Page 41 - IT Essentials And Data Recovery For Online Businesses

you’ll be disassembling and cleaning it at least once a month, as well as replacing

your mouse pad twice a year. You’ll need to remove the ring by unscrewing it (see
Figure 21, below). The ball will come out. Wipe it off with a dry, soft cloth. You’ll
also see some rollers inside; prior to replacing the mouse ball, clean these

thoroughly using a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol.

An optical mouse – which uses an infrared light – requires almost no maintenance,
and works on any surface with a discernible pattern (it won’t work on a solid

colored surface). For prices ranging from $10 - $25, they’re a marvelous

improvement over the old ball-type.

Software Maintenance
Many software maintenance tasks can be automated, depending on the utility

program you are using. Daily software tasks include:

1) Scanning your hard disk file systems for errors
2) Scanning for viruses

3) Backing up data

Items 2 and 3 have already been discussed in previous sections. Normally, you’ll
need to do these manually, but a utility from Norton or Symantec can be

programmed to back up your data every day to a location of your choice. As far as

viruses go, a good security application such as Zone Alarm does automatic virus
scans several times per week; there is nothing you normally need to do.

Over time, small errors tend to creep into the code which contains your data. This

can be caused by bugs in software or drivers, power failures, and even human
error. Rarely is it indicative of hardware problems, provided that the maintenance
outlined in the previous section is performed as needed. 99.9 percent of the time,

these errors aren’t a problem – as long as they’re caught early on.