I thought I’d share some tips gleaned from my latest move to a new desktop. My way isn’t necessary the best way, but it may give you some ideas when it comes time for you to make the switch. Here are the steps that I took.

1. Back up your data. Use an online backup service like BackBlaze or Mozy. (Solo web workers should have an offsite backup solution, anyway) I also have an external drive that does nothing but back up my computer’s data. The free built-in Microsoft Windows Synctoy took care of my syncing. Make sure you synchronize everything, including the data on any mobile devices.
2. Take a computer inventory. Run System Information for Windows (SIW), Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder and Belarc Advisor.  Save the output files in Gmail or someplace where you can access it from any computer. These free applications create a list of installed software, license keys, hardware inventory, network information and other details. These apps are all free.
3. Put the computers near each other. This makes the move easier and allows you to check what’s on the old computer and install it on the new PC and compare the setups. It’s also worth checking which apps are used frequently. While the inventory software lists all the installed applications, you might not need to exactly duplicate your setup. The key is to get the important and most frequently used tools and software installed so you can get up and running on the new machine. Then, if you find you need one of the apps you didn’t move over to the new machine later, you can install it. Don’t pressure yourself to get everything installed.
4. Install the applications and tools. Dig up all your software, download the ones that don’t have a CD/DVD and download updated software. Some of my software (Palm Desktop, for example) is so old that I didn’t bother using the original CD/DVD to install it. Instead, I went to the companies’ web sites to download the latest versions.
5. Share folders over the network. Turn on network file-sharing by opening Explorer. Find the folders you want to copy to your new computer, right-click the folder and select “Share.” Look for the option to share the folder (it’s different in Windows XP and Vista). Doing this, I shared the folder with all my work documents so that I had instant access to the documents I needed without waiting for the online backup to do its job. The online backup application then restored the rest of the files.
6. Copy the data from old to new.
7. Start using the new computer. I plan to keep the old computer nearby for a little while so if I run into something I need to customize or verify, I can look at it and update the new computer accordingly.
8. Set up a backup system. Whether you used one before or not, put a backup system in place. Even new computers mess up and you never know when some disaster decides to make life harder for your home. It can happen. I was in my grandparents’ house when it caught fire.

Having many of my applications and data in the cloud made this the easiest and fastest desktop transition ever.

What other ways can you ease and speed up the transition from old computer to new?

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I was impressed when Exalead detected and offered to index my Thunderbird mailbox during the first run setup wizard. If there’s one thing I shy away from more than desktop indexing applications, it’s the various incarnations of Microsoft Outlook. Of course, Thunderbird’s latest beta allows you to index your accounts for use with Vista’s built-in search, so it’s not critical functionality. Still, better available than not.

I was using my Eee PC as the test device for Exalead, and it wouldn’t proceed with indexing until I connected with a power source, which is something I’m not used to doing, with the eight hour battery on my 1000HE. Still, I suppose they have the user’s interests in mind, so it’s not really that big of an issue. Indexing didn’t take long, although I honestly don’t have much stored on my netbook, aside from my overgrown inbox archive. I also didn’t notice much slowdown of other processes like Firefox, though my usage was admittedly light. It might also help that I’m using a 4GB SD card as a dedicated device to speed up my system with Windows ReadyBoost.

Like other indexing apps, Exalead places an icon in the notification area of your taskbar. Left-clicking once will activate a search, while right-clicking will bring up Exalead’s settings. Back when I was using Windows Desktop Search, I never liked having the search bar in my taskbar, so I don’t miss it here, although some might. Instead, when you click on the icon, you open up a new browser tab or window that shows a search bar page with a local address. You can also search the web, images and Wikipedia from this launch page, among others.

Exalead’s decision to use the browser is both its biggest advantage and most significant drawback. It keeps the app lightweight, ensuring that it won’t hog system resources like Google Desktop and other more cumbersome programs. On the other hand, it also feels a little clunky and slow, taking away from the advantage of having a desktop indexer in the first place.

On the other hand, the results page is very thorough, with your results on the right occupying most of the page, complete with links, dates, brief summaries, associated locations, authors, recipients (for emails) and thumbnails (if applicable). On the right, you can narrow your search in a number of ways, by isolating different sources, searching within your returned results, choosing different file types, dates, sizes, etc. If you don’t like the default view, you can switch to text-only results, too. And all the while, I didn’t hear the engine rev once, which is what keeps me away from these apps in the first place.

If I had to use a desktop indexing and search program (and the more work I do on Windows, the closer I get to that day), I would probably use Exalead now that I’ve tried it out, because it least resembles other resource sapping apps I’ve used in the past. If you’re looking for a lightweight alternative to the main competitors in this space, give it a shot. Best of all, it won’t cost you anything for the free version, although professional and white label versions are available if you want to deploy it enterprise-wide or are shopping for a custom-branded solution for a client.

