especially if you download and delete a lot of files. Doing this will give you some extra space and can remove malware that’s just sitting in your computer to get restored and attack again.

4. Keep Windows Up To Date

 The fourth thing that want to do is make sure that your Windows is always up to date. Yep, it’s important to keep your OS updated all the time, considering that each update brings security updates, protection updates, security features and many more updates on bugs and errors that you might be facing.

Also, try to subscribe to the Windows Insider Program, this one allows you to get features that are not even out and if you have genuine Windows 10 right now and enrol in this program, you can get the beta version of Windows 11.

Try to turn on Auto-Update on your computer and set the automatic update time during night time, when you are sleeping. This can help you get updates overnight when your computer is placed in sleep.

5. Cable Management

 Not only technical things, but you also want to look into cable management, considering that they are the ones that are keeping your computer on and if something goes wrong with them, your entire computer can go kaboom in just a matter of seconds.

Try to frequently check that your wires are properly inserted in the motherboard sockets and other places. It’s important to do this at least one a month or after you clean your computer or send it out for some repairs. Double checking will not hurt, so try to check everything properly.

If you have a fully-modular PSU, it’s important to check that one out too!

6. Restart PC from time to time

If you are placing your computer in sleep after heavily using it, it’s time to restart it, especially if you have not done it in 10 to 20 days.

The point of restarting or shutting it down properly is that you are allowing all the applications to shut down properly, once you turn it on, all the apps start from the top, meaning that they require less RAM to run and if they were facing any bugs, they will be gone.

Also, in order for the updates to get installed in your computer, you are required to restart your computer. So try to do yours from time to time. We suggest you to properly shut off your computer on a daily basis and only turn it on once you are about to using it.

7. Delete The Programs You Don’t Use Anymore

 The seventh thing that you need to do is try to delete the programs that you are no longer using or the ones that are looking suspicious to be in your computer along with the apps that just appeared in your computer after you installed something.

Deleting such programs will help you get more space, remove potential malware and help you keep all your data and security away from harmful people. Also, this can help you make your computer faster.

8. Scan computer for virus

Windows Defender is enough to keep your computer safe, but sometimes, even the greatest protectors fall. This is why it’s good to scan your computer for viruses and malware programs or files that could have bypassed the security of your device.

We suggest you to download a anti-virus software for this one, considering that you need to be sure and there are some chances that your Windows Defender might not detect the viruses and malware that are present in your device.

Some of the best anti-virus softwares are:

• Norton
• McAfee
• Bitdefender
• Avast
• Kaspersky

 9. Keep Important Documents On Cloud

The reason why we are listing this one in maintenance is because of the fact that maintenance also means you are doing ever precautionary thing. When it comes to computers, anything can happen anytime, considering that they are machines.

If you are trying to keep all your important files in one place, a secure one and really accessible, it’s good to invest in cloud storing.

Try to upload your documents, videos, and pictures in cloud storage, considering that your computer might face problems out of a sudden. Storing important files on the cloud will help you keep all your data and files safe in case your PC goes out due to some hardware problems.

10. Add Password

 Another thing that you want to do is add a password on your profile, considering that it adds another layer of security over your computer, especially from hackers or people that want to know what you are doing in your personal computer.

Try to add a password that is not easy to crack, is long, and has special characters. This will make it impossible for someone to hack into your computer or to forcefully get in your machine when you are not home.

11. Create Profiles For Different Users

 If you are trying to keep your private files safe from other people, it’s time for you to create profiles for different users. If you have a family computer, create a profile for each person that’s inside your house and tell them to use their profile when they are going to use the computer. This will allow everyone to have files saved in their profiles and allows everyone to keep good privacy.

One thing we want you to do in this one is add password in each profile that you create, considering that it’s important to respect privacy.

12. Keep drinks away

 The 12^th thing that you want to do is keep the drinks away. Yep, a lot of people destroy their keyboards and mice because they accidentally spill the drink over their accessories. Not only that, but if they get into the wire of your computers, it could destroy your computer too.

13. Use light browsers

 If you do not have a lot of RAM in your computer, its time to get rid of Google Chrome. Yep, sorry to say this but that one needs to get out of your computer, considering that this app is literally one of the most power hungry applications that have ever been created.

This one alone can eat up at least 2GB to 4GB of RAM and if you only have 8GB of RAM, it’s time to use FireFox or Microsoft Edge. Going with them will help your laptop spend more power on other important things rather than just a single application.

Did we miss out anything in the list above? Let us know what we missed out by leaving a comment in the comments section below!