Housekeeping Your PC
Housekeeping Your PC
for WINDOW 7
Course documentation
Material at:sussex.ac.uk/its/training/material/housekeeping
University of Sussex
IT Services
University of Sussex IT Services
Updated: June 2011
Created: December 2002
Summary of Good Housekeeping
Housekeeping Your PC
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 SUMMARY OF GOOD HOUSEKEEPING .......................................................................... 1 FIRST THINGS FIRST - BACKING UP YOUR DATA ........................................ 2 WHERE TO BACK UP YOUR FILES ................................................................................. 2 HOW TO BACK UP YOUR FILES ..................................................................................... 2 SECURITY ................................................................................................................... 3 SETTING UP SAFE PASSWORDS .................................................................................... 3 TO SET OR CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD ......................................................................... 3 ADD A NEW USER TO YOUR COMPUTER ....................................................................... 3 VERSIONS OF WINDOWS AND OFFICE ......................................................................... 4 DEALING WITH VIRUSES AND OTHER NASTIES ........................................................... 5 INSTALLING MSE ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE (FREE) ................................................... 5 DEALING WITH SPYWARE ........................................................................................... 6 CONFIGURE WINDOWS FILE NAMES ............................................................................ 6 INSTALLING WINDOWS AND OFFICE UPDATES............................................................ 7 SETTING UP TO AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOAD FUTURE UPDATES ................................ 7 MORE ABOUT OFFICE AND WINDOWS 7 ...................................................................... 7 READING EMAIL AT HOME .......................................................................................... 8 STUDENT EMAIL .......................................................................................................... 8 STAFF AND RESEARCH POSTGRADUATE EMAIL ........................................................... 8 PERFORMANCE ........................................................................................................ 9 DISK CLEANUP............................................................................................................ 9 DELETING TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES .................................................................... 9 FINDING AND DELETING TEMPORARY (TMP) FILES.................................................. 10 EMPTYING THE RECYCLE BIN ................................................................................... 10 DISK DEFRAGMENTER .............................................................................................. 11 CHECKING THE HARD DISK FOR ERRORS .................................................................. 11 REMOVING UNUSED SOFTWARE ............................................................................... 12 MANUALLY DELETING A FILE OR FOLDER ................................................................ 12 FINDING OUT MORE ............................................................................................. 13 Housekeeping Your PC
Introduction
Introduction
A computer, like a car, needs regular maintenance. It is possible to do nothing and let
your computer slowly come to a grinding halt, either by virus attack or neglect.
This document is intended to provide a few suggestions on how to improve security
and performance of your PC at home. It assumes that you are using Microsoft
Windows 7 and have an Internet connection supplied by an ISP (Internet Service
Provider).
Summary of Good Housekeeping
This following table summarises the tasks to be completed and gives a guide to the
frequency of each task.
Task
How
Often
1.
Keep virus checking
software up to date
Daily/
Weekly
Update your virus definitions. Done
automatically or by manual updates
2.
Use Disk Cleanup
Weekly/
Monthly
See Disk Cleanup section in this guide
3.
Backup
Weekly/
Monthly
Back up to CD/Zip or other
4.
Defrag
3 to 6
Monthly
Use disk defragmenter
5.
Delete unwanted
Files
Monthly
Manually search through your hard disk to
ensure that files no longer used are deleted.
6.
Empty the Recycle
Bin
Monthly
Be sure to empty the Recycle Bin
7.
Scandisk/ Chkdsk
Monthly
Use Scandisk
8.
Windows and
Microsoft Office
Update
Automatic
Go to:
Use Anti-Spy ware
Monthly
Update spyware definitions and run a deep
scan (thorough) check.
10. Check MSE
(Microsoft Security
Essentials)
Annually
Check for new versions of software as
released by IT Services
11. Check Anti-Spy ware
Annually
Check for new versions of software as
released by vendor
9.
How to do it!
windowsupdate.microsoft.com
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Where to back up your files
Housekeeping Your PC
First Things First - Backing up your Data
Before starting any updates of your OS system (Windows) you should backup any
important files (CVs, reports, essays, and dissertations).
Where to back up your files
The following are some storage devices and locations to consider.
