Cleanup Time: Springtime System Administration

Spring has finally arrived and now is a great time to think about spring cleaning in your office. In addition to washing the windows and vacuuming those tough-to-reach places, it's equally important to set aside time for the cleaning and maintenance of your office equipment and computer system. Spring is an ideal time to do these vital system administration tasks that will help prevent problems that could otherwise crop up in the years to come.

Cleaning Your Workstation

You can prevent many hardware problems before they start, and by properly maintaining your hardware, you can even extend its life. First, you can simply dust and vacuum around your computer on a regular basis. You can also clean your desktop monitor with a non-ammonia cleaner or lint free cloth. Make sure you do not spray anything directly on the monitor and never use anything that is abrasive to clean your computer hardware.

It's also important to clean dirt and dust from your keyboard to prevent keys from sticking and other malfunctions. You can easily remove particles stuck in your keyboard by shutting off your PC, disconnecting your keyboard from the computer, and holding the keyboard upside down over the trash and shaking it gently from side-to-side. You can also use a can of compressed air to spray between and underneath the keys (These are available at almost any store that sells computer or camera equipment). 

Don't Get Backed Up on Your Backups

Backing up your data is critical to maintaining your system. In the unlikely event that your system crashes, or if you need to retrieve deleted data, your system backup will be invaluable.

Know who is responsible for checking the status of each night's backup. Make sure the backup-checker knows what to do if a backup fails, and line up a substitute backup-checker who can fill in if the regular checker is out of the office.

Know the age of your backup tapes. The life expectancy of an average tape is about a year. If you know your tapes are older than a year, or you are getting frequent failures, then you should replace them. 

Clean the tape drive. The heads of the tape drive will get dirty. When they get dirty, dirt can collect on the tape causing it to wear down quickly. Dirty tape heads and/or tapes will usually cause backup failures. Use the cleaning tape once a month, and use it the day after you've  used a brand new backup tape.

Shut Down the System

You should periodically shut down and reboot your system. Rebooting clears your computer's memory and gets rid of old, stuck processes. Your computer may even run faster afterwards!

If you haven't rebooted your system recently, definitely include a shutdown in your spring cleaning tasks. Feel free to contact support if you are not sure how to shut down and reboot your system.

After your computer shuts down, be sure to vacuum around the server. Take the time to clean out those dust bunnies that may have collected behind the server.

Get Rid of Old Files

Do you really need to save all those old e-mail messages? Why not delete them now, in addition to any outdated messages containing attachments or executable programs, as these take up lots of space. While you're on a roll, you could also clean out your computer files if your folders are full of old, unused files that you no longer need.

Lock Out Old Users

Do you always lock out users after they discontinue working at your practice? If not, you should, both to comply with HIPAA security policies and because old users who have not been locked out could potentially log in and gain access to your server and records. Partner users can make sure that all old users are locked out from the system by using the program "useradmin."

Keep Your Data Secure

This is also a good time to check that all of your workstations have an up-to-date Operating System and that you are regularly running your anti-virus software. For more information about anti-virus software, see our article with information and recommendations for PCC clients.

Get Year-Round Benefits

We hope you'll do this clean-up routine so you can profit from its many benefits: fewer errors down the road, faster computer service, and a long, healthy life for your computer system. Enjoy the spring weather and the seasons that follow, secure in the knowledge that you have given your system a thorough spring cleaning!