- Hold and lift the computer by its base, not by its LCD display (the screen). If you lift it by the screen part alone, you could damage the display or the hinges attaching it to the base. The display is also easily scratched or damaged by direct pressure – avoid placing pressure on it.
- Remove your power cord gently. Don’t tug. Tugging your power cord out from the power socket rather than putting your hand directly on the plug in the socket and pulling can break off the plug or damage the power socket. Also, if you have the power point near your feet, avoid constantly bumping into the plug or you could loosen it and eventually break it.
- Don’t expose your laptop to rapid temperature fluctuations. When bringing your laptop indoors during winter, don’t turn it on immediately. Instead, let it warm to room temperature first. This will avoid any potential for damage to the disk drive from condensation forming inside the machine. Don’t leave your laptop in a car. Not only do the insides of cars experience large temperature swings that could damage a laptop, but a laptop (or laptop bag) is an inviting target for a smash and grab thief.
- Have the unit cleaned once a year to remove internal dust. If dust accumulates, the system cannot cool itself correctly. Heat can destroy the motherboard. Keep your vents clear. Once a week, if not more, check your vents to make sure that they are not blocked by debris. The best way to clear out your vents is to use compressed air; cans of compressed air are available at computer and hardware stores.
- Always keep your laptop on a desk or table. Avoid the “lap burn”. If you are getting lap burn, it means that your laptop is not getting sufficient air flow – which means your computer is running hotter than it should. Use your laptop on top of a desk, table or other surface to get better airflow and keep your lap cool. A lot of people will place their laptop in a pillow on their lap – don’t do this. This restricts airflow, blocks vents and leads to overheating.
- Unravel your power cord before using. The power cord or “brick” can tend to get hot. Always unravel the whole cord before plugging in and try to place on the floor or desk.
Keep your battery lasting longer
The most commonly observed bad battery practice is laptop owners
plugging their laptops in as soon as they possibly can and being very
nervous if their battery indicator shows that they have power less than
50%. In the long term this will lead to a couch potato battery and this
should be avoided. In order to prevent this, the battery needs to have a
good workout now and then. Periodically be sure to run the laptop off
of the battery and completely discharge it. To do this, run the laptop
on the battery until the operating system forces the computer into
sleep. A further measure that you can take is to then let the laptop sit
for a time to really bottom out its charge. You should never leave a
Lithium-ion battery sitting around without a charge on it for more than a
day or two. This can drain the battery to a point that is so weak that
it cannot be recharged.- Dim your screen. Most laptops come with the ability to dim your laptop screen. Some even come with ways to modify CPU and cooling performance. Cut them down to the lowest level you can tolerate to squeeze out some extra battery juice. The darker the screen, the longer the computer will last.
- Disable the wireless connection. You may not always need to be on the internet, so disabling your wireless connection can save a great deal of power especially if there is not a network to connect to anyway. Alternatively, you can use the Ethernet cable instead of the wireless network connection to consume far less power.
- Cut down on programs running in the background. Itunes, desktop search, etc. All these add to the CPU load and cut down battery life. Shut down everything that isn’t crucial when you’re on battery.
- Cut down external devices. USB devices (including your mouse) & Wi-Fi drain down your laptop battery. Remove or shut them down when not in use. It goes without saying that charging other devices (like your iPod) with your laptop when on battery is a surefire way of quickly wiping out the charge on your laptop battery.
Almost all notebook batteries are now the Li-ion type. These batteries do not have problems with memory effect, but Li-ion batteries will lose effectiveness if they are overcharged or left in full charge without use. For example, if you rarely use the battery and keep the laptop plugged in, the battery will lose effectiveness. There can also be problems if the battery is fully charged and then not used, then charged again. On average, laptop batteries should last for about 2-4 years or 500-1000 charges.
However, depending on the type of battery you have, a poorly conditioned battery can begin to lose effectiveness even within the first month of use. Laptop batteries are expensive ($100-$300) so take steps to make yours last.
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