Laptop Tips and Advice.

                                

Funny enough, many customers have asked me. “Zerin, how can I take care of my laptop?” That’s when I usually give them some tips like the ones you are about to read.

(The Warranty)

And here we go! Let’s assume you’ve bought a new laptop. Good for you rich person. And one of the many things that salesmen at the store do, is trying to sell you an extended warranty. Now do you need it? Most people answer a straight up “I don’t know!” But ask yourself, “How did my last computer die? Will I break it? Do I have kids? Do any of my other electronic devices last long past the warranty?” Knowing yourself will ensure you are buying what you need.
It also heavily depends on the hardware you are buying. A rule to follow is if it’s expensive, it might be best to get a warranty. If it’s a cheap laptop, that might not last very long, then it might not be worth it. The reasoning behind this is because by the time the machine breaks down, it may be best to get a new one anyways. Some laptops, no matter what the brand, can last up to ten years if properly taken care of. That is if they don’t have any design defects. Which was surprisingly common for laptops.

I don’t like this design. Only one fan? And what if it’s an AMD with a cheap no-name brand Motherboard? Tsk tsk.

(The Operating System)

If you are somewhat technically advanced, before you do any system changes to your system, make sure you create the restore disks or at least save the restore partition that most Laptop manufactures keep. One easy way to back up that recovery partition may be within the original OS the laptop came with, or using a drive back-up tool. Like Acronis(50$) or Clonezilla(free).

The reason I tell people to back up their OS is because hard drives WILL fail one day, and when they do, that recovery partition will be useless, making for a legal Windows reinstall, much more time consuming. Another reason for this is for warranty purposes as well. If you ever return your laptop to get it fixed, the manufacture has the right to refuse warranty if the OS is not the same as the one they sold you. But the good news is, if you don’t know what OS it is, then you have nothing to worry about.

(Laptop Cases)

Some people buy cases for their laptops. I usually recommend them only if you are going to be moving the laptop around, such as for school, offsite work, or Starbucks. But if it’s going to be sitting around at home all day, you don’t need it. However there are people who are paranoid about scratching their devices and keeping them smudge free, but that is a phase which does not last very long, just try to get through that as soon as possible and you can worry about other things. Also, please don’t run your laptop while it’s in the case, it will suffocate, just like a dog.

(Accidents)

In order to minimize accidents happening to your laptop. It’s best to ensure it’s in a good home. Keep out of the reach of children, liquids and excessive dust. That means clean up your workspace/desk. Laptops have vents that they need to breathe cold air and cool the CPU. A very common problem in laptops is dust accumulating in the vents and causing it to get so hot, it causes random shutdowns and hard drive failures. Blow with canned or compressed air the dust out of your vents every year or so.

(Laptop Coolers)

I’ve only recommended a laptop cooler once. That was for a Pentium 4 Monster computer that was extremely fast, but did not have a fan powerful enough to keep it cool (or running for more than 15 minutes). I blamed the bad designed. Still, I clean out the vents, took it apart and re-applied the thermal grease. But it was still not enough. But after duct-taping a USB powered laptop cooler, the stability returned.
So remember folks, if you know your laptop is getting pretty hot and shuts down a lot because of that, and even after you’ve properly cleaned out the dust. Then you may need a laptop cooler when using your computer for extended periods of time.

-note about laptops coolers-

Most laptops are not designed for sitting on the carpet, couch, beds, or even laps! I know! See the fan below the laptops? Block that and it gets really hot. But lets assume you say, “I bought a laptop cooler, it’s not touching the bottom of the laptop, so it’s ok right?” Maybe, and maybe you’d like to clean out all the dust and fibers that are on the floor and currently blowing into your laptop vents! Laptops and the coolers are meant for hard, dust-free surfaces. Period. Except most Macbooks that have a smart patented designed. Darn you!
(Docks) Since we’re on the subject of laptop coolers. Maybe you’d rather get a dock. Some docks combine more usbs and sometimes even speakers with their designs. What are docks good for? Well, the docks stay at home or work. They don’t move from place to place often. They are “docking stations” for you laptop to go to and rest, even when in use, docks are designed to keep laptops cooler and safer from slips over the desk and theft. Most docks have a raised end, not just for screen adjustment, but to let air below the laptop flow freely. Here’s mine at work.