If you are not keeping your computer healthy, it can often result in data loss, slow performance and random crashes. Just spend 10 minutes in a week or so to keep your computer in good working condition.

Process for keeping your computer healthy

Start your computer up and click on Start option then go to Programs, Accessories and then "System Tools". At last, click on "System Information". In case your computer is unable to start up properly then follow these steps - Start your computer and hold on till it says "Starting Windows", now quickly press F8 button and select "Safe mode". Your computer will now get started.

To get into System Information, follow the process given below:

In System Information, just click on tools and you will find many Windows System Tools that will help in diagnosing and keeping your computer healthy.

1. Use "System File Checker" program if you come across any errors or crashes while starting or running your computer. This program checks all the files in your main system for integrity.

System File Checker should be used when you suspect that there might be a problem with one of the Windows XP system files.

You might get a dialog box that appears saying there was a ".dll error" or a similar message box. That is an example of a way to tell Windows has found an error in one of its system files, that are crucial to how the operating system works.

To start the process go to Start then Run and type in the following:

sfc /scannow

2. "Scandisk is considered to be one of the most valuable pieces of software. This program searches for hard disk problems on your computer.

Once the Scandisk has started running, you will be asked some questions like which drive you want to scan and whether you would like to do a standard or careful examination etc. So to begin with, pick drive C, do a standard assessment and ask the program to automatically correct any problem that it finds. Again click on start and see that the program goes through the motions and shows you a progress indicator.

You must try to do a thorough scan whenever you have spare time in between working hours - Just start the process and then leave the computer till it finishes the task. You can also use the same program to check or scan any other hard drives on your computer or any floppy disks for errors.

You must understand the importance of keeping your computer healthy for better utility or output. If you don"t care for your computer, it will not give you effective results and will not have long life.