Are there any best practices for keeping my system running smoothly?

1. Keep your system up to date: Be sure to regularly update your operating system with the latest software and security patches. These updates are essential for keeping your system running optimally and preventing malware and other malicious attacks.

2. Clean up unwanted and unnecessary files: Over time, your hard drive can become cluttered with old files, temporary internet files and other unwanted junk. Cleaning up these unnecessary files can improve your system’s performance and free up disk space.

3. Run a Disk Cleanup tool: There are many free tools available that can help clean up your system. These tools remove temporary files and old program installations, reduce clutter and organize your system for better performance.

4. Monitor your system’s performance: Regularly monitoring your system’s performance can help you identify issues quickly and take steps to resolve them. You can use Windows Performance Monitor to check for issues related to CPU usage, memory utilization, disk I/O and more.

5. Use antivirus and antimalware programs: Installing quality antivirus and antimalware programs can help protect your system from malware and other malicious threats. Make sure you keep these programs up to date to ensure maximum protection.

6. Defragment your hard drive: Defragmenting your hard drive can improve its performance by arranging files in a more organized fashion. You can use Windows’ built-in Disk Defragmenter tool or a third-party utility to do this.