{"id":1632,"date":"2022-02-28T06:22:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T11:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.mountdesales.net\/?p=1632"},"modified":"2022-02-14T15:35:44","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T20:35:44","slug":"keep-your-computers-running-smoothly-avoid-headaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tech.mountdesales.net\/?p=1632","title":{"rendered":"Keep your computers running smoothly &#8211; avoid headaches!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Full article is at <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/article\/how-to-keep-your-remote-work-setup-running-smoothly-with-regular-maintenance\/\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/article\/how-to-keep-your-remote-work-setup-running-smoothly-with-regular-maintenance\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Computers and laptops really do need regular maintenance to keep running. NONE of this is difficult, but will avoid a LOT of headaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1633\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/tech.mountdesales.net\/?attachment_id=1633\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tech.mountdesales.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/computer_repair_pc-maintenance-stimulated-boredom.jpg?fit=1200%2C850&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1200,850\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"computer_repair_pc-maintenance-stimulated-boredom\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tech.mountdesales.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/computer_repair_pc-maintenance-stimulated-boredom.jpg?fit=474%2C336&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tech.mountdesales.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/computer_repair_pc-maintenance-stimulated-boredom.jpg?resize=403%2C285&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1633\" width=\"403\" height=\"285\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tech.mountdesales.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/computer_repair_pc-maintenance-stimulated-boredom.jpg?resize=1024%2C725&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tech.mountdesales.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/computer_repair_pc-maintenance-stimulated-boredom.jpg?resize=300%2C213&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tech.mountdesales.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/computer_repair_pc-maintenance-stimulated-boredom.jpg?resize=150%2C106&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tech.mountdesales.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/computer_repair_pc-maintenance-stimulated-boredom.jpg?resize=768%2C544&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tech.mountdesales.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/computer_repair_pc-maintenance-stimulated-boredom.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tech.mountdesales.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/computer_repair_pc-maintenance-stimulated-boredom.jpg?w=948&amp;ssl=1 948w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 403px) 100vw, 403px\" \/><figcaption>It does NOT look like this!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"every-week\">EVERY WEEK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Check for Updates<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Shut down the device<\/strong> [don&#8217;t just restart]. Wait a few minutes. THEN turn them back on.<ul><li>It REALLY DOES solve a variety of mysterious issues. <\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Clean up<\/strong> &#8211; use a cloth to remove dust and fingerprints and all the other ickiness from your device.<ul><li>Most microfiber cloths will do just fine. You do NOT have to go buy something &#8220;computer specific&#8221;.<\/li><li>Clean the webcam as well.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"every-month\">EVERY MONTH<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Refresh your internet connection<\/strong> &#8211; unplug your cable modem, router, switches &#8211; any gizmo relating to your internet connection. Wait a couple of minutes, then turn them back on.<ul><li>It will take several minutes for all the device to reconnect and get settled in. <em>Go have a glass of sweet tea while you wait, and take a deep breath.<\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Check your accounts. <\/strong>Go to \u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/haveibeenpwned.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Have I Been Pwned<\/a>\u00a0to see if any of your accounts have been in a data breach. Apple&#8217;s Safari Browser as well as Google Chrome might also prompt you about accounts that have been compromised.<\/li><li><strong>Check your backups<\/strong> &#8211; you DO have a back up of important data?<ul><li>If you don&#8217;t, you&#8217;d best get on that right now. Machines DO fail &#8211; it is only a matter of time.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"every-year\">EVERY YEAR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Review your setup. Retire anything you don&#8217;t use<\/strong>.<ul><li>That is a great idea from a security perspective, could save money on your power bill, and will certainly help declutter your space.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Document your setup<\/strong> &#8211; write it down! How are things connected, what gizmos do you have in the house, serial numbers, etc.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Full article is at https:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/article\/how-to-keep-your-remote-work-setup-running-smoothly-with-regular-maintenance\/ Computers and laptops really do need regular maintenance to keep running. NONE of this is difficult, but will avoid a LOT of headaches. EVERY WEEK Check for Updates Shut down the device [don&#8217;t just restart]. Wait a few minutes. THEN turn them back on. It REALLY DOES solve a variety &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/tech.mountdesales.net\/?p=1632\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Keep your computers running smoothly &#8211; avoid headaches!<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[111],"tags":[413,445,588,507,587,402,508],"class_list":["post-1632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-make-tech-easier","tag-computer","tag-fix","tag-headache","tag-maintenance","tag-prevent","tag-problems","tag-repair"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42ogX-qk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1314,"url":"https:\/\/tech.mountdesales.net\/?p=1314","url_meta":{"origin":1632,"position":0},"title":"Basic iPad Advice","author":"Tom Rule","date":"03\/23\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are some things to check and some things to do to prevent some headaches with your iPad: Reboot Do the iPad reboot dance - DON'T just shut it down, you MUST swipe out of all your running apps. THEN shut it down, wait 20 seconds, crank it back up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;iPads&quot;","block_context":{"text":"iPads","link":"https:\/\/tech.mountdesales.net\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":882,"url":"https:\/\/tech.mountdesales.net\/?p=882","url_meta":{"origin":1632,"position":1},"title":"AppleID &#8211; Are you signed in?","author":"Tom Rule","date":"08\/23\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"If you are NOT signed in to your iCloud\/AppleID account, then Find My iPad will NOT work. 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