UNIT - 3 OPERATIONS AND PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE STRUCTURE

3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Introduction Objectives Operating environment Periodic maintenance 3.3.1 Regular backups 3.3.2 Reformatting hard disks 3.3.3 Replacing backup batteries 3. 3.# !ummar" $uestions

3.0 INTRODUCTION
%he previous unit described the &a" in &hich a P' could be tuned for better performance. In order to keep the s"stem performance stable( it has to be maintained properl". %his unit describes the various things "ou can do to prevent serious faults from occurring or at least reduce their likelihood. .

3.1 OBJECTIVES
)t the end of this unit ( "ou &ill be able to !elect a suitable operating environment for "our P' *nderstand the need for preventive maintenance

3.2

OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

%he latest P's and compatibles are designed based on integrated circuits +I', technolog". %he technolog" being -.!I +ver" large scale integration / thousands of electronic components on a single substrate,( less heat is generated from it and hence the" are more reliable. If the environment under &hich a P' &orks is clean( 0uite dust1free( cool( not too damp or too dr" etc.( it is said to be &orking in a good operating environment. ) good operating environment to P' and its operator means onl" fe&er problems. HEAT AND COLD %he ambient temperature in &hich a P' &orks is ver" important. %he operating characteristics of electronic components change &ith temperature / I's can malfunction due to increase in operating temperature. 23treme cold temperatures are also not recommended / it causes o3idation of metal surfaces in connectors and I' sockets. In turn( this &ill produce unreliable electrical contacts HUMIDITY 4igh humidit" can harm computer e0uipment. It is particularl" serious

problem at lo& temperatures. 'ondensation can have man" effects( including surface o3idation of metal parts. .o& humidit" often caused b" central heating s"stem or ver" hot ( dr" &eather( can create problems &ith static electricit" DIRT AND DUST )ccumulated dust reduces a computer5s reliabilit" / regular cleaning should be performed as needed to solve the problem. 6ust in the s"stem unit can cause several problems / it builds up inside disk drives( it transfers itself to diskettes( causing read errors and man" other

failures. It

adheres to the board components( reducing their abilit" to

dissipate heat. It build up on plugs and sockets( causes contacts to tarnish. It can get in to fan motor bearings &here it could ultimatel" cause them to burn out. SHOCK AND VIBRATION 'onstant vibration &ill cause chips to be disconnected from their sockets( and connectors to become loose 4ard disks are vulnerable to shock and sudden impacts / serious damage and loss of data 'are must be taken to move the s"stem &ith at most care

STATIC ELECTRICITY Is produced as a result of electric charges being accumulated in the room. %he factors are / the t"pe of cloths the" &ere( t"pe of floor covering( the humidit" level in the atmosphere etc %his is a serious problem for support staff and others &ho &ork &ith the P's &ith the covers off. %o overcome this( anti1spra"s are used to treat carpets( anti1static mats cn be placed under the computer and the operator5s chair POWER-RELATED PROBLEMS P's are designed to &ork in normal )' outlet( to be used at offices and at home. 4o&ever( the 0ualit" of )' line voltage can var" bet&een home and office( cit" to cit"( countr" to countr". !o( this variation cause serious problems to the s"stem %here are three main t"pes of line disturbances 7 4igh voltage spikes .o& level noise and distortion of the &aveform

.o& level voltages or bro&nouts

%he protection against interruptions can be solved using an *ninterrupted Po&er !uppl" +*P!,( ho&ever a simple and cheaper filter called the spike buster can also be used *P! can be classified as offline( on1line and line interactive *P! are available in a various t"pes and si8es( one can choose depending on his re0uirements

WEAR AND TEAR ) computer is also bound to &ear and tear for various reasons Proper care is re0uired b" the user !&itching the machine O99 and O: often( can harm the s"stem( so it must be avoided .eaving the machine O: for longer duration &hile not in use can harm the 'R%. !o( a screensaver can be used or the monitor can be turned O99.

3.3

PERIODIC MAINTENANCE

One important aspect related to durabilit" and reliabilit" of computers is regular preventive maintenance. %he preventive maintenance can be performed &eekl" or semiannuall" or annuall". %he preventive maintenance task falls in to t&o categories7 one( the user himself can do it other( that re0uires a service technician. %he tasks like cleaning the P'( monitor( ke"board( backing up the data etc can be done b" the user himself. !ome tasks are to be done b" service technicians such as replacement of batteries( handling faults such as monitor faults( ke"board problems( circuit board faults etc. It is a good idea to give maintenance contracts to the e3perts to be relieved from headaches.

3.3.1 REGULAR BACKUPS

;acking up "our files safeguards them against loss( if "our hard disk fails or "ou accidentall" over&rite or delete data. !o( regular and periodic backups can make "ou return to the older files( move backed up files off "our hard disk( and transfer files easil" from one computer to another. 4ard disk failure can render all "our data accessible. It takes an average of 2000 hours of &ork to replace the data on the average hard disk. ;ackup helps "ou protect "our data and "our investment time and effort. <ou can backup "our files through the follo&ing media 7 flopp" disks =!16O! devices

%here are three &a"s to backup "our data7 ) fu !"#$u% / backs up all the files that "ou select before starting the

backup. It includes all the files on the hard disk. )n &'#()*)'+" !"#$u% / backs up onl" files that have changed since "our last full or incremental back up. Preserves multiple versions of a file. ) ,&ff)()'+&" !"#$u% / record changes since the last full backup. =aintains the latest version of "our files.

3.3.2 RE-ORMATTING HARD DISKS

!ome hard disks( particularl" ones in older and cheaper P' compatibles drift out of adjustment &ith time. >hat happens is that "ou start to get occasional read errors( or the s"stem sometimes fails to boot &hen "ou turn it on. If the problem is ignored( data ma" eventuall" be lost or corrupted( or it ma" become impossible to read the disk at all. %he problem is common &ith lo&1cost drives that use stepper motors to move the heads. It usuall" becomes apparent after the" have been in regular use for some time. >hen it starts to occur( backup all the data. %hen perform a lo&1level

format( follo&ed b" repartitioning and 6O! formatting the drive. 9inall"( restore the data. If the P's are prone to this problem( "ou ma" consider it to reformat the drives periodicall" as part of preventive maintenance.

3.3.3 REPLACING BACKUP BATTERIES

=ost of the )% class s"stems have a batter" /backed s"stem clock. %he batteries eventuall" fail( causing the loss of the clock and setup information. )% class s"stems also hold configuration details in batter"1backed '=O! R)=( made of lithium. %he life of these batteries last for four to five "ears. !o( it is better to replace them ever" t&o to three "ears during preventive maintenance.

3..

SUMMARY
P' &ith care &ill reduce a number of problems( especiall"

%reating a

mechanical failures. Regular preventive maintenance helps maintain the value and appearance of e0uipment( and reduces the likelihood of breakdo&ns. ) schedule based on a &eekl" cleaning and check performed b" the user( more servicing semiannuall" and annuall"( effectiveness in most situations. should add to the practicalit" and

3./

0UESTIONS

1. >hat steps are necessar" to make an operating environment good for "our P'? 2. ;riefl" describe the problems related to po&er( used b" a P'. 3. !uggest some remedies for the problems related &ith po&er. . >hat is preventive maintenance ? &hat steps are re0uired to&ards it? #. =ake a list of activities that "ou can perform &eekl" on "our P'.