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In these tough economic times, businesses have been delaying the replacement of computer equipment as long as possible. Most of this decision has been an economic issue, but since the Microsoft Vista operating system got loads of bad press, there was no compelling reason to get a newer PC with the same XP Professional operating system.

During the past year there have been an abnormally high number of major systems failures at our customers as a result of these delayed upgrades. In August alone we experience three server outages that may all be traced backed to aging equipment. That total was more than all of 2007. Commercial grade computers, both desktops and servers, typically come with three year warranties. As you might expect, equipment failures during this three year window are rare. After three years, the likelihood of a system failure more the doubles each year until after year seven, equipment can be expected to fail at any time.

The primary causes of these failures are:

• Hard Drive Failures
• Power Supply Failures
• Memory/System board failures
• Various systems issues including lack of disk space

The failure of a system that is older than five years old is a serious problem. It is nearly impossible to get replacement parts for computers that old. While hard drives are standardized for all manufacturers, the technology used in the hard drive technology used in today's computers has changed resulting in limited or no replacement parts for old equipment. A hardware failure in a system five or more years old almost always results in the emergency purchase of a replacement computer.

In order to keep computer equipment running reliably as long as possible, follow the tips below:

• Open the computer case and blow out the dust at least once a year. Heat is a leading cause of hardware failure, and keeping the fans and vents free of dust will allow the computer to stay cool.

• Make sure the computer has enough memory. Running today's programs on yesterday's equipment probably means the computer/server needs a memory upgrade. Running with low memory will increase the use of virtual memory and will accelerate hard drive failures.

• Do file maintenance regularly to eliminate unused files. Running Microsoft updates automatically will eventually run you out of disk space and cause the computer to crash as a result. Older equipment has relatively small hard drives for today's software.

• Use a disk defragmentation program, like Diskkeeper, to defragment the hard drive on a regular basis. Optimized hard drives don't work as hard and will last longer.

• Use a UPS on all of your equipment. Power sags and surges take their toll on equipment over time ultimately resulting in the computer "freezing" for no apparent reason.

• Stay current with Microsoft operating system patches for both security and improved performance.
  

DeckerWright Corporation performs these services for many of our customers so that they can get the most life out of their equipment. Contact us today to schedule an on-site visit to tune-up that old computer!

More Sept 2009 DWC Newletter Articles;

Windows 7, Your Next Desktop? | What A Difference 25 Years Makes

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