As my laptop hums and moans at me daily, I’ve been scouring the internet for maintenance tips from a layperson’s perspective. I’m a a PC user (I do feel in the minority these days) and while I’d love a Macbook, my Dell will have to hold out for the time being. I’m trying to give it a mini-break by not banging away on the keyboard and opening seven Internet Explorer windows simulataneously.

I did find a great article on the site Daily Writing Tips, PC Vitals for Every Freelance Writer, that was a tremendous help. From the basics of hard drive maintenance and installing only the software you absolutely need, to the more detailed descriptions of warning signs and when (daily, weekly, monthly) to perform scans or backup, I found this informative and matter-of-fact. This coming from someone who prefers to shut my laptop down and not give it a further moment’s concern in regards to the thing’s health and maintenance. Which may be indirectly related to the frequency of my laptop crashes–at which time I think, whyyy are you doing this to me? I only take great care of you!–and with my livelihood almost entirely dependent on my computer, this causes some…neuroses. Now I have preventative (but uncomplicated) tips for (hopefully) avoiding any future crashes.