Quick (and cheap!) ways to fix your computer

By Justin Rebello
Published: July 13, 2009

Repairing your office or personal computer can cost hundreds of dollars. But lawyers looking to save a few bucks can improve their computers’ speed and performance for free (and cheap) with a quick trip around the Internet.

Many online performance tools offer free trials which can save you money in the long run and give you an easy diagnostic check for simple fixes. Some technology gurus recently offered their take on cheap and easy ways to keep your computer running quickly and effectively.

1. Defragment your hard drive

Your operating system can leave thousands of partial files stored and wasting precious space on your hard drive.

The easiest way to free up space and rid yourself of some potentially harmful junk on your computer is to run a defragmenting tool.

Microsoft offers a basic utility installed on your operating system that can be run through your Start Menu.

Jeff Beard, author of the Legal Tech Guru blog, recommends a stronger defragmenter like the utility provided by Disc-Keeper, which puts all of the files closer to each other to prevent them from “thrashing” – or slowing down – the hard drive.

You might also try purchasing memory from a reputable online source, such as Crucial.com.

Beard recommends that memory be purchased in pairs for your system’s dual channel memory. Four gigabytes of memory can be purchased from most online retailers for a cost of $50-$60.

2. Download a RAM optimizer

The other element of your computer to keep tabs on is the Random Access Memory (RAM).

Rather than spending up to $200 on replacement or additional memory, run an optimizer. This essentially performs a task on the memory that is similar to defragmenting the hard drive.

Finis Price, author of the TechnoESQ blog, recommends doing this once a month.

The EZ MEM Optimizer is free, but the company offers more powerful products for a subscription fee.

You can also visit Ace Utilities, which offers a 30-day trial version and can run a quick memory scan.

MAC users can download OnyX or Tech Tool Deluxe, both free utilities from Apple, which clean caches and remove duplicate files.

3. Cheap security

You could spend $50-$100 on a yearly subscription for security protection with Norton or McAfee, or you can run periodic free security scans instead. Many are available, including one offered by Norton’s Symantec.

In addition, many Internet providers, such as Comcast, offer free anti-virus tools to their customers.

Attorneys with PCs running Windows should set up regular system restore checkpoints which take a snapshot of a computer at given points in time and can be reset, in the event of a virus or other severe performance issue, to a time when the computer was stable.

Other preemptive measures, Beard says, include:

• Don’t download every Microsoft patch that comes your way. Security patches are fine, but other application upgrades typically have problems when they first come out. Always wait around 30 days before downloading a new patch.

• Use a software configurator, like Norton Ghost or Acronis TrueImage. These types of software function like system restores, taking a snapshot of the hard drive and allowing the user to resort to a time when the hard drive was clean.

“Some patches you can’t uninstall and the only solution is to roll back,” said Beard.

The best defense, of course, is to avoid opening unfamiliar links and only accept downloads from those you trust.

This article previously appeared in Lawyers USA, another Dolan Media publication.

Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Quick (and cheap!) ways to fix your computer

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