•
External hard drive
•
CD
•
DVD
•
USB flash drive
•
Online backup and storage service
How to back up your files
A good step-by-step guide for backing up files in Windows 7 is:
microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/features/backup-and-restore.aspx
For more information also see:
sussex.ac.uk/its/help/guide?id=50
sussex.ac.uk/its/help/guide?id=51
And to back up your Internet Explorer bookmarks see:
sussex.ac.uk/its/helpdesk/faq.php?faqid=972
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Housekeeping Your PC
Security
Security
Setting up Safe Passwords
Passwords add a level of security to your computer. When sharing a computer with
others, your customized settings, computer programs and system resources are more
secure when you assign a password to your user account. Some passwords are better
than others. A password that is easy to guess or break into is described as WEAK.
You can help to protect your information by choosing a STRONG password. Strong
passwords are described in:
microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/passwords-create.aspx
To Set or change your password
When you are logged in:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Click
> then select Control Panel
Select User Accounts
Click Create a password, or Change the password
Type the new password
Type the new password in again to confirm
Type some descriptive or meaningful text to use as a password hint to help
you remember your password
Click Create or Change Password
Add a new user to your computer
If more than one person is using your computer, then you should create separate user
accounts for each person. When you are logged in:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
> then select Control Panel
Click
Select User Accounts
Select Manage another account
Select Create a new account
Type a name for the new user account
Click either Standard user or Administrator, depending on the type of
account you want to assign to the new user
Click Create Account
Then you can select the user account to change the picture or add a password
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Versions of Windows and Office
Housekeeping Your PC
Versions of Windows and Office
To find out which version of windows your have:
•
•
•
> All programs > Accessories > and choose Run (or you can
Click
Click
and type run into the Start Search box)
Type winver in the box, and click OK
A box will pop up showing you the version of Windows and which service
packs you have installed
The box below was taken from a machine running Windows 7 Enterprise with no
Service Packs:
To find out which version of Office you have:
It is useful to know which version of Office (Word, Excel etc) you have installed
when discussing problems or looking for relevant information.
In Word 2007:
•
•
•
•
Start Word
then click Word Options at the
Click the Microsoft Office Button
bottom of the window
Click Resources, and then click about Microsoft Office Word 2007
A window will appear that tell you what version and service pack level of
Office 2007 you have
In Word 2003:
•
•
•
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Start Word
From the Help menu choose About Microsoft Word
A window will appear that tells you what version and service pack level of
Office 2003 you have on your PC
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Housekeeping Your PC
Security
Dealing with Viruses and Other Nasties
This section briefly describes computer viruses and how to protect your computer by
using Anti-Virus software.
What is a computer virus?
A computer virus is a program that has been written with malicious or mischievous
intent. This is called a virus because it will usually include some mechanism to copy
itself to other computers and therefore spreads in a similar way to a biological
infection.
A combination of anti-virus software and regular updating of Windows and Office
will help to protect your computer.
Anti-Virus software has to contend with new types of virus appearing daily. So, it is
important to regularly update your anti-virus software definition list (not the software
itself but the list of all viruses). Anti-Virus software on IT Services computers has
been configured to update its definitions list daily.
Installing MSE Anti-Virus Software (FREE)
Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is the free antivirus software that we recommend
for home users.
Before installing any Anti-Virus software please ensure that you do not have any
Anti-Virus software already installed. Running two Anti-Virus packages could cause
your PC to become unstable but there are special removal tools that you can use to
delete Anti-Virus software that you no longer need.
To remove Anti-Virus software, see the section on “Removing Unused Software”.
We recommend that you disconnect your computer from the Internet before
uninstalling one antivirus software product and installing another. This is because
your computer will not be protected while this is being done.
You can get a copy of MSE Anti-Virus software, and step-by-step installation
instructions, from the Microsoft Website at:
microsoft.com/security_essentials
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Dealing with Spyware
Housekeeping Your PC
Dealing with Spyware
Several other types of malicious programs are not detected by anti-virus software;
these are known as malware or spyware. These have become common on the
Internet and many computers have become infected with them. These programs can
compromise your privacy and cause your computer to run slowly.
