There are a few things you can do to keep your computer in good shape. Like changing your car's oil every 3,000 miles, these things won't prevent all problems, but they will prevent unnecessary crashes (or make them easier to recover from).

• Scan your hard drive: Use ScanDisk, which comes with Windows95/98 or a third-party utility to scan your hard drive about once a month. These programs check for and correct logical and physical flaws that could corrupt data. In Windows95/98, click the Start button, go to Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and choose ScanDisk.

 
• Be careful! If you use a third-party utility to scan, repair, or defragment your drive, make sure you use the version created for your operating system. Using a hard drive utility created for Windows 3.1 can corrupt Windows 95; using a Windows 95 version can corrupt Windows 98, and so on.

 
• Defragment your hard drive: After you scan your drive, use a defragmenting program to tidy up the disk. Files are written to your hard drive in pieces. If the pieces are sequential, your computer can find and load them more quickly. Under Windows 98, the built-in defragmenting program also puts program files in the easiest-to-access spot on your hard drive, making access time a bit quicker. In Windows95/98, click the Start button, go to Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and choose Disk Defragmenter.

 
• Keep plenty of disk space free. Under Windows 95/98, if you have less than 100 MB of free disk space, you're asking for trouble. Problems can range from poor performance to frequently corrupted files. If your disk is filling up, buy a new one. I could tell you to remove unnecessary files and programs, but the fact is hard drives are cheap. (On the other hand, if your computer is old enough to have a drive so small it can be filled up, then maybe it's time for a whole new system!)

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• Make a startup disk. A start-up is a floppy that contains the minimum necessary files to boot your computer if the computer will not boot any other way (i.e. your hard drive has failed). Under both Windows 95 and 98, you can create one by going to Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, and click on the tab that says Startup Disk. You will need your Windows 95/98 CD and a fresh floppy disk.

 
• One important difference between Windows 95 and Windows 98 startup disks is that Windows 95 does not put CD-ROM drivers on the disk. Incredible, but true. This means that even though you can get your computer to boot, you won't be able to reinstall Windows 95 from the CD! Not good. You (or your technician) must manually copy the mscdex.exe file and the appropriate CD-ROM driver to the floppy, and if it's a SCSI device, make sure the SCSI driver is on that disk, too! If all of this is mumbo jumbo to you, ask your nearest tech to make you a boot disk with CD-ROM drivers. That's the essential part.

 
• Make backups. Back in the olden days, many of us had tape drives that we used to back up our entire hard drives. These days, a tape might not hold an entire hard drive. And most people agree that it's not worth it to back up the operating system and program files. Instead, back up only your own working files, the things that cannot be replaced in case of disk-death. The easiest way to do this is plan ahead: don't scatter your files around. Make a folder for your documents and put subfolders under that. When you want to back up, drag the main folder to your device (tape drive, Zip disk, Jaz drive, network drive), and Voila! all of your documents are safe. (I know you won't really make back ups. No one does. But it was my duty to tell you to do it, and warn you of the anguish you will feel when, on that dark, dark day  you will see not the usual alphabetic files names, but a bunch of squigglies. Or worse, the ominous message: DRIVE NOT FOUND. It happens. I warned you.)