While troubleshooting is a rather popular topic, even in discussions people have while drinking a beer, maintenance is a rather delicate subject. When I say "maintenance," I do not think only about cleaning up the dust and running some software tool. Keeping your computer in shape involves a lot, and when moving from one place to another is involved … it all becomes quite messy!

For example, let's say you're moving from one place to another. Usually, when this happens, some of your furniture may get minor scratches, and as long as your boxes come in one piece, you never know how bumpy was the ride to your new location. This adds a very important part to the iMac maintenance strategy, protection on the road, and since I mentioned "iMac maintenance," let's take a look at the essential parts of it all, shall we?

I suppose you got your iMac some time ago, but it does not really matter if you have it already or not; here's what you should always keep in mind:

– If you're coming from the Windows world, you should know that the file system used by Macs does not require defragmentation, so no worries here

– Even more, installing and uninstalling programs in Mac OS X is as easy as drag-and-drop, and you will not have to use any specialized uninstaller or cleaner, either

– iMacs can get pretty hot, since everything's inside that little case, so be sure to keep you away from heat sources, and get it to a specialized service center to have the dust cleaned at least once a year (depends on how dusty is your computer room, of course)

– Backup is a part of the maintenance strategy you should never forget about!

– Despite some of the above, optimizers like OnyX could make your life with a Mac easier, so use them!

At last, there's what I've been telling you about earlier – "dynamic maintenance," and there's only one thing you need to get the job done – grab some iMac carrying case to suit your iMac, and be sure you move the thing yourself . I've been there, and I know what I'm saying!

Oh, yeah, one more thing – some of the golden rules above could easily be applied to other Macs, and even PCs, because there's no special treatment for your iMac needs. After all, Mac or not, our computer needs our attention, just as it happens with the car in the garage, the lawn mower, or the plane, in case you have one. That's all!