Malwarebytes and SpyBot are two tools that can help you to get rid of spyware. Free
versions are available for personal use, see:
sussex.ac.uk/its/services/programsandsoftware/software/owncomputer
Notes:
To install Malwarebytes click on the link to download the free software, select Save,
then when the download is complete run the software to install Malwarebytes on your
PC. You are recommended to run this program regularly to check your PC for
spyware.
When installing Spybot, you don’t need to donate, just click the download button for
the free version. There are several download sites that you can select. Select the site,
select Save, then when the download is complete run the software to install Spybot on
your PC. You are recommended to run this program regularly to check your PC for
spyware.
Configure Windows file names
Windows often hides the full names of files. This can make it more difficult to spot
files that might be unusual or harmful. You can make a simple change to see the full
file names in Windows 7:
•
Click
•
Click Folder Options
•
Click the View tab
•
Scroll down to the line Hide
extensions for known file types and
make sure the box next to it is
unchecked
•
Click OK
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> then select Control Panel
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Housekeeping Your PC
Security
Installing Windows and Office Updates
When Microsoft becomes aware of problems, especially security concerns, they
release updates (also called patches) to fix them. If you install Windows updates
regularly, you will avoid many potential problems.
If you haven’t installed updates before, they will take several hours to download. You
can decrease the amount of time necessary by installing the latest service pack first.
We strongly recommend that you install Service Packs which has many security
enhancements. A service pack for windows 7 will be available in 2011, see:
windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/service-packs
Once you have installed the latest service pack, you must visit the Microsoft Update
Site at:
update.microsoft.com
And get the updates that have been released since the service pack was issued.
Details of how to find out which version of Windows and which service pack you
have currently installed can be found in this booklet in the section called “Versions of
Windows and Office”.
Setting up to automatically download future updates
Once you have caught up with current critical Windows updates, you'll need to install
any new ones that come out. You can do this manually, or you can set up your
computer so that it happens automatically. Your computer will check for updates,
download them, install them at a time specified by you, and reboot all on its own. If
your computer is turned off at your selected installation time, it will perform the
installation the next time it is powered on. To set up the automatic updates, follow the
instructions at:
windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Install-Windows-updates
More about Office and Windows 7
You can find more information about Office and Windows 7 at the following URLs:
windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help
microsoft.com/office
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Reading Email at home
Housekeeping Your PC
Reading Email at home
For general information about your Sussex email account, see:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/its/services/programsandsoftware/emailandcalendar
Student email
All Sussex students are allocated 1GB of storage space. The Sussex student email
system allows emails of up to 50MB in size to be sent or received.
You can use webmail (roundcube) to read your email from home, by going to:
webmail.sussex.ac.uk/
For information about using webmail, go to:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/its/help/guide?id=1
Staff and research Postgraduate email
The Outlook Web App (OWA) is a very good way of using your email. There’s
nothing to install or configure and you can simply login with almost any web browser
including Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome.
All staff and research postgraduates are entitled to a calendar stored centrally on the
University's system which can be accessed from anywhere using OWA.
To use OWA:
Go to exchange.sussex.ac.uk/owa
•
Enter your normal username (e.g. ano23)
in the Domain\user name box
•
Enter your password and click Log On
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Housekeeping Your PC
Performance
Performance
You should periodically store (archive or backup) or throw out documents and files
just as you would with a paper based filing system. Your computer will then run more
smoothly.
Disk Cleanup
The disk cleanup program attempts to consolidate the removal of all unused and
temporary files. This is useful but you should also make regular checks yourself, even
if only to familiarise yourself with the structure of the file system on your hard disk
(the C drive). To delete the files manually see the information on the next page.
