Most computers don't fail dramatically. They don't suddenly stop working one Tuesday morning without warning. They degrade — slowly, incrementally, through a combination of dust accumulation, software bloat, ageing components, and habits that seem harmless individually but compound over time.
This guide covers the practical steps that, in our experience, actually make a difference. It's not a comprehensive technical manual — it's the advice we give to customers who ask what they can do to get the most out of their machines.
Part 1: Physical care and environment
Where you put the machine matters more than you might think
A computer sitting on carpet, surrounded by walls on three sides, in a warm room is working harder than it needs to. Airflow is the most important physical factor in a computer's operating life, and it's something that most people don't think about until something goes wrong.
Desktop computers need clearance around their vents — typically the front and rear. The specific ventilation design varies between cases, but as a general rule, leaving at least 10–15cm of open space behind the machine and ensuring the intake vents (usually front or bottom) aren't blocked is a reasonable baseline.
Laptops are more complicated because they're designed to be used in varied positions, but they still have thermal limits. Using a laptop on a bed, sofa, or lap for extended periods — particularly during demanding tasks — restricts the vents on the base and forces the fans to work harder. A firm, flat surface is better for sustained use. Laptop stands or simple risers can also improve cooling by allowing better airflow underneath the device.
Dust is a slow problem, not a sudden one
Dust accumulates in computer cooling systems regardless of environment, but it accumulates faster in certain conditions: carpeted rooms, pet hair, smoky or dusty air, and locations near open windows or doors. Over time, the dust forms an insulating layer on heat sinks and blocks the fine mesh of cooling fans, reducing thermal efficiency.
The practical consequence is that the processor and other components run hotter than they're designed to, and modern hardware responds to this by throttling performance to reduce heat generation. A machine that feels slower than it used to may have a dust problem rather than a hardware fault.
Internal cleaning — using compressed air to clear accumulated dust — is one of the most straightforward maintenance jobs there is, but it does require opening the case (or, for laptops, the base panel), which isn't something everyone is comfortable doing. If you're not confident, it's worth having it done professionally every year or two depending on your environment.
Power and surge protection
Computers are sensitive to power quality. Most of the time, UK mains power is stable enough that this isn't an issue — but power surges, brief outages, and voltage fluctuations do occur, and they can stress components over time even when they don't cause immediate damage.
A surge-protected power strip provides a basic level of protection and is inexpensive relative to the equipment it's protecting. For desktops with important data or work systems, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) goes further — it provides battery backup to allow a clean shutdown in the event of a power cut, and typically also includes surge protection.
For laptops, the battery itself provides a degree of protection from brief power events, but it's still worth using quality charging equipment rather than cheap third-party adapters.
Part 2: Software habits
Updates — and why deferring them indefinitely is counterproductive
Operating system and driver updates are not just feature additions. They frequently include security patches and stability fixes that address problems discovered since the previous release. Running a significantly out-of-date Windows installation, for example, means running with known, publicly documented vulnerabilities that haven't been addressed.
The practical advice here is to apply updates regularly rather than deferring them. The risk of an update causing a problem — which does occasionally happen — is generally lower than the risk of leaving known vulnerabilities unpatched. If you're on a critical system and cautious about updates, waiting a week or two after release before applying major updates is a reasonable compromise.
Driver updates are worth paying attention to separately, particularly graphics drivers for systems that do GPU-intensive work. Manufacturer utilities (Intel Driver & Support Assistant, AMD Software, etc.) can help keep these current.
What's running in the background
Software accumulates. A computer that was fast when new may have had dozens of applications installed over the years, many of which configured themselves to start automatically and run background processes. Individually, most of these are low-impact. Collectively, they can account for a meaningful amount of CPU usage, RAM consumption, and disk activity at startup and idle.
The Windows Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and the Startup tab within it give a useful overview of what's running and what's loading at startup. Disabling startup entries for applications you don't need to launch automatically is usually safe and can make a noticeable difference to boot time and general responsiveness.
Uninstalling software you no longer use is similarly worthwhile — not just for storage reasons, but because background processes, scheduled tasks, and registry entries accumulate with every installation.
