The preventive maintenance service is a sensible precaution, just as with a car, as it helps avoid breakdowns at inopportune times, and addresses the gradual performance loss that all systems experience. The recommended frequency depends on the type and quantity of use the PC gets, the physical environment, the amount of routine housekeeping applied, and the impact loss of use would have on the owner. As a general guide, 12 months may be a reasonable interval between checks. The service is offered at a fixed price of £50 or £75 with added enhancements if booked at least two weeks in advance. See case notes C1 and C2. The service typically includes: A DVD set3 containing an image backup of all partitions on the system disk + images of BIOS screens on request
Location and attempted repair of physical errors on disk (bad block resectoring), surface scan Disk integrity check and removal of logical errors (lost clusters; cross linking; invalid file names, dates or structures; invalid indices; allocation discrepancies) Double defragmentation of multiple hard disk drive(s) Identification of viruses1 (trojans, worms, diallers, hijackers)
Physical clean & lubrication of internal fans & heat sinks4, CD/DVD lens heads, floppy drives, mouse & keyboard if supplied Event log inspection Removal of malware2 (spyware, adware, keyloggers, data miners) [example report]
Removal of adserver tracking cookies
Deletion of dead IE links, temporary files, browser cache & trash
Check for update of anti virus and security software
Identification and resolution of Registry inconsistencies if specifically requested
Application of critical and security patches to operating system and bundled software
Installation of updates to common applications and optionally hardware drivers (Office [if CD supplied] , Acrobat, WMP, DirectX)
Verification that protected Windows files are intact5 Creation of a folder containing a backup copy of all drivers installed on your system
Security vulnerability assessment & report5
Diagnostic test of major hardware components and USB controller
Generate & test emergency boot disk6
Report listing installed hardware & software including versions and licence codes
Further performance improvement advice Broadband Internet usage review to identify cheaper packages
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