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Top 10 Basic computer user tips
There are thousands of basic computer tips on this website alone, however in
this article I am going to narrow it down to only the top 10 tips. These
computer tips will be extremely handy for the newbie computer user.
- Learn how to shutdown your computer correctly. This is very important and
is often taken for granted. If you do not shut down the computer correctly it
can cause an endless amount of problems. When a computer is shut down
suddenly, and without warning, the computer is usually in the middle of an
operation. The main problem is that if an operation is interrupted it usually
remains unfinished and leaves stray or corrupt files lingering on your
computer.
Tips to shut down your computer
- Know where to store your files the files that you create. You should
not save files just anywhere on your computer. Everything you save or
create should go into your documents folder in Windows XP. The documents
also has other folders in it such as my pictures and my music. On Windows
Vista you need to save your files in your username section. For example my
username is Mitz. this folder has documents, pictures, music, and so on in
it. You should not save files in C: drive or even in C:\Program Files. See
How to organize computer files and create new folders
and
Organize your Computer
- Install programs to the correct location on C: drive. This is an easy
task, as all program , by default, get installed in C:\Program Files.
Unfortunately sometimes people presume they need to choose where to
install a program and change the default destination.
- Do not change default settings. "If it is not broke, don't fix it."
People touch things they are not supposed to and cause problems. Most of
the time if you just use your computer, and not fiddle with its settings,
then your computer will run smoothly and without problems.
- Uninstall nagging trial programs and unused programs in the correct
way. See how to
Remove Programs. It is important to know how to do
certain tasks correctly, and removing programs is one of them. Too many
people think that if they remove the desktop icon, then the program has
been deleted also. This is not true. Each program has files scattered in
different locations on you computer hard drive. These need to be removed
by correctly and thoroughly.
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- Complete a computer basics course. It will save you money on repairs
in the end. People can easily rip you off when repairing computers.
- Learn how to perform computer maintenance and stick to a schedule. See
Mitz's computer maintenance checklist There are also some free programs in
the
Freeware
that will help you keep you computer running
smoothly.
-
Buy an antivirus program if you plan to be on the internet.
Don't skimp on this one. Getting a virus can crash your entire computer and even
damage hardware components. It is not worth risking your computers health by
skimping on a an antivirus program. Free antivirus programs are ok in some
circumstances, however they cannot protect you when you get hit by a serious
virus.
- Perform regular updates. This is a great basic computer tip that is often
overlooked. This includes downloading and installing Windows
updates and Antivirus definition updates. They are both as important as each
other. Firstly Windows updates usually contain necessary patches and updates
that keep your computer up to date and ready for almost anything. Without
these updates, your computer could be vulnerable to attacks and also prone to
problems with programs. The updates are there to keep your computer up with
the times, not to spy on you, as some people might think. Also updating your
virus definitions is a vital process and needs to be performed to keep your
computer safe. If you do not update your virus definitions, your virus checker
will only be looking for outdated viruses, not the newly developed ones.
- Backup your files. The best thing to do with your files is to store them
on a separate partition or hard drive to the operating system. For example if
you had C: drive and D: drive you should have Windows installed on C: drive
and your saved files D: drive. This way if your computer crashes then the
files will still be safe...But this does not mean you do not have to backup
important files. You should have two copies of any important files and they
should be stored in different locations. For example if you saved a group of
photos in C:/users/mitz/pictures you should not store the second copy on C:
drive. You could backup the file to an external hard drive or even a disc.
See
What to Backup
About the Author
Mitz wrote this article and others for
tips4pc.com Browse
for more articles that are written in an easy to understand
way. Also see our very popular
Video Tutorials page. Watching
a video is a very easy way to learn about computers.
I hope you've found this tutorial clear and easy to
understand. If you have more questions, feel free to visit our
FORUM and we'll be
happy to help.
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