Storage: headroom and health
Solid state drives (SSDs) perform noticeably worse when they're very full, because the firmware needs free space to manage wear levelling and garbage collection. The commonly cited guideline is to keep at least 15–20% of the drive's capacity free. For a 500GB drive, that means keeping around 75–100GB unoccupied.
It's also worth periodically checking the health of your storage drives using a tool like CrystalDiskInfo (free, Windows). It reads SMART data from the drive and can surface early warning signs — reallocated sectors, pending sectors, or increasing error counts — that may indicate a drive that's beginning to fail. Catching this early gives you time to back up and replace the drive rather than facing an unexpected failure.
The most important thing you can do for your data is back it up consistently — and verify that the backup actually works.
Part 3: Data and backups
Why most backup strategies fail in practice
The most common backup failure is not having one at all. The second most common is having a backup that was set up once and never verified — only to discover at the point of need that it's been failing silently for months, or that the backup file is corrupted, or that it contains an old version of the data that predates the files you actually needed.
A practical backup strategy has three elements: regularity (how often backups run), redundancy (keeping copies in more than one location), and verification (periodically confirming that the backups are actually usable).
For most individuals, a combination of an external hard drive with automatic backup software (Windows Backup, Time Machine on macOS, or a third-party equivalent) plus a cloud backup service provides reasonable coverage. The external drive gives fast local recovery; the cloud backup protects against physical loss or damage at home.
Backing up is not the same as syncing
This distinction matters. Cloud sync services like OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox replicate the current state of your files — which means that if you accidentally delete a file, or a ransomware infection encrypts your documents, the change propagates to the cloud copy almost immediately. Most sync services include version history that can mitigate this, but it's worth understanding that sync is not a substitute for a proper backup.
Backup software that takes periodic snapshots and retains them for a set period — rather than simply mirroring the current state — provides more robust protection against accidental deletion and data corruption.
Part 4: Specific considerations for laptops
Battery care
Lithium-ion batteries degrade with charge cycles, heat, and time. You can't prevent degradation entirely, but certain habits accelerate it. Consistently charging to 100% and keeping the battery at full charge for extended periods, regularly draining to 0%, and operating the laptop in hot environments all contribute to faster degradation.
Most modern laptops include a battery health mode or charge limit in their management software — a setting that caps charging at around 80% when the laptop is primarily used plugged in. This genuinely does slow battery degradation and is worth enabling if you use the device mostly at a desk.
Hinges, keyboards, and physical care
Laptop hinges are a mechanical wear point that doesn't get much attention until they start to creak, stiffen, or fail. Opening a laptop by one corner rather than the centre puts asymmetric stress on the hinge mechanism and the case. It's a minor thing, but over years of use it makes a difference.
Keeping liquids away from keyboards is obvious advice that nonetheless accounts for a significant proportion of laptop repair enquiries. Liquid damage ranges from a sticky keyboard to complete motherboard failure, depending on how much entered the device and how quickly it was dealt with. If a spill does occur, power off the device immediately, disconnect power, and allow it to dry for at least 24–48 hours before attempting to use it. Bringing it in for assessment is advisable even if it appears to work — residue from drinks (especially sugary ones) can cause problems days or weeks later as it dries and conducts.
A note on professional maintenance: Some of the steps in this guide — particularly internal cleaning and drive health assessment — are straightforward to do yourself if you're comfortable with the hardware. If you're not, or if you'd rather not risk voiding a warranty or damaging a component, it's reasonable to have a technician carry these out periodically. We're happy to discuss what makes sense for your specific device.
A realistic summary
No maintenance routine will prevent every fault. Components fail regardless of how well they're cared for — SSDs wear out, fans develop bearing failures, and motherboard components age. What good maintenance does is reduce the frequency of avoidable problems, extend the useful life of equipment, and put you in a better position when something does eventually go wrong (particularly by ensuring your data is backed up when it does).
The steps that offer the most practical return are: ensuring adequate ventilation and occasional internal cleaning; keeping your OS and drivers reasonably current; maintaining free space on your storage drive; and running consistent, verified backups. Everything else is incremental.
If you have questions about maintaining a specific device or setup, or if you'd like a professional health check carried out, get in touch and we'll give you straightforward advice.