Best Practices for Preventive Maintenance

Just like we take care of our health or maintain our vehicles, computers also need regular attention to keep working properly. Preventive maintenance means doing simple tasks that help avoid bigger problems in the future. These tasks can improve your computer's speed, keep it secure, and help it last longer.

2.6.1 Disk Cleanup

After some time, the computer collects unnecessary files such as temporary internet files, system cache, Windows update files, and items in the Recycle Bin. These files take up space and may slow down system performance.

Disk Cleanup is a built- in Windows tool that helps remove such files safely.

1. Type Disk Cleanup in the Windows search bar and open the tool from the list. This opens a small window asking you to choose a drive to clean, as shown in Figure 2.6.
2. Select the drive you want to clean (usually C:) and click OK.
3. Check the boxes from the dialog box that appears after OK, as shown in Figure 2.6, for the types of files you want to delete.
4. Click OK to remove the selected files.