7 Computer Maintenance Tasks You Should Do Every Month

Whether it’s your bathroom, bike, car or garden, a little bit of regular maintenance makes a big difference – and this applies to your desktop or laptop computer too. If you spend a few minutes every week or every month on a few small tasks, in return you will get a computer that runs smoothly for longer.

We’ve rounded up seven of the most important computer maintenance tips, and they apply to both Windows and macOS. They are not difficult to do and they don’t take too long. And don’t worry if you’ve never done them before: you can start now and reap the benefits right away.

1. Delete files you don’t need

Computers are happier and run faster when there is enough storage space available. Otherwise they have to work harder and you may get error messages if the space runs out completely. You want to get ahead of the problem before it happens.

As for the manual steps, make sure to delete the files you’re done with (such as downloads from the Internet). It’s helpful to create a folder on the desktop for temporary files that you won’t need for the long term, and then empty it regularly. Performing an audit once a month should be sufficient.

In Windows you can choose System And Storage via Settings to see what’s taking up space, and go to the Storage feeling function that cleans up some temporary files for you. On macOS, select GeneralThan Storage from System Settings to see what’s taking up the most space, and access some useful auto-optimization options. You can choose options such as Empty trash automatically or Optimize storage.

3. Update your software

Update your operating system, browser and apps regularly. In most cases you will be forced to do this anyway, but it is worth checking again. It means you always have the latest bug fixes and security patches installed, as well as the latest features that Windows or macOS has to offer.

When it comes to Windows, you can check for updates from Microsoft by opening Settings and then clicking Windows Update. On macOS, open System Settings and then go to the General tab and select Software update. In either case, you can check for updates and ensure that any available updates are installed automatically.

Don’t ignore smaller updates like graphics drivers either. If you have an Nvidia or AMD graphics card installed in your system, use the tools that came with the GPU to see if any updates have been released for your hardware. Again, these updates should fix bugs and improve performance.

4. Run a privacy check

Windows and macOS both handle security and privacy quite well, but it’s worth checking the permissions apps have every month. Go to Privacy and security in Windows settings to see these permissions, or Privacy and security in macOS system settings. Pay special attention to programs that can access the camera and microphone and see your location.

5. Clean up your browser

Many of us do a lot of our computing in a browser these days, and with that in mind it’s important to make sure your browser is well maintained as well. Part of this is keeping your browser software up to date, as we’ve already mentioned: all modern browsers will notify you when a new version is ready.

You may also want to clear the cache of temporary data collected by your browser that may be taking up space unnecessarily. Most browsers have the feature somewhere in their settings: It’s below Privacy and security in Google Chrome for example and below Privacy and security in Mozilla Firefox.

Then there are browser extensions: stick to the ones you actually use and absolutely trust. Minimizing the number of add-ons you have installed puts less strain on your browser, reduces potential security issues, and makes the browsing experience lighter overall. In Google Chrome, you can access your extensions by clicking Window And Extensionsor by clicking on the puzzle piece next to the address bar.

6. Delete unused apps

Cleaning up apps you don’t use can free up storage space and make the operating system less cluttered. In Windows, go to Apps And Installed apps to choose apps to remove; on macOS, open it Applications tab in Finder and then use the uninstall tool that came with the app, or simply drag the app to the Trash on the dock.

7. Back up your files

If you take just one idea from this article, make sure it is this: backup your files so that if something happens to your computer, your data won’t be lost. You really should do this at least once a week and make sure you have a few backups on hand just in case something happens to any of them.

There are many ways to do this: we won’t discuss them all in detail, but they range from using an external hard drive (most external drives come with their own backup software) to sending your files to the cloud via a service such as OneDrive (built into Windows), iCloud (built into macOS), Google Drive or Dropbox.
There are also backup tools built into the operating system. To search Windows backup in the Windows Start menu, or Time machine under the General tab in macOS System Settings. Both tools let you choose the folders and files you want to back up, and they can handle data transfers in the background while you keep working.