You may not feel that you have not done anything to hurt your computer, and in most instances this is true. But there are a few cases where it could be your fault, and that there was possibly something you may have done to cause your computer to go wacky. Let us take a look at some of those things.

Oddly enough, computers are very conservative. They just do not like change too much. The most dependable computer system you will ever witness is one that has only a couple of programs such as Microsoft Word or Excel installed on it. This type of PC will run much better than any other you will come across. It is when you start installing various programs on the computer that you begin to have problems. Of course, this is the reason for computers in the first place, but you have to realize the risk involved with each new piece of software.

The fact is that sometimes we put some many programs on our computer that we forget we installed them and then problems seem random. For instance, your sound may go away one day. Then if you remember, you may have installed a brand new program a week ago, but just now noticed the sound gone because this was the first time that you tried to listen to audio since then, so the problem seems random. Just bear in mind that it only takes a simple little screen saver or a wacky video sent by your friend to cause your computer system to crash.

While it would be great to have a computer for every program, it is certainly not practical. So the only thing you can do is try to manage your system along with what software you select to install. One fabulous recommendation is to maintain a log on what software that is installed or updated on your PC. You do this using either a small notebook or even a text file. You need to record not only the name and the version of the program, but you also need to jot down the time and date it was installed as well.

One great habit you should develop is researching a piece of software before installing it on your computer. You should ensure that your system has the capability to accommodate the requirements of the software. There is simply no excuse for not knowing this. It can always be found at the website of the manufacturer or developer. If this is no website, then you probably should not install it on your computer in the first place.

Another thing you could do to harm your computer is to manually delete files that should not have been deleted. Everybody gets in the mood to get on Windows Explorer and do some housecleaning. This is fine, but it should be done cautiously. As a basic rule of thumb, only delete files that you created yourself. Otherwise, you should leave that to the software, operating systems, or a qualified technician. Specifically, you should only delete files, folders, and any files in those folders that exist in the account profile area where you store stuff. And that is all.

There is really no need for you to delete files anywhere else on your computer. While the desire to do so may be strong, resist the urge. Now, do not get confused here. There are other files that you can get deleted, but not manually. There are proper ways to delete cookies or old games that you no longer want to play for example. Old software usually has an uninstall option to remove those files, if not, use the remove software option in your control panel. You can also use the disk cleanup tool under system tools to clean away any unnecessary temporary files from your system. Just do not delete these manually and you should be fine.

When you consider the management of a healthy computer system, it is actually a matter of using a little bit of common sense. The application of the methods discussed here will make a big difference in the life of your computer system. The key is persistence. Never forget that it only takes one bad download or the deletion of one important file to cause your system to crash.