How to Take Good Care of Your

Laptop Computer
1. Keep liquids away from your laptop. As tempting as it might be to drink coffee, soda,
water or any other liquid near your laptop, accidents can happen all too easily.
Alternatively, use a cup with a cover on it, so even if it does spill, the liquid doesn't go
anywhere. Spilled liquids may damage the internal microelectronic components or cause
electrical damage. Short circuits can corrupt data or even permanently destroy some
parts of the laptop. The solution is very simple: Keep your drinks away from your
computer. Even if you are careful, someone else might spill your drink.

2. Having antivirus software available is the best defense against a virus. Even if you
know what you download, it could still contain a virus. If you choose not to have antivirus
software you run the risk of a circuit error or software problem in your system. The virus
may also slow down the system operations and performance.

3. Keep food away from your laptop. Don't eat over your laptop, the crumbs can fall
between the keys and provide an invitation to small bugs or damage the circuitry. Worse
yet, the laptop will look dirty if there are crumbs on it.

4. Keep food away from your laptop. Don't eat over your laptop, the crumbs can fall
between the keys and provide an invitation to small bugs or damage the circuitry. Worse
yet, the laptop will look dirty if there are crumbs on it.

5. Do not use your computer in a room where animals are. Their fur and hair can get
into the internal workings and damage them. Also larger animals (e.g dogs) can
accidentally damage them by knocking them off their support by brushing past, wagging
tail, tripping over leads etc.

6. Ideally keep the computer in a clean and dust free room.

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

8. Protect the LCD display monitor. 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 if the laptop is shut on them; the screen will scratch if the item is
 rough. Close the lid gently and holding it in the middle. Closing the lid using only one
side causes pressure on that hinge, and over time can cause it to bend and snap

9. Hold and lift the computer by its base, not by its LCD display (the screen). If
you lift it by the screen alone, you could damage the display or the hinges
attaching the display to the base. The display is also easily scratched or
damaged by direct pressure – take care not to place pressure on it.

10. Don't pull on the power cord. Tugging your power cord out from the power socket
rather than pulling directly on the plug can cause the cord to break off from the plug or
damage the power socket. Also, if the power cord is near your feet, avoid kicking it
accidentally; in fact, it is best to refrain from bumping into the plug at all because you
could loosen it and eventually break it.

11. Be sure to plug accessory devices into their proper slots. Always look at the
symbols on the laptop carefully before inserting devices. Jamming a phone line
into an Ethernet port or vice versa could damage the sockets, making it
impossible to use them again. It is very important to observe this step.

12. Handle any removable drives with care. CD drives that have been removed
from your laptop could easily be crushed or dropped; do not be careless. If you
are not putting them back into the laptop, put them straight into a storage box or
case for safekeeping.

13. Insert drives into their slots carefully and at the correct angle. Pushing the drive
too forcefully into its slot could jam it.

14. Check to see if labels are affixed securely before inserting media into your
laptop. CDs, DVDs, or floppy disks should not have any loose labels that may jam
inside the laptop. Don't attempt to use undersized CDs, as these can damage the disk
player permanently.

15. Don't expose your laptop to rapid temperature changes. 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. Avoid heat from sunlight as
well.

16. 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.

17. Have the unit cleaned annually to remove internal dust. Get this done by a
computer professional, or do it yourself if you can. If dust accumulates, the system will
not be able to cool itself correctly. Heat can destroy the motherboard.

18. Avoid placing heavy materials, such as books, on top of your laptop. This can
push the LCD screen into the keyboard, and will eventually damage it. Also, the CD-
ROM insert will be squished and, eventually, will break.

19. Use a properly-sized laptop case. Whatever you use to carry your laptop around, be it
a case, a bag, or something you made yourself, make sure that it is large enough to hold
the laptop. This will help avoid scratching, squeezing or potentially dropping it.

20. Look into getting a laptop bag. Many breaks happen because laptops are dropped or
bumped. A bag greatly reduces the risk of damage.

21. Only use and store your laptop in a well-ventilated area. When you are using your
laptop, do so in a place that has a constant air-circulation. Lots of people ruin their
laptops by using them in enclosed areas and thus cause the laptop to overheat.

22. Use an old toothbrush to clean the area around the exhaust fan screen. If that gets
plugged up, air flow is diminished and overheating can occur.
23. Try to keep the laptop on a flat, clean surface. This prevents damage to the laptop.
This can be hard to do, particularly if you are outside with your laptop, but if there is a flat
surface available then put your laptop on it.

24. Don't use your laptop on the bed. Repeated use of a laptop on the bed will
cause the fans to suck up the dust and debris in the bed, ultimately blocking the
fan.

25. Always check that your laptop does not have too much of software and
bloat-wares running around as they keep eating the precious memory
which is required for playing games or doing other high-end tasks.

26. Make sure that while downloading stuff from the web you do not download
unwanted installers which are usually created to install unwanted
softwares which are provided as freeware for providing the file which you
require.

27. Also its preferable that you use a cleanup software like tune up utilities or
c cleaner etc. for keeping you computer under constant surveillance from the
unnecessary programs installed during various activities.

28. If possible do a clean install of the operating system you use once every 2
to 3 years. This will really help the laptop to start from the scratch and maintain
everything in a very organised and effective manner.

29. If you are already on a device with low ram then do not trouble the device
with programs which accelerate the processor,it is better if you switch over
to another hard drive or pendrive to provide a bit of external ram and
provides a bit of breathing space to the computers internals.
30. For providing external RAM in windows laptops there is an option called
windows ready boost which gives an allocated space to be used as the
virtual ram for the computer instead of being completely dependent on the
internal memory provided.

31. Do not try to run large or unsupported multimedia files over your computer
if your computer does not meet the specifications as it usually damages
the computer in the long run.

32. It is also better if you head over to the local store and check for a complete
maintenance check to solve any errors which keep troubling you.

33. Take care that if you use a laptop not to use it in places full of dust flying
around as it may block the heat escape routes over a period of time and
thereby make your laptop much hotter than usual.