Computers Need Checkups Too

Holidays are filled with an abundance of food and the joy of seeing family. This Easter had all of that but for me it included something a little extra, I was playing doctor for the day. My Grandmother had been complaining of slow performance and crashes, before she could even ask I had offered to help. "This Computer is almost as old as your brother" She said excitedly. She was proud to have kept it running as long as it has, But unfortunately for me she was not wanting to invest anymore money into it or make any major changes. Immediately this eliminated my plans to add more RAM and Upgrade to Win 7. So this ended up as more of a checkup then a surgery. 

I went with a simple plan, Evaluate what needed to happen, Clear out any outdated or unneeded programs, Update everything, then check and defrag the disks. I knew there would be a lot of old programs because she never liked to get rid of anything, implying that it is something she knew how to do. While uninstalling programs I realized  I was more guilty than anyone because most of what I had to get rid of was long forgotten computer games and other garbage I had installed myself when I was much younger. The list grew, Sims (and all the expansions ever made), math adventures, Oregon trail, Zoo tycoon. I don't even remember playing half of them. 

After clearing out years of abusing Grandmas computer, it was time to update what remained. I would love to describe this but all that comes to mind is click and wait. Wait so long you dye eggs, bake a cake, and socialize with family. Most of all, hope and pray that it the bar will someday move from 13%.

Once the endless waiting for Updates was done it was time to take care of the Drive. I ran a few disk check programs and commands to see if anything was out of place or broken, then attempt to fix it or remove it. Now that all the data was nice choppy I ran a much needed defrag. I thought that would be the end of it but while shutting down I noticed the dust buildup in the vents. With my boyfriends help and a can of air we sprayed out enough dust to block out the sun. 

Grandma was very happy with how smooth everything was running and it feels good to be able to help her. She has been caring for me for the past 20 years, the least I could do was spend a few hours helping her. Perhaps someday I will be able to convince her to leave vista behind but for now everything is running smoothly.