Over time, dust, gunk, fingerprints and even a film can develop on your computer’s screen rendering it difficult to see through. Now, in many cases, the dirt and grit on our screens, whether they are LCD monitors (flat monitors) or CRT monitors (bulky, square-ish monitors), can actually be well-hidden.  Sometimes you may not even notice that your screen is covered in filth unless you happen to brush up against it or otherwise disturb the perfect layer of “yuck”.

With that in mind – how do you go about cleaning a computer screen?   It’s part of an electronic device, or more accurately – it is an electronic device in and of itself; you surely don’t want to spray glass-cleaner on it, right?  You’re probably right.

Because the makeup of a computer monitor’s screen can vary significantly, it’s better to play it safe.  Choosing the wrong type of cleaner or the wrong type of cleaning pad may irreversibly damage your computer screen – something that is not likely cheap to replace or fix.

• First of all, if your computer has a user manual that addresses how to clean your monitor, you should adhere to that advice explicitly.
• Otherwise, get your supplies ready.  You’ll need an anti-static rag, soft cloth or even strips off from a 100% cotton garment.  Whatever you decide to use – be sure that it is not abrasive.  In addition to the wiping cloth, you will need some type of cleaning solution; products that are created specifically for computer monitors are recommended, though eyeglass cleaner may work as well.
• Be sure that your monitor is turned off and unplugged.  If you’re cleaning a laptop screen, shut it off.
• Lightly apply your cleaning solution to your cleaning rag or cloth; do not saturate it nor should you spray liquids directly on the monitor.
• Wipe the monitor completely and then dry it with the dry end of the same cloth or use a separate cloth.

In addition to this – you can also clean the monitor’s cover with the cloth that you used to clean your screen or you can use a product that is suitable for cleaning plastic.

While to some, cleaning a computer screen is as easy as playing tic-tac-toe, you really need to be sure that when you’re cleaning your computer’s screen that you do not damage it or spill liquids into it.  Of course, if you have your computer’s user manual – you should follow the instructions there.  However, if that is not available to you – this short guide will help you to clean your computer monitor’s screen safely.

Windows Vista is the newest flavor of Microsoft’s line of operating systems to hit the marketplace, and much like its predecessor Windows XP, some people have bouts with slow boot times and slow start up using Vista.  Quite honestly, there are a plethora of potential causes for slow PC start up with Windows Vista – we’ll outline a few of them here along with some potential remedies that may be able to help you fix your slow start up problem.

Are your drivers outdated?

The consensus amongst some Windows Vista users is that their slow start up problem was caused by out-of-date drivers; predominantly graphics drivers, but we’ve seen many others identified as culprits, too.  While manually searching for outdated or corrupted drivers can be cumbersome – these problems can certainly be a major contributor to your Windows Vista slow start up predicament.

There is a quick and effective way of checking your drivers – it’s through the Driver Agent website.  This service allows you to scan your PC for outdated and corrupted drivers and optionally – download and install them.  Now, this is a paid service, but it’s well worth the investment, especially if you have multiple Windows computers in your home.

Do you have a bug?

Spyware and viruses are a common factor in Vista slow startup problems – these malicious programs almost always try to load when your computer is booting, which eats away at your available resources and slows down your computer’s startup time significantly.

If you do not have a spyware or virus scanning tool installed on your PC, we recommend AVG antivirus.  They have a free version that is effective in identifying and removing many malicious programs that may not only slow down your PCs boot up time, but that can compromise your computer’s security as well.

Have you cleaned your registry lately?

Your Windows registry is the central office for all of your PCs activities; it stores and collects data and settings that are required for your computer’s operation.  Through general computer usage, your registry can become bloated and even corrupted, but by cleaning your registry you may be able to speed up Windows Vista’s startup times.

While PCs today do not include a registry cleaning tool installed by default, we’ve used the RegCure registry cleaner with great success. It will give your registry a comprehensive cleaning and possibly help speed up your computer’s boot up time, though a registry cleaning does help your PC run more efficiently overall.

The Windows Vista slow start up problem is something that you may be facing today, but there’s a good chance that if you use the steps outlined above – you’ll not only enjoy a faster computer startup time, you’ll have a safer and more efficient system as well.