Sunday 7 February 2010

How To Care For Your Laptop

It happens to us all the time. We all take care of our possessions as long as they are new and then, we forget that we were the ones who were responsible in aging them. Its obvious that most laptop owners do know about caring for our laptops but how about some re-enforcement , just in case your memory did a slip.

Drain the Laptop Battery & Recharge:
First thing most people forget about is the battery. To properly care for your battery you need to drain and recharge weekly. You need to do this so it remembers it can fully drain, and it will extend battery life.If you use your laptop as desktop replacement, do not leave it plugged most of the time to avoid detrimental effect on your battery life. Or you can keep it plugged all the time but remove its battery. This will help your battery last longer.

Protect the LCD Display:

Always close down the lid when you are not using your laptop. Avoid touching the LCD screen that leaves fingerprints. Regularly clean it with cloth or one of those anti-static monitor wipes. When you shut your laptop, make sure there are no small items, such as a pencil or small ear-phones, on the keyboard. These can damage the display screen when shut. The screen will scratch if the item is rough. Close the lid gently and holding from the middle. Closing the lid using only one side causes pressure on that hinge, and over time can cause it to bend and snap.

Ventilation:
Keep your laptop in a well-ventilated place and don't block the fan grills on the sides. Heat can destroy the motherboard.

Clean up your system:

Keep the bad guys OFF. Install a good ANTI-VIRUS and ANTI-SPYWARE to help protect your system from viruses and malwares. Turn on your Firewall for added layer of security. Turn on pop-up blockers to avoid those intrusive advertising that may install software on your laptop.
Make sure you have the latest patch for your operating system and latest definition for your anti-virus. Defragging hard drives not only speed up data access, it also improves performance. Remove unused programs and other components that only consume memory. Clear your temporary internet files folder and cookies. Delete duplicate files or other huge files that you no longer use to free up space.

Take care of your Laptop Cord:

Don't roll your chair over the computer cord. Stick the cord onto your desk with tape or a special computer cord tie which can be easily undone when you've finished using the laptop. Always try to keep most of the cord away from the floor or your legs; sometimes you can be so engrossed in what you're doing that you move your legs and forget the cord is there.

Clean Hands: Always have clean hands when using your laptop. Clean hands make it easier to use your laptop touch pad and there will be less risk of leaving dirt and other stains on the computer. In addition, if you clean your hands before use, you will help reduce wear and tear on the coating of the laptop caused by contact with sweat and small particles that can act upon the laptop's exterior underneath your wrists and fingers.

Handle with Care:
Don't leave your laptop on the edge of your desk because one ill-fated drop could mean goodbye to your mobile device.Hold and lift the computer by its base, not by its LCD display (the screen).

Visit the Doc at least once a Year :) ;)
Have the unit cleaned once a year to remove internal dust. Get this done by a computer professional. If dust accumulates, the system cannot cool itself correctly.

So hope that our love for our machines is renewed and they give us company for real long ! :)

No comments:

Post a Comment