I schedule this routine for the first Saturday of the month; it keeps my machine, which sees 250 to 300 hours of use each month, remarkably glitch-free!

1. Boot system from my Maintenance CD (see the Maintenance CD tip).

2. Run Norton Disk Doctor on all partitions to fix all minor errors, then Speed Disk to defragment the drive.

3. Run Tech Tool Pro to further verify the integrity of my drive, then use it to zap the PRAM and rebuild the desktops on all partitions.

4. Run Virex and Norton Anti-Virus to check for any virii that might be waiting in the wings.

5. Wipe my screen, CPU and the top of my monitor with an anti-static cloth to remove dust and cat hair, and dust my keyboard with a soft, long-bristled drafting brush.

4. Restart and I´m ready to go! The whole procedure takes about two hours; I use that time to sort out my work area and do my filing. I figure the two hours I spend monthly probably saves me ten hours worth of chasing glitches.

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