Running disc cleanup, scandisk and defragmenter regularly is a must. Keep your recycle bin emptied, and cache of your browsers cleaned.

Downloading too many programs and files can be a hazard. Games kids like to play require alot of hard drive with their special effects,graphics and colors.

Updating programs help out alot and often results in faster load time, and keeps up with technology. Windows updates are included in start menu. Many programs have updates files included. Another important update is antivirus software. New viruses are discovered every day and your antivirus program needs to cover new and potentially harmful viruses. This is another great way to lose important data and wipe out your whole system.

Email is culprit for unwanted viruses. Never open an email if you do not know where/who it is from and beware of attachments. Always scan your mail before opening,if your unsure of content....DELETE IT!

Starting from scratch is not fun and may take several days to accomplish. Reloading programs back into computer is time consuming and usually requires technical assistance. Check your warranty for additional information. If you are out of warranty, you may have to pay for repairs.

Additional hardware cause problems too, such as a backup unit for power outages,scanners, and printers. Be sure to service these often,check for wear and upgrade when needed.

I have an additional comment for those of you that want to save money, be aware those universal ink printer refills for any printer may not work for your printer. I thought I was saving money and results were a damaged printer,thus repairs. In my case, not only did I get ink all over my hands, ink leaked into my printer from cartridge and caused damage. You are much better off paying for cartridge that goes with printer, than trying to save money and end up paying 3 times cost in repairs. Last but not least....again...Never, ever think your computer is not vulnerable to sickness..Some never recover!

All of your Hardware runs with Drivers. You can find out model information and a lot more about them from "Control Panel". From your START button find SETTINGS, click on that then CONTOL PANEL. Once in CONTROL PANEL scroll down to SYSTEM and double click. The first window will give you information on maker of Puter and Processor plus how much Memory you have installed and version of Windows you have.

Next click on DEVICE MANAGER tab. You will see a listing of DEVICES in your Puter. By clicking + beside each item you can see what you need to find out what product is. You don't need to open SYSTEM DEVICES unless you are just curious. Now you get to play detective. Go get em, Columbo!

In most cases you can just do a search for manufacturer and go straight to their site. Drivers will usually be found under SUPPORT and should have download and installation instructions. You should check for updates at least every 6 to 8 weeks if not more often. Software updates are not as hard. Most of programs have a link in Help menu to go to their site and some even have an update link.

But before you start updating 3rd party software (Not Microsoft), you should get latest updates for your version of Windows. Hey, guess what? Gates made this one easy!

Click on START button then go up near top of column and you will see Windows Update. Sheer genius! Just click it. You will have to be connected to Internet first. When browser opens just click on Products Updates and your Puter will be searched for what needs to be updated. From there it is only a matter of following pretty simple instructions (simple? from Microsoft?). It really is pretty easy to do.

One more little thing before I leave you with all this confusion. I use a program for all my Software that isn't Microsoft from ZDNet called, you guessed it, Updates. http://updates.cnet.com There is a small download and then it will search your hard ' drive and give you a report of all available updates for your software then option to download updates. Best of all it is FREE! Subscribe, download program, get your updates and they will e-mail you a reminder to keep up with them.

Your life will be a lot easier and maybe you won't see so many of "The Blue Screen of Death" or "You have performed an ILLEGAL OPERATION, program will be shut down!" Cause ya didn't. It ain't your fault.