Computers are powerful tools and they do require some care and attention. Things you can do include:

  • making sure that any updates to your software, particularly your operating system, are installed regularly.
  • keeping your computer physically clean – it will be nicer to use.
  • backing up your files so that, if your computer does break down, you still have your documents, photographs and other files.

And if something seems to go wrong, there are a number of steps that you can take to try and get your computer working again. In this section, we will look at these topics in more detail.

If you are working through this section on your own personal computer, you will be able to try out these activities if you wish. If you are on a shared computer in a lab, you will probably find that the computer administrator has blocked you from reaching certain parts of the system. (This blocking ensures that no one person can make changes that might affect other users of the lab.)

Read through each of the pages below but do not click Continue at the bottom of the page. Just return to this page and go on to the next topic.

When you have finished this page, you can do Assignment 3.4.1 on the Module 3 Assignments page.