okay, let's take another look at a couple of your very valid questions:
"I don't know what is meant by "system maintenance"" and "I didn't know I had to follow any procedures before I installed new software".
i define system maintenance, in part, as defragging, optimizing, clearing cache and cookies, and careful, clean software installations and uninstalls. other aspects of system maintenance might revolve around a mindset, if you will, wherein the human adopts the philosophy that the machine is controllable and really not out to get them. <g3> system maintenance, to me, also includes the ability to methodically and logically troubleshoot a computer problem without losing your temper, your hair (see cat), or your sanity. none of the above, mind you, requires any special degree of higher intelligence. again, i see it more as a mindset, or approach. essentially you are saying to yourself,
"yes, stuff happens. but stuff also gets fixed and the answer is almost always out there waiting to be discovered and implemented."
nobody has to know all the answers, and few do. one only has to know where and how to look for them. our own little 'computer learning' thread is a fantastic resource for precisely this sort of thing.
another aspect of system maintenance worthy of a sentence or two is standard practices. select a routine or way of going about your computer adventures, then adhere to that format. this is a highly individualized area and will vary perhaps greatly from one user to the next. that doesn't matter so much as the fact that you standardize your computing practices. but to excel in this premise, one must also be willing and able to change and adjust from time to time. the key here, imo, is that if the adjustment either fails to produce a desired result, or worse, produces a lesser condition, you should be prepared to undo the new practice and return to the standard.
before i turn this into a mini-series (too late for that, you say?), let me address software install prep for a moment. imo, many glitches, hangs, illegal operations, crashes, sluggish performances, etc. can be traced back to poor installations. and the kicker is that the software then gets unfairly blamed for being buggy.
best way i can describe software installation preparation is to share with you what timber fallers in the pacific northwest used to do before they cut down a giant old-growth redwood tree. the tree, you see, represented thousands and thousands of dollars that might shatter into splinters if it hit the forest floor the wrong way. with this in mind, the loggers would prepared a bed for the tree by digging out some of the earth in a trench-like fashion and even line it with branches and bows to cushion the fall. only after this careful preparation would the giant tree be dropped expertly into the bed.
so i prepare my system to accept the new software so things don't go haywire when the new arrival hits. i dump all cache, cookies, temp files and the like. then i empty the trash bin. now the hard drive is even more fragmented, so i then defrag. since i own a good utility suite, norton systemworks, i usually run windoctor to eliminate any possible problems that may have developed without me knowing it. everything is now almost ready. last thing i do is to shut down all applications running in the background except for explorer and systray. if you are unfamiliar with this process, simultaneously press the ctrl+alt+delete keys to bring up the close program dialog. highlight the app you want to close, then press the 'end task' button. sometimes this won't shut it down and you may need to repeat the step. do this until only the two apps i mentioned are left. then hit 'cancel' to close the dialog.
guess what? you are now ready to install the darn software! sound like more fun than humans should be allowed to have? i thought so! <g3>
anyway, paul, these thoughts and ramblings are meant to be added to and expounded upon by any who care to contribute. they certainly aren't the last word, by any stretch of the imagination. take what suits you and ask away if other questions come to mind. meanwhile, conducting a search of this thread by using a few choice topics will produce very enlightening results. here are just two of a large number of on topic posts that may help you more...
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thanks for hanging in on a way too long post!
:)
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