Notebook proper handling

I've been reading this forum some time now, and I just bought my second notebook ever, always hated it (i got Asus G51JX now) but now its a need.

I haven't seen too many posts (i think there should be a "sticky" one) about how to take care, or safely/properly handling of a notebook.

What should or not be doing with it, wich are the main risks, etc etc.

Is this a good idea or repost somewhere? I think there are many "old" notebook users who can provide guide to newbies like myself

EDIT: move to wherever this goes i... i belive is here... but just in case

 

First pick a good bag or backpack. One that not only protects the book, but depending on what you carry with it, has enough room for peripherals (eternal hd, mouse, cables, files...whatever you need to use it for. Never get lazy with it while going anywhere. This means don't just set it down and talk. Whenever I am out in public with it, such as airport, when I sit I put my leg through the carry strap. Be aware of what is surrounding it. You can be careful, but the guy next to you is the proverbial bull in a china shop and runs his cart into it, or a kid knocks it over running by. Also never just set it on a seat while driving. Sudden stops will make it fall forward, a good way to damage it. Either place it low on floor, or strap it in. Try to not let it be visible in a car if you go inside somewhere. It will prove very tempting to the local thugs. Also, never let anyone set a drink anywhere near it. Keep it away from direct heat sources, heat is the number one enemy of the hardware. And if it ever gets really cold, let it get up to room temp. Always back up work, regularly. Keep anti virus and spyware/malware up to date, and then run them at least weekly. Keep updates to OS current. If it costs $600 or $2000, treat it as if it were the actual cash. Treat it well, it will give you a long life. Keep bloat and crap off it, just like a desktop. Keep your files organized, and you will learn to love it. Remember to use firewall in public wifi areas. Sorry if this is too general of ideas. More people will come on here with some better things to watch for. Have fun and enjoy it for what it is, a very portable way to work and have fun. Also if you have more specific questions, please ask.

 

I've seen there are tons of nb "tweaking" tools, powersaving for example.
I could ask some...
Are coolers a " must" (at least mine or gaming ones) everyday, or summer time?
How should we treat our batteries? I think I'll have mine plugged in most of the time, since I don't intend to use it much "on the way", instead carrying from home to work, and from my main city to my weekend one for example.
I've read if you are going to use it plugged, you need to leave at least 40% of the battery charged, and discharge it and recharge again in 3-4 months for it not to loose its recharging capacity

How much true about that, and how it really is?

 

I also use mine mostly plugged. Only my work one do I use on battery (and that only when I really need to). So someone else will have to answer the battery question. On the other one I mainly use, I still haven't taken the battery out of the bag it came in. As far as tweaking, on my older laptop, I have it partitioned, and use xp on one partition, a fresh install of win7 on the other. Each has various tweaks (all performance based), but the win7 has more ability to impact performance. On my newest lappy I have 2 drives, the stock 500gb hdd and a ssd for OS and some programs and apps. Each has had some tweaks I found here and each is very fast. I use mine with performance goals in mind, not battery time. There are also some good guides on here to tweak it to give longer life on battery power. Neither of mine that I use need a cooler, as one doesn't generate the heat and the other is great in heat dissipation. I have a couple of much older HP lappys that my kids use and they both need the coolers. Both blew hot right out of the box. Good venting (keep the vents and inside dust free by opening up and blowing out the accumulation every so often) and cooling keeps them from damage though. Both still work well, having nothing more than the odd HDD change (1 died, the other I just needed more space. I also would recommend you seach for the tweaking forums and see what others are doing, find what may interest you, and then try what you think you need. Remember before you do any tweaks, back up. Make recovery disks if you didn't get any. Take your time. Be careful. I have seen on here where sometimes people lose a screw inside the lappy. Not good. Liquid, metal, dust... all bad for your notebook innards.