The Really Easy Stuff
There are simple computer maintenance procedures that anyone can do on their own. They don’t require tons of skill and when done regularly will help keep your computer from becoming fat and sassy.

This site is devoted to Windows based PCs, specifically Windows XP computers. Visit a MAC site or a Linux site for other assistance.

Empty Your Recycle Bin

If you kept trash around in your house for weeks, months, or years it would begin to stink. Computer trash doesn’t stink but it does use up space that your computer might need for better things. Do this every few weeks.

1. Locate the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop and open it. (Double click)
2. Scan the list of files in the recycle bin to see if you really do want to get rid of everything there,
3. If so, click on the Empty the Recycle Bin link. When it asks you if you’re sure, tell it yes.
4. If there’s something you want to keep, select that item and then select the restore the item link. You can restore everything by selecting the Restore All Items link when nothing is selected. (Remember to select an item you click on it once.)
5. After you’ve restored anything you want to restore, do step 3 to empty the recycle bin.
6. Close your recycle bin. Trash has been taken to the dump and is now gone for good. You cannot restore it.

Temporary Internet Files

As you browse in Internet Explorer or Netscape, your computer saves copies of the files used on the sites you visit. It keeps these files handy so that if you return to that site a little later, it can put that site up more quickly because the necessary files are already on your computer. It’s faster to get them from your computer than from the website. If you go to lots of places, you can have lots and lots of these temporary Internet files building up in a place called your cache. Now a cache of money is a good thing, but a cache of temporary files may not be. Too many files in your cache can cause your computer to slow down and can make your browser slow to close down, too. It’s easy to empty your cache. Do this every few weeks if you do a lot of browsing or every couple of months if you don’t.

Internet Explorer

Open your Internet Explorer Browser and from the Tools pull down menu at the top of your browser select Internet Options.

In the center of the Internet Options screen you’ll find Temporary Internet Files. Select the Delete Files button.

When the pop up asks you if you want to delete all offline content, check that box and then select OK.

To adjust the amount of space you allow for temporary internet files, select the Settings button. Change the amount of disk space to use to between 2 and 5 MB or larger if you do a lot of browsing.

Netscape (Firefox is similar)

What About Cookies?

Yes, you can clear your cookies, but doing so will eliminate all the cookies set that you may have come to rely on. For example, some cookies facilitate automatic password entry on certain sites. Rather than deleting all your cookies, we suggest you run software that will find the “bad” cookies and let it eliminate just those. Read our pages about spyware.