Desktop PCs have become cheap, but they aren’t yet disposable. Performing routine maintenance will prevent them from breaking down and provide better performance, allowing you to defer upgrading or replacing them.

Because there’s a desktop PC on just about every desktop, the sheer number of them can make maintenance time consuming. Fortunately, most routine maintenance procedures can be automated, including:

• Antivirus definition updates

Antivirus software is one of the basic malware defenses, but it can only block malware it recognizes. Enabling automatic updates of virus definitions ensures you are protected against the latest viruses.

• Scheduled malware scan

Your antivirus software should check files as they are downloaded, but you should use a separate product to schedule a malware scan periodically, usually weekly. This scan doesn’t look just for viruses but for additional unwanted, potentially dangerous software including keystroke loggers and adware.

• Operating system patches

OS updates close security holes. Most businesses have trouble keeping up with patches on servers, let alone desktops. You may not want them to be applied completely automatically, because testing them on a standard configuration is a good idea, but once the patch is approved, you should be able to push it to all desktops automatically.

• Hard drive maintenance

Run an automatic scan periodically to check for any disk errors and perform defragmentation.

• Daily data backup

Relying on users to manually backup files guarantees at some point you’ll lose critical data. Automate backup procedures; You may want to set up the PCs so employees save files on network drives rather than internal drives, which makes managing the backup and recovery process easier.

• Software updates

As with operating system patches, you may not want software updates to be automatically deployed. However, you should implement a process that allows you to test the new version and then automatically push it out to all the affected machines.

There’s also plenty of unanticipated desktop support that can’t be handled by automation. Fortunately, remote desktop support enables you to troubleshoot problems without needing staff onsite to examine the affected computer.

Of course, some desktop support requires physical access to the desktop. This includes installing new hardware components such as new RAM or swapping out a defective monitor. You should also be giving every device a thorough physical cleaning once per year, which also requires an onsite support team.

Prescient Solutions provides desktop support services in all the ways you need it. With expert professionals available to provide support either remotely or on your premises combined with 24×7 monitoring, your desktop computers and their users receive comprehensive care. Contact us to learn more about how Prescient Solutions IT consulting and managed services can keep your Chicago or Schaumburg-area business computing smoothly.