MAINTANINING WINDOWS can be compared to maintaining a new automobile of course,  a new automobile come with a mechanic, so must of us just take it to the dealer to get work done. In this case, u are the mechanic so u need to think as an auto mechanic would think first, an auto mechanic needs to apply rec-alls when the automaker finds a serious problem.  For a pc tech, that means keeping the system patches announced by micro-soft up to date. U also needs to check on the parts that wear down over time. On a car that might mean changing the oil or rotating the tires. In a windows system that includes keeping the hard drive and registry organized and uncluttered. PATCHES, UPDATES, AND SERVICE PACKS update windows has been an important, but often neglected, task for computer users. Typically, Microsoft finds and corrects problems with its software and releases patches on the second Tuesday of every month. sadly, because  earlier versions of windows let users decide when, if  ever, to update their  computer , the net result could be disastrous. The blaster worm hammered computer all over the world in the summer of 2003, causing thousands of computer to start rebooting spontaneously-no small feat for a tiny piece of programming! Blaster exploited a flaw in windows 2000/xp and spread like wildfire, but Microsoft had already corrected the flaw with a security update week earlier. If users had simply updated their computer, the virus would not have caused such widespread damage. AUTOMATIC UPDATE are so important that Microsoft gives u the option to update windows automatically through the automatic update feature. Actually, it nags you about it! Soon after installing windows (a day or two, in my experience), a message balloon will pop up from the taskbar suggesting that you automate updates. If you click this balloon, the automatic update setup wizard runs, with you can configure the update program.