The Pareto principle, better known as the 80/20 rule, is based upon the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto's observation that 80% of his country was controlled by 20% of the population. Translated into layman's terms it simply shows us that 80% of effects are caused by a mere 20% of all possible causes, and in my experience 80%of the PC issues that contribute to computer failure are controlled by 20% of the things that we don't do. For example, I once visited a user who complained that his PC kept shutting down for no apparent reason, preventing him from doing much of anything on his computer.

"Once it booted up, it stayed on for maybe 20 minutes before it would suddenly shutdown without warning." He stated. He documented all of the different things he tried and the soft-wares he bought in search of a quick resolution. To make a long story short his PC had not been properly cleaned in so long that a blanket of dust and minute debris covered the entire motherboard, and the fans were so encrusted that they were having trouble turning. I removed all the dust and debris from within the casing and the issue was resolved.

You can purchase the most advanced and complete operating system in the world, enhance it with the best anti-virus and anti-spyware protection available, throw in some extra RAM,A more robust hard drive, add a few other apps that claim to do all the wonderful things you expect them to do, and really need done, to enhance your PC experience. There will still be one major issue that if addressed on a monthly or bi-monthly basis could resolve most hardware issues and extend the life of your PC, saving you lots of money and frustration, and it's very simple: Physically Clean Your PC.

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When I suggest, "Physically cleaning your PC." I mean just that. Using a safe and inexpensive product and a little practice you can save yourself a lot of time and a whole lot of money.

If your PC is attacked by a virus or spy-ware, there are an abundant number of products available to resolve your issues. Programs exist that can go into your system check the problem for you and fix it. If your PC is running slow due to a maintenance need, such as a disk defrag or system restore, your operating system comes equipped to effectively deal with this. Many of the debilitating issues that affect end users on a daily basis can be addressed easily through software manufacturers. But one: There is no software that can go into your machine a physically remove all traces of dust and minute metallic particles.

Why am I hailing dust and dirt as the most dangerous enemy to your PC? Because dust and dirt if not removed may cause long term damages, and expose your PC to unnecessary CPU strain. Dust contains tiny metallic fragments which if allowed to accumulate can form tiny trails on your motherboard connecting paths that should not touch and ultimately leading to PC failure.

Dust and minute metallic particles exist everywhere. There is no real way to avoid it, unless you live in a vacuum sealed environment where the dust has been removed. Anyway, your home is naturally going to accumulate dust. Now the fan on your PC the express duty of circulating air around the PC casing, supplying cool air to the insides of your machine especially the CPU. Imagine working at your job, doing what you normally do on a daily basis to earn an income. If we turned up the thermostat an extra ten degrees what would happen? It would begin to get hot. You will still be able to perform your job, but the extra heat will have it's affect and make your job harder than it has to be. This is what we do to our PC when we continually allow months to pass without the removal of harmful dust and debris..

• The safest way to clean out your PC is to first shut down the machine and unplug the machine from the wall socket.
• Wearing an anti-static wrist strap place the machine in an area where the dust can safely be removed and disposed of safely.
• Lay the machine on its side, on an anti-static mat, (Anti-static mats can purchased inexpensively your local computer store) and carefully remove its cover.
• Using canned air,(Canned air can purchased inexpensively from your local computer store.) I carefully begin with the power supply and fans, gently applying air to the area, because these are the areas where dust and dirt can hide and cause problems.
• I then move into the open areas of the motherboard carefully sending the dust and debris away from hardware devices and other components.
• To finish I will use an anti static cloth to wipe away any remaining dust and debris.

In addition to a regular maintenance program, cleaning your PC of harmful dust and debris particles, insures that your CPU does not overheat. When your CPU overheats internal sensors will tell your computer to shut down to preserve itself and when this happens you will lose all unsaved data. For optimum performance an air conditioned environment is necessary to prevent your system from overheating and failing.

Take care of your computer and your computer will take care of you.

Please feel free to ask questions and leave comments.

Thanks.