Most people often ignore Preventive maintenance as they believe that it is not an important task. However, it is not correct to say that Preventive maintenance is a trivial task. If  problems such as overheating, dust accumulation or improper connections are left unattended than the health of your PC can deteriorate and one day it may result in a total failure and then your only choice will be to build a computer on your own - or, worse yet, go buy an over-priced preassembled one from a retailer. The following are the guidelines for carrying out a preventive maintenance
routine of your PC.

External cleaning of the PC.
As time goes by the Pc gets surrounded by dust, pet hair and debris. This can enter into the vital areas of the Computer such as the CPU, the slots, the memories etc. Hence, the first job is to clean the external area. This could normally be done once in two to three weeks.

1. Cleaning the Case
Clean the outer case so that dust does not  accumulate on the housing bays of  Hard drives, CDRom drives, Dvd Drives etc.Please take care that you do not touch the power supply cables etc. while cleaning the case.

2. Cleaning the speakers
Clean the multimedia speakers if there is accumulation of dust on them. But take care not to spoil the cone of the speakers.

3. Cleaning the Monitor
The CRT monitors cause lot of accumulation of dust on the outside as well as inside. This could be very harmful. Clean the internal by blowing air through the vents on the case of the CRT. Also see to it that the vents are not blocked by dust so that air can enter inside to cool the monitor. If you have a LCD monitor just cleaning  the outside will do, and not much cleaning will be required.

4. Cleaning the mouse
If you have a mechanical mouse it would refuse to move the cursor if lot of dust is accumulated inside it. It is necessary to clean the mouse from the inside. Do it gently so as not to disturb the inside mechanism. Clean the X and the Y rods of the mouse with the cotton buds. Also clean the ball and put it back inside the mouse. In case of  optical mouse it would be necessary to clean the led and the sensor. A clean cotton bud could be used to clean the same.

5. Cleaning the keyboard.
Lots of dust might accumulate between the  keys of the keyboard. This can jam the keys and cause them to function erratically. The keyboard can be cleaned by removing the keycaps and cleaning the points on the touch pad. The keyboard can also be cleaned by turning the keyboard upside down and gently tapping on the back of the keyboard.

6. Cleaning the Printer.
This is a specialized job and may require the help of the instruction manual of the printer. The printer can be cleaned of any dust, bits of paper, excess accumulation of ink etc. You can also clean the sensors as well the rollers of the printer. In case you find you are not able to clean a certain area due to your imperfect knowledge don’t hesitate to consult the printer manual. Be very cautious while cleaning the printer so as not to disturb the alignments or damage its important and delicate parts.

External and Internal Checking of the PC.
After the Pc is cleaned of dust, debris etc. a check must be carried out of the external and internal Parts of the PC. The external parts would comprise external cables, the floppy drives, the Cdrom drives, the hard disks etc. The internal parts would be the data cables,
the DC power connectors, the motherboard, the CPU, the expansion boards etc.
 
External Checking:

7. Checking the external cables
Check all the cables such as the keyboard data cable, monitor data cable, Ac power cable for the PC, Ac power cable for the monitor, Ac power cable for the printer, USB cables, modem cables, printer cables etc for proper and secure connection and any signs of wearing out.

8. Checking the CdRoms, DVD Roms, DVD RW drives.
Check whether the trays of the Cdroms, DVDRoms, DvdRW drives are working properly or not. If the trays are not functioning it might suggest a problem with the drive mechanism. While the trays are open get the trays cleaned for any dust, debris etc.This will ensure that the dust does not interfere with the proper functioning of the CDRom or the Dvd Discs. Another aspect is the cleaning of the lens system of the Drives. The lens which comprises of the read and write laser sensors can be cleaned by cotton buds or  with the help of cleaning  CDs. This enables the Drives to read and write data efficiently and without any errors.

Internal Checking:

9. Checking the fans.
After uncovering the PC the first thing to check is whether all the fans of the PC are running or not. The first fan to check is the power supply fan. In modern tower type of cases there are exhaust fans which must also be checked. The fan / heat sink on the CPU must also be checked for proper functioning. If any of the fans are defective they must be replaced or the cables must be secured properly. If the fans are not working than the heat inside the PC might build up and cause the PC eventually to malfunction.

10. Checking the CPU
The CPU is the single largest IC on the motherboard, and it is installed in a socket. The CPU must be checked to see whether it is securely fixed in the socket or not.

11. Checking the Memory
The memory cards are fitted inside the sockets on the motherboard. The memory cards must be checked to see whether they are properly seated inside the sockets.

12. Checking the internal cables.
The cables such as the motherboard connectors, all 4-pin drive power cables, hard drive cables, Cdrom, DvdRom and DvdRW cables, audio cables and the SCSI cables must be checked for proper connectivity. They must be properly secured in place if found to be loose or improperly connected.

13. Checking the drive mountings.
It is also necessary to check the Hard disk, Cdrom drive, DVDrom drive, DvdRW drive mountings inside the bays. The Drives must be connected properly and they must be secured with four screws on all sides, as fewer screws might cause vibrations and noise leading to premature failure of the drives.

14. Checking the Hard Disk Drive.
Checking the hard drive for potential problems can be useful in lengthening the life of your hard drives. You can run the scandisk utility to locate and correct problems such as the lost clusters or cross-linking. Scandisk can also help to detect and correct problems such as bad sectors. You can also run the Defrag utility in order to detect and correct the problem of defragmentation of the drive. Defragmenting the hard drive can result in smoother and faster operation of the hard disk

15. Cleaning the hard disk of unwanted files to free up the space.
It is a good idea to clear up the hard disk of unwanted files so that you can create more space. Files such as temporary files, internet history files, old unwanted zip files can be deleted and sent to the recycle bin. The files can be completely erased by emptying the recycle bin.

16. Checking the slots, sockets, connectors etc.
Dust might accumulate in the PCI slots or the memory slots of the PC. It is better to clean the slots with the cotton buds. The connectors on the expansion cards  too may become pitted or dusty. The connectors  should also be cleaned properly in order to ensure good connections between the various parts of the PC.

Preventive maintenance is important so that your PC can function properly for a long time. It is not just a trivial matter but must be given due consideration in any PC maintenance Plan.