•
Click
> then in the search box type Disk Cleanup
lick on Disk Cleanup in the programs window, the following window will
appear:
•
Select the C: drive, click OK, then Disk Cleanup will calculate how much
space you can save and display the following window:
•
Each tick box can be selected to indicate the areas of the disk you wish to
delete unused files from, tick the boxes next to:
Temporary Internet Files
Temporary files
Recycle bin
Click OK to delete the selected files
•
Deleting Temporary Internet Files
When you browse web pages, Internet Explorer automatically saves a lot of the
information into a temporary folder. This helps to speed up web browsing but the
temporary files take up space on your computer. You should regularly remove
temporary internet files from Internet Explorer:
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Finding and Deleting Temporary (TMP) files
•
•
•
•
•
Housekeeping Your PC
Start Internet Explorer
From the Tools menu, choose Internet Options
Under the General tab, click the Delete button
Now you can delete you temporary internet files, cookies,
history, form data and passwords that have been saved by
Internet explorer
Click Delete
Finding and Deleting Temporary (TMP) files
Temporary files have the suffix “.tmp”. They are created temporarily by Windows
programs and Utilities, such as Word and are normally deleted when the program is
closed down.
Temporary files should be automatically stored in a TEMP directory. However, it’s
possible with Windows that a number of TEMPorary locations have been set-up for
each user. To find and manually delete these files:
•
•
Click
In the search box type %temp%
An explorer window will appear with the names of all folders and files on your PC,
which contain temporary files. You can then select any file or folder you want to
delete and press the <<delete>> key on the keyboard to send the file or folder to the
Recycle Bin.
Emptying the Recycle Bin
When you delete files, they end up in your Recycle Bin, to remove them completely:
•
•
•
Page 10
Double click the Recycle Bin icon
on your desktop
Check that all files in the Recycle bin are either backed-up or no
longer required
Select Empty Recycle Bin
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Housekeeping Your PC
Performance
Disk Defragmenter
Files on a disk can become fragmented. This means that files may be stored in two or
more chunks on different parts of your disk. This can slow down your system, as it
takes longer to read and write files that aren’t stored neatly in one place.
The disk defragmenter takes fragmented files and puts them back together so that the
hard drive doesn’t have to work as hard to get them.
By default Windows 7 Disk Defragmenter automatically defragments your hard
drive(s) on a schedule for you. A normal computer user should never have to deal
with the disk defragmenter in Windows 7. The Disk Defragmenter runs as a low
priority task in the background without affecting the performance of the computer. To
see, or modify the schedule:
•
•
•
Click
> then in the search box type Disk Defragmenter
Click on Disk Defragmenter in the programs window
The following window will appear:
Checking the Hard Disk for Errors
Errors can appear on your hard disk and may affect performance. You can use the
“check disk” tool to identify and possibly remove disk errors.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Click
•
To perform a complete check of your hard drive for
errors check both options in the check disk window that
pops up.
•
Click Start
Click Computer
Select the local disk you want to check (C)
Right click, click Properties, click the Tools tab
Under Error-checking, click Check Now
Click Continue
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Removing Unused Software
Housekeeping Your PC
Removing Unused Software
If you share your computer with other people or often install software to try-out, then
you will find that your hard disk (however large) may become full. Computer games
are particularly large, often requiring in excess of a Gigabyte of space. Consider
regularly looking at the software you have installed and deciding if it is still required.
•
•
•
•
•
Click > then select the Control Panel
Select Programs and Features
Wait until your list of installed programs appears
Select the program you want to remove and click the Uninstall button at
the top of the window
Wait for the program to be removed and follow any on-screen instructions
You may receive a message that parts of the software (file or folders) could not be
removed. This may be files that you have created yourself that were not installed by
the software (installer). In the case of computer Games this will be ‘game saves’ i.e.
information relating to your current status within a game. You may wish to back-up
these files or remove them manually.
Manually Deleting a File or Folder
It is useful to be able to find files or folders on your computer to delete them
manually. This is how to delete your program files using Windows Explorer:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Page 12
Click
Click Computer
Double click on the C: drive, a window will
open showing your folders
Double click the Program Files folder
Select the file or folder you want to delete and
press the <<Delete>> key on your keyboard
The file is moved to the recycle bin
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Housekeeping Your PC
Finding out more
Finding out more
There is lots of information on the ITS web pages:
sussex.ac.uk/its/help
There are plenty of web pages offering information about “using and maintaining
your computer”; here is a sample:
Security Advice
microsoft.com/security/default.aspx
Performance Advice
microsoft.com/atwork/getstarted/speed.mspx
Help and How to
windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help
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