Do you use a desktop indexing search app?

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Despite anything you read below, remember that the manual is your best friend. Refer to each item’s manual before you start cleaning.

The Monitor

Our friends over at The Apple Blog mentioned that the best way to clean your monitor is with an ultra-suede microfiber lens cloth. These are available at most office supply stores at an affordable price. Don’t use cleaning cloths with sewn edges, as these could scratch your monitor – the last thing you would want to do when you’re spring cleaning.

You should also be aware of how to clean different types of screens. For cleaning a CRT monitor, anti-static cloth with some cleaning fluid will do the trick. LCD monitors have almost the same process, except you should use an alcohol solution instead of cleaning fluid to wipe down the screen.

Cables

When I moved my workstation from my bedroom to a home office, I saw how dirty cables can be if you never clean them. What used to be a beige cable became dark brown.

To get rid of the stickiness and discoloration, I just dampened a cloth with isopropyl alcohol and rubbed the cables with it (after unplugging everything, of course). Just make sure that the cloth is just moist and not soaking, as you don’t want alcohol accidentally dripping all over your computer.

Apart from the cleanliness of the cables themselves, you also have to organize them so they won’t get in the way of anything. Some time ago, Lifehacker posted a practical tutorial on how to tuck away computer cables behind your work desk. It’s worth a look if you want to avoid the “cord confusion” look.

The Keyboard and Mouse

Apart from the people living in my house, there are also three cats that roam freely in my office. During hot summer days when my cats are shedding, my keyboard looks like a cat hair magnet. I find that those USB vacuum cleaners work with cat hair, but they don’t seem to work well, if at all, with smaller debris.

Once you’re rid of all the visible dirt, it’s time to deal with the invisible filth from your keyboard. Did you know that it could be as dirty as a toilet seat? Here’s a scary excerpt from a news item in The Guardian last year:

“The research showed that the chief culprit for contamination was people eating at their desks and dropping crumbs which lodge between keys and encourage the growth of millions of bacteria. [...] Other causes included poor personal hygiene, particularly people failing to wash their hands after using the toilet.”

I’m assuming that the mouse is also prone to such contaminants. To remedy this, unplug your computer, then spray a disinfectant such as isopropyl alcohol or chlorine-based cleaners onto a cloth. Then, wipe the keys and your mouse. Mike Gunderloy also recommended a few keyboard-cleaning products in a previous post.

The CPU Tower

If you’re working on a desktop computer, you probably know how easily dust accumulates both on the outside and the inside. When I tried to add more RAM a few months ago, I saw that the motherboard and the other things inside my CPU tower were covered with a layer of grey dust.

So what, right? No one’s going to see it. But cleaning inside the tower isn’t just a matter of aesthetics. Having so much dust inside can make your computer prone to overheating and other glitches.

Cleaning inside your CPU tower requires some extra care, since there’s a danger of being electrocuted or accidentally discharging static energy onto your unit. Here are some handy tutorials you can refer to:

• Cleaning the Interior of Your PC
• How to Safely Clean the Inside of a PC’s Tower

The Desk

While your computer desk isn’t technically a part of your computer, it’s a part of your workstation that can make or break your productivity. Make sure that the clutter doesn’t block your workflow, which easily happens when you have too many gadgets. Note that your desk doesn’t have to appear neat – it just has to be organized enough that you know where to find anything in two seconds.

It might only take an hour or two of intensive cleaning to transform your workstation from dull and dirty to completely inspirational. And, once you’re done with this, you might want to do some virtual cleaning as well.

How clean and organized is your workstation? Do you have any computer cleaning tips to share?

Image by Bassi Baba from Flickr

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What interesting finds do you have in your cache? Share them in the comments.

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For those with a Mac on your desk but a PC in your pocket, Eltima Software offers SyncMate, a software solution to keep your Mac and mobile device connected. SyncMate Free lets you connect your Mac with your PDA or Pocket PC (aka Windows Mobile device), keeping documents, contacts, calendars and more all up to date across both devices.

Support for Entourage and Google Calendar and Contacts seem like nice touches. Sync is available via USB or WiFi.

The Expert Edition adds support for iTunes and iPhoto along with to-dos, mail, bookmarks, call history and more.

We didn’t have anyone here with this hardware combination to test (it seems most Mac users I know have one of those iPhones) so if you try it be sure to let us know your opinions.

SyncMate is available for free download while the Expert Edition runs $39.95. Additional Family Pack and Business License options are available.

It is compatible with Windows Mobile Pocket PC 2005/2006, Windows Mobile Smartphone 2005/2006 and Mac OS X 10.4 and higher / Mac OS X 10.5

Do you need to connect a Mac with a Pocket PC/Windows Mobile device? What do you use?

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