10 Tips to Prolong the Life of your Laptop

The laptop is an ingenious modern invention that allows you to carry your computer, with all its bits of information, documents, and the like, around wherever you go. It wasn't that long ago when it was uncommon to have a computer in the house, but now, lots of families have not only a computer, but have multiple laptops as-well. 

Laptops are very useful, and if you use a laptop for work, you can basically carry your job with you, a portable workspace - which can be quite a convenient thing to do. 

Compared to the stay-at-home computer, a laptops life-expectancy isn't as great. If you think about it however, because of the portability of laptops, they take a lot more physical beatings so to say than stationary computers do. Of course there are other factors to why laptops don't last of long, that was just an example, but there are things you can do to prolong the life of your laptop. Some laptops can last for years.

1. Cooling and overheating

Normally caused through heavy usage, laptops can easily overheat. Allow your laptop breathe. Soft surfaces, such as a sofa or bed, can block the air vents and prevents it from cooling properly, these are essential to stop your laptop from overheating. Harder surfaces are better for your laptops cooling system, for example the top of a table. 

If you use your laptop often, taking small breaks every now and again and turning your laptop off whilst doing so, will allow it a bit of time to cool down. And if you're quite tech-savvy, you may know how to adjust the fan-speed and temperature settings to benefit your laptop, I for one, don't know how to adjust them. :)

2. Back-up memory

The more programs you are running - the more RAM you are going to use (random access memory). This includes photos, videos, and audio. The more RAM you are using, the slower your laptop will be, and performance wont be as good. So backup your laptops programs on something like an external hard-drive, not only will you have assurance that all of your programs will be safe if your laptop crashes or is stolen, but you can remove programs from your laptop to free up space and speed-up performance.

3. Cleanliness

Try not to touch the screen or let bits of crumbs and other small things get into the mechanisms of the laptop. Over time as these bits build up, they can damage components, such as the keyboard and fan. Touching your screen regularly can cause bad streaks and limit screen-visibility. Cleaning the screen incorrectly can also do some damage. Avoid applying cleaner directly to the screen. Some simple screen protectors can help prevent damage, and careful cleaning of other components every 4-5 months can surprisingly go a long way.

4. Case

As mentioned briefly in the second paragraph, laptops as they're portable, do experience their fair share of bangs and knocks. They can be dropped, sat and stood on, and knocked while being - all of which aren't good. 

There are some laptops that seem to be 'long-livers' and have been through it all, yet is still running strong today. 
In general though, these bangs and knocks can dislodge components over time and even break parts, and if the laptop is switched on - can damage the hard-drive. Having a case that can at least act as a sort of shock-absorber is going to help. You don't need to buy a huge state-of-the-art case, a simple small one will be fine.

5. Factory settings

This may sound like going over the top but in the long-term does prolong battery-life. When you first get your laptop, it will be in pristine condition, and so the brightness and other factory settings will be at an unnecessary high level. Just by simply lowering the settings to a reasonable level you're comfortable with (you don't need to go as far as turning them off altogether :) ), will help squeeze out a bit more life of your battery. It's also better for your eyes - as you're putting less strain on them.

6. Handling

Never hold your laptop by the screen, always hold it with the bottom half (keyboard side). Laptops were designed to be held this way and not by the screen.
Also, try to where possible hold your laptop with two hands and not just one.

Don't close the lid whilst there is something still on the keyboard (often a pen or pencil), don't slam the lid shut, don't stack items on the lid of your laptop, don't drop your laptop onto a surface - always place it instead (no-matter how soft a surface), and don't twist the screen on its hinges (this can actually crack the screen).  

A lot of these may seem like common sense, but are easily done and I myself have been guilty of a few of these from time-to-time, we just need to remind ourselves that they are expensive pieces of equipment. Treat them with care - like you would somebody Else's.

7. Caution with software

Lots of people download software to their laptops, some more regularly than others, and there's nothing wrong with doing it, however, a bit of care may be needed. 
Sometimes downloaded software's and screensavers clash and can cause freezing to occur, also using up more memory than needed in the process. 

Having a knowledge of spyware is also important. It's a piece of software specifically designed to steal your personal data without you knowing. It also shows information about your computer usage and creates pop-up advertisements. 
A lot of spywares are secretly hidden inside of regular software, that you may decide to download and install to your laptop, not having a clue that spyware could be lurking. 

Make sure that you get a good reputable anti-virus that will help with dealing with spyware and will help keep other viruses away. The reason why I say to get a reputable anti-virus is because some anti-virus software, believe it or not, are actually viruses in themselves. Once they've infiltrated your computer, some viruses can be close to impossible to remove completely. This may mean that you have to get a new laptop, so be cautious.  

8. Routinely maintenance

One of the biggest reasons why maintenance is not done is because of insufficient knowledge about how to carry out regular maintenance. It's quite simple once you've done it once or twice. Things like running a weekly "disk clean-up" or "defragment"  can be found in the accessories menu of your laptop, and can be done at the click of a button. 

Also, get into the habit of running weekly "virus scans" and check for "disk-errors". These are just some simple things and can be found out in more detail by doing a simple Google search.

You can go into way more complexities by fully dismantling your computer and checking each and every core component and mechanism. Manufacturers instructions will often give guidance about the recommended way to perform maintenance, but that's if you want to. :)

9. Keep potential hazards away

While this may seem like another common-sense bit of advice to appear on this list, it does need to be said just to remind some people. Keep liquids (water, tea, coffee, alcohol, or whatever) away from your laptop. A simple spray of liquid or a knocked-over glass can permanently damage your computer.

The same can be true with foods, spilling your favourite hot curry or fast food burger onto your laptop is going to do more harm than good. So eating whilst using it is also a bad idea.

Basically I'm just saying its better to be safe rather than sorry.

10. Don't leave disks in the disk-drive

When not using the disk drive, there isn't any reason to why you should have a disk in there. It may be convenient for you to have it already inside of your laptop in case you're going to use it, but it will actually be doing more harm than good. CD and DVD drives for laptops are very flimsy, and tend to break when used in excessive amounts. When a disk is in place, the laptop will be trying to read it, and over a period of time will cause the disk driver to wear out sooner than normal.