Laptop Care Tips
Caring for a laptop is easy but very important, if you want to avoid unnecessary premature repairs. Make note of the tips list below to get the most out of your laptop investment.
1) Avoid dust as much as possible
Dust is obviously bad for your laptop’s electronics, it’ll work its way inside the chassis and risks clogging fans and overheating your PC’s components.
It may be a bit inconvenient but keeping your laptop in it's case when not in use is the best policy. Be sure the laptop is properly shut down before putting it away. Hitting the laptop with canned air should be done every two months.
2) Do not place your laptop on a bed or any soft surface that will not allow the bottom fan to get proper flow of air.
This is a known laptop killer. Not only can it damage the fan by inhibiting its ability to turn but can damage the processor because of overheating.
3) Keep your laptop cool
As mentioned in tip 2 you need to keep your laptop from getting too hot. keep it out of direct sunlight and any unusual heat situations as much as possible. Heat can damage your laptop.
4) Beware of protruding connectors
The most common mistake in laptop care is hauling the laptop around with the power cord or headset connectors, connected. The protruding connectors especially the power plug if plugged on the side of your laptop, can easily be knocked into a door jam which if broken is a major repair. If it damages the motherboard the laptop is toast.
The cords can also be snagged on something as your in transport and be damaged.
5) Smoke can be harmful
Any kind of smoke near your laptop can eventually damage components inside your laptop.
6) Avoid using your laptop in the kitchen
Kitchen air is often full of smoke or grease particles. Kitchens are generally hotter than other rooms as well. Spilling liquids is also an increased danger.
7) Children and laptops
Young children and teenagers tend to be a bit less careful than adults. They are often unaware of the cost outlay of the equipment they are using which lends itself to careless use of your laptop. make rules and take the computer away from them for a period if they are caught breaking them.
8) Excess vibration can be harmful
Yes, your laptop is portable but carrying your laptop running and with the screen open is not advisable. If you bump into something it may damage your hard drive. Some computers have some shock resistant features but a hard collision will still often cause damage.
9) Keep virus programs up to date
Most laptops come with installed antivirus programs. The problem is they are often only active for a limited time period. make sure you either avail the contract or download a free antivirus software once the contract has expired. Be sure to first un-install the previous antivirus program before installing a replacement. AVG offers a free version to non business consumers that works well. Make sure you read carefully and download the free version unless you want to pay the small fee for the more feature rich version.
10) Backup your files regularly
Most laptops today have back up features that will use DVD's or CD's to keep your data backed up and safe. Don't forget to do this if you have important information stored on your laptop. Just ask yourself this question: If I lose all of my files today, what are the consequences?
