Technology Services for Small Offices / Home Offices

“Safe and Sound” Checklist for PCs

The following is a checklist for performing maintenance checks and updates for client PCs. The tasks depend on the operating system to some extent. The frequency depends on how intensely you use the PC. To be fully protected against threats, and to keep up the performance of your PC, we recommend a checkup once every six months.

We have not mentioned Windows 95 as any home or small business PC running Windows 95 is likely to be too old to spend time and money on. Microsoft has ended support for Windows 95 (It is now 8 years old- ancient in the computer timeframes).

Task/Item	Condition/ action	Win 98	Win ME	Win 2000	Win XP
Anti-Virus and Spyware
AV version	Should be less than 2 yrs old. Upgrade if not.	ü	ü	ü	ü
Anti-virus subscription	Check for 30-day or longer expiry. If not, renew or upgrade to new version	ü	ü	ü	ü
Anti-virus definitions	Current- less than 10 days old. If not, check status of auto-download	ü	ü	ü	ü
AV File system real time protect	Enable if not enabled	ü	ü	ü	ü
Last full virus scan	No more than 45 days ago. Enable monthly schedule if older.
Spyware	Install spyware checker if not present. Free version of ad-aware for non-commercial use	ü	ü	ü	ü
Scan for Spyware	Update definitions, scan hard disk and delete found spyware. Repeat if all are not deleted.	ü	ü	ü	ü
Windows Operating System
Windows Service Pack	Check and apply as needed	SP1	NA	SP3/4	SP2
Critical Updates	Win 98/ME- check if critical update notification enabled, install all critical updates for Windows and IE	ü	ü
	Windows 2000 Pro and XP: Enable automatic download and scheduled install			ü	ü
Other Microsoft Updates	Download and install as per current spec.	ü	ü	ü	ü
Driver updates	Apply as needed to eliminate errors or enhance performance	ü	ü	ü	ü
Registry	Run Regclean 2 or more times	ü	ü	ü	ü
Virtual Memory	Should be managed by Windows unless performance is slow	ü	ü	ü	ü
Networking	Check adapters,. Drivers and services loaded. Enable active adapters and TCP/IP only. Remove unnecessary entries	ü	ü	ü	ü
Restore Point	Create new full restore point		ü		ü
Hardware and Disk Maintenance
Disk Cleanup	Perform on all hard disk volumes	ü	ü	ü	ü
Disk Error Check(Scandisk)	Perform full once per year, standard once or more per year as indicated	ü	ü	ü	ü
Disk Defrag	Perform as needed: days since last for Win 98/ME, Analysis of file fragmentation result in Win 2K/XP	>90 days	>90 days	> 10%	> 10%
Disk Space on C	Should be >15% free	ü	ü	ü	ü
RAM	Should be greater than amounts noted for good performance	>127	>190	>250	>500
Display resolution	15” monitor: 800x600 17” monitor or 15” LCD: 1024 x 768	ü	ü	ü	ü
Display refresh	Monitors: Optimal or >70 Hz LCD: 60 or 75Hz as supported	ü	ü	ü	ü
Display color depth	Max allowed by video memory and performance depending on nature of usage ≥ 16 bpp for general use, ≥ 24 bpp for digital photography or graphic design	ü	ü	ü	ü
BIOS	Check for updates and apply as needed	ü	ü	ü	ü
Internet Security and Performance
Firewall	Install / adjust as needed	ü	ü	ü	ü
Internet Explorer	Upgrade to version 5.5 SP2 or 6.0 SP1 depending on RAM	5.5	6.0	6.0	6.0
Other Applications and Utilities
CD Burner software	Update and patch as needed	ü	ü	ü	ü
MS Office Service Packs	Office 2000 and later: check on MS site and apply all service packs and critical updates as relevant. Office 97: SP2	ü	ü	ü	ü
Backup Related^†
Data Backup	Check if user performs regular data backup	ü	ü	ü	ü
System Image backup	Suggest disaster recovery options for critical systems. Suggest partitioning drive or additional HD/ removable or portable storage	ü	ü	ü	ü
Network and Wireless Security^†
Encryption	128-bit encrypted connections to wireless clients
SSID	Disable SSID broadcast
Extra security	Enable MAC authorization

† May be possible with on-site support call only.