Ever Checked If It’s Already Time To Clean Your PC?

Time to clean your PC the right way!Get ready for PC spring cleaning time! If you think about it – Do you still remember the last time you had your PC cleaned? Old files off your pc? If you don’t remember when, then maybe it’s time to clean!

No worries, many people don’t have the spare time set aside to clean their computer, but they do have the time to notice that their computer is slowing down. The regular cleaning of your PC and its parts, especially since most are in a restaurant environment, can keep your system running perfectly and help protect you from unwanted problems. This can also get your restaurant Point of Sale system up and working mothly.

You may find the below tips easy to follow for spring cleaning your PC:

1. Begin with your mouse. You might not suspect it, but your mouse could hold lots of harmful bacteria that may cause illness. Use a small amount of cleaning solution on a lint free cloth to clean your mouse regularly. If you or other users have been sick, you may want to do this more often..

2. Cleaning your keyboard. Keyboards collect a lot of tiny dirt from you – little crumbs the snacks you were munching on, dust from papers going across the desk, and sometimes even from your unwashed hands on the keyboard. Getting your keyboard cleaned is a piece of cake, first you must turn off your PC, unplug all wires and take your keyboard to a trash can. Gently turn it upside down, so it won’t fall to the ground, and lightly shake it or use compressed air to remove any dirt beneath the keys.

After getting rid of the dirt from around the keys, use cotton {swabs|buds} with a small amount of cleaning solution like isopropyl alcohol to clean in between the keys. Next use a lint free cloth with a little bit of cleaning solution to wipe the tops of all the keys. Finish up by wiping the whole keyboard with a dry cloth.

3. Cleaning your PC. This is the actual computer component that your monitor, keyboard and mouse plug in to is either a tower or desktop unit. These units can collect an astonishing amount of dust and debris, especially if they are placed on the floor. Did you just look down at your tower baffled? If so, then it’s definitely time for a spring cleaning!

Again, with the same cloth and cleaning solution you used for your mouse and keyboard, wipe down the outside vents and around the connections. The key is making sure you get as much dirt as you can out of the vents. The more dust is in there, the more likely your computer is going to overheat.

4. Dump the trash. How long has it been since you emptied the recycle bin? The recycle bin temporarily stores your deleted files before they are permanently removed from your computers hard drive. To empty the recycle bin is easy, all you have to do is right click on the “trashcan” icon, then choose “yes” and it will permanently remove all files giving you more free space for your hard drive.

5. Clear the cache. Another disk space hog can be temporary internet files that have never been deleted. To delete temporary internet files within MS Internet Explorer, open IE, click on Tools -> Internet Options. Under the Browsing History section, you will see a button labeled “ Delete…”. Click it and you will see several choices like Temporary Inter Files, Cookies, History, Form data and Passwords, which you can delete whenever you want.

Down here is a brief description each choices under the Browsing History section:

Temporary Internet Files – Deleting the temporary internet files will remove copies of webpages, images and media that are saved on your computer for {faster|quick} viewing.

Cookies – Deleting the cookies will remove the files stored on your PC by websites to save preferences such as login information.

History – This option will delete the list of websites you have visited.

Form Data – This will delete any saved information that you have typed into forms.

Password – This option contains all passwords that are automatically filled in when you log on to your online accounts. Deleting this will remove all stored information from all websites you’ve visited.

There is also a Delete All button that will clear all of the above.

This should help starting the spring with a clean, healthy PC!

The author of this article is the Vice President of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants. With over 20 years of restaurant POS solutions experience, POS-For-Restaurants helps you use your technology to be more efficient and more profitable.

More information on our website: POS-For-Restaurants.com