Monday, March 4, 2002		Article

Beware! Freeware could be beta version
Vipul Verma

FOR a computer user, there is nothing more painful than having a system crash. Crashing of computer can cause immense loss both in terms of precious data and business. Therefore, stability of a computer is also a big issue. Here the big question is how stable is the system and how can you make the system more stable and reliable.

The first and basic step towards the stability is not to make the computer a beta testing lab for others. The simple meaning here is that, you should not just download and install any shareware and beta versions in order to just have a feel of the software. Believe me, the Internet is full of mind blowing and amazing software and the one with which you have just got impressed is a small fry. Well! This is universal, and applies to everyone. Normally what happens is when we install the beta versions (though it is not officially declared as the beta version and is touted as free software), we in way help the developer at our cost.

It is most often seen that the majority of computer problems like instability of system, slowing down of speed and regular error messages is the result of some conflict with critical files of your operating system. The conflict in critical system files in most of the cases is courtesy of these under test Beta versions, which are being offered by small developers as free software. In fact the loss, which is caused to the system in terms of stability and reliability, is far more than the benefit that you could derive from that free software.

Now, here it is worth clarifying that it does not mean that you should stop using the shareware and free software absolutely. But you should be careful before downloading and installing software and should install rated software by some download rating sites like ZDNet etc. This software is normally tested by these sites before giving them any recommendations. This software will not only maintain the stability of the system but will also enhance the worth of it.

The next vital thing for your computer's stability is the handling of the computer. Normally, it has been noticed that if some application in not responding for some time, a person does not hesitate at all in pressing the restart button on the computer. Every time, you misbehave with your computer by switching the restart button, your hard disk develops some lost clusters, which are a part of some file that is not being closed properly.

These lost clusters may sometimes somewhere create some problems. It is only because of this reason that every time you shut down the system wrongly, the scandisk starts automatically. Scandisk is the basic utility, which converts lost clusters into file, which can be later used in case the need arises. The scan disk may clean up the system of the lost clusters by either deleting or by saving them as file on the hard disk but does not restore the system to the condition, which was prior to shutting down the Window abnormally.

The loss arising by not closing the Windows normally is irrecoverable and too many such instances could lead to the system instability. This is thus very important not to be in a haste to push that magic button, but to give time to your system to close the program, which is casing the problem. The option of Alt + Ctrl + Del is better followed. Choosing the shutdown option from the task manager is a better option than pushing the reboot button. Proper handling your system is not just all about shutting your system well but is also about using the correct versions of drivers. Sometimes with the usage of the system and also with the installation and uninstallation of programs, your drivers could get corrupt. It is a good idea to keep the drivers always updated with their latest versions. This will not only provide the stability to your system, but also enhances the worth of the PC with improved efficiency and productivity using the improved drivers.

The next critical element for stability is often discussed in length and is a very important step for stability, thus its mention is necessary. You must very regularly run scan disk followed by disk defrag. The term "regularly" is quite subjective and would depend on situation to situation. Practically, if you are using the system daily then you should run scan disk followed by disk defrag once a week. This is one of the most effective and important utility of Windows.

Another point, which is important for stability is that you should not delete the folder of an installed program, just in order to remove it from your system. This is bound to be reflected sometime in future in the form of some problem. Thus you should always uninstall a program for removing it. First you should locate it in the Control Panel> Add remove program. Then you can search or uninstaller file in the program folder. If it is not present then you should use a third party program to remove it from your system. But in no case you should simply delete the folder from the hard disk.

Next step that is crucial for the stability is you should not be too obsessive about the anti-virus programs and should not be over cautious about the virus attack. But you should be reasonably concerned. By being over concerned, you compromise with the performance of the PC and also eventually develop snag in your system. In case you are not concerned, then also there could be grave problems in terms of virus attack and system crash. In most of the cases it has been noticed that after installing the anti-virus software, the user does not upgrade it with the updates, which keep coming over a period of time. By not having the anti-virus program updated is worse than not having the anti-virus program at all on your system at all. So by being reasonably concerned about the virus threat means that neither you should over stress nor under stress the need and utility of anti-virus programs.

Last but not the least you can run SFC, the System File Checker, every now and then, to check that you do not have critical system files missing or damaged. For running SFC simply Click Start>Run, type SFC, click OK. In SFC, click on Settings, then Search Criteria, and restructure the folders listed so that the entire Windows folder and all of its subfolders, and the entire Program Files folder and all of its subfolders are included.