Fixing a computer problem can be a frustrating task....

Computers today are highly complex machines squeezed into very small spaces. Add to this the constant barrage of computer viruses, malware and spyware plus the enormous range of add ons such as cameras, modems and wireless network cards and it is no wonder that there is the occasional glitch.

• When your computer misbehaves, a simple restart may be all that is necessary to set things right. By shutting down and restarting the computer, you are effectively starting afresh. During the reboot, files, services and programs are properly closed. Fresh new copies of the files needed to run your operating system and support your hardware are then loaded from the computer's hard drive during start-up. Naturally, rebooting will not solve all the computer problems that you are likely to encounter. However, in many instances, it is a very useful first step and may ultimately save you a lot of frustration and lost productivity.
• Over time, computers accumulate a series of instructions from the various programs that are added or downloaded. Although the programmers are pretty clever today, conflicts can develop between different operating instructions requested by the software. Without getting too technical, these conflicts can either slow your system down or, in the worst cases actually cause your PC to freeze up. You should research and buy a reliable PC optimisation program that regularly checks for such conflicts and "spring cleans" your system.
• Unless you have a sophisticated hard drive filing system, files can often become "orphaned" or randomly spread out across your hard drive, jumbled up like a deck of cards dropped on the floor. Defragmenting your computer attempts to do some housekeeping, putting all related files closer to each other so that your PC takes less time and does not have to work as hard to find the files.

If your computer problems are not resolved by these simple tips, then it's time to call in the experts. Unless you are a real computer wiz, fiddling and rummaging through your computer's hard drive and software can cause further problems, making fixing your computer problems even harder. It's time to call in the experts...