Computer maintenance in Townsville is a fickle thing. Through out the course of my week I always have customers who ask me or tell me they have been told they need to keep their computer maintained by an IT professional.

I have a lot of different customers in a lot of different industries, not just in Townsville but all over the world. Each customer is different and has different needs. Some are just small home users, others are businesses with servers and others are kiosk like setups where the general public use the computers.

Computer maintenance for the home user

For the most part where the public use the computers, constantly touching things they shouldn’t, and big server setups, indeed they do need constant computer maintenance. But, for the basic home user it is not really necessary.

I am sure many Townsville computer repair men jump at the opportunity to tell their customers, “Yes, service your computer and service it often with me”. But it is not the case.

I tell my customers for the most part your computer is designed to look after itself. The programs you install on your computer or that come with it are designed to do what they do any nothing else. It is usually us, humans who mess with things, add and delete computer components and software, causing problems.

Your computer does not need constant professional maintenance

So back to the original question. Does your computer need to be serviced and maintained by an I.T. professional? A lot of computer people in Townsville are going to hate me for saying this but the answer is a big fat no!

I always tell my customers, “You will know when your computer will need some maintenance or repairs. It will tell you by acting differently then how it usually operates. Thats when you will need me.”

When your computer starts going to web pages you didn’t ask it to, stopping and starting on its own, moving things around the screen by itself or any other time you become suspicions is probably when your computer, laptop, desktop, netbook, pc or notebook will need some professional maintenance.

What you can do to do some basic maintenance

1) Virus Scanning.

I know its obvious but it the biggest thing effecting the use of peoples computers in Townsville. I would say 75% of the people I visit are having problems with their computers due to viruses on their computer.

Contrary to popular belief most viruses do not put themselves onto your computer. Most people have put the viruses or spyware on their computer themselves mostly by downloading free software which has come bundled with nasties.

Make sure you antivirus is up to date and run it often!

2) Don’t uninstall if you are not sure. 

If you are not sure about the software you are downloading and installing don’t install it. Not only like mentioned above, it could contain viruses, but it could also be poorly made, conflict with existing software on your computer or over write date already sitting somewhere on your hard drive.

A quick search of google will result in an abundance of websites with information relating to what you intend to install on your computer.

3) Built in system clean up tools.

You computers Operating System eg. Windows 7 etc will come with a wide range of system clean up and maintenance tools and programs. They are not good for removing software or viruses but they are pretty great for maintaining parts of your computer and keeping them clean before problems arise.

They are also good for making space and removing unused files you may be collecting behind the scenes b visiting websites.

If in doubt call Townsville Nerds

If your not sure give us a call. I don’t mind pointing people in the right direction if they give me a call. If it is something I can quickly help you with over the phone I am always more than happy to do it.

If it is something more serious I also don’t mind coming out to your house and give you a 100% no obligation free quote. My number is 0402 807 890.