basics of taking care of a laptop?

Hey guys i was wondering what are the basics of taking care of a laptop? Like how to take care of battery, and also the internals. Thanks mucho

 

This is helpful regarding batteries

Notebook Battery Guide

 

Compressed air, soft anti-static cloth, and keep the battery charged at 40%. Those are the basics.

 

A soft micro-fiber cloth, and a bottle of compressed air for cleaning out the fan and the dust that stores over time in your computer.

As well as occasionally unplugging the computer from the charger.

 

Okay and also should i let it sleep overnight or hibernate? Also do i let it plugged in the charger while i am on the laptop or plug it out and charge it once it hits around 20 percent?

 

It depends on your usage habits. I always leave the battery in while plugged in as the battery acts as an UPS (uninterruptible power supply) so if there is a power failure, I don't lose my work if anything happens. I try to use my battery without power at least twice a week, generally draining it until around 15% (my low battery warning) before plugging it back in to charge. At night, I just shut down my laptop if I'm not downloading or doing something that requires me to leave it on overnight.

 

Okay i will do that and also i thought it was bad to shut down your computer everyday?

 

Good Q KayC, I personally always shutdown my ASUS at end of day, because I sometimes I go 3 or 4 days when I use my dell only.
If I only had one machine without an SSD I would use hibernate.
Shut Down or Hibernate? - Page 2 - Windows 7 Forums

 

Sorry for hijacking your thread but quick question.

I leave the battery out of my laptop and the guide says its recommended to keep it at 40% but i notice that the battery discharges around 1-3% of the remaining life left every 2 or so days. Do i just charge it back to 40% when it goes down? Won't that waste a charge cycle? thanks in advance.

 

Sleep overnight. Generally, if you don't need the battery, don't use it. However, I recommend using the computer on battery mode every single month at least once.

 

I had the same issue with my ASUS, I found out that is normal . Now I just keep it in and it is there for protection against power outages. I also use mine or battery/AC about 50/50.

 

more ever, i have the exact different scenario, i only plug my laptop when i need to charge the battery or do gaming which takes like 2-3 hours divided sessions. usually i use it on the go, and since ownership i mostly use my lappy on battery mode with all the system saving tweaks and switchable graphics.

 

Can someone tell me if picking up a laptop and otherwise moving it around while it's turned on is harmful? I imagine it's only bad when there is a hard drive writing to disk, but I'm not even sure about that.

 

Modern laptop hard drives are quite resistant to damage when moved during operation. There shouldn't be a problem if you move the laptop around when it's turned on, although obviously you want to avoid shaking or dropping your laptop.

 

You could always upgrade to an ssd, those things a awesome at handling movement

 

So long as you don't engage in sudden movements, it should be fine. That being said I was never comfortable moving a laptop around when the hard drive was active...SSD FTW!

 

SSD ftw! Best way to take care of it is not use it. Otherwise, use it an enjoy it with a cold beverage in one hand, and a spill protector on the keyboard.

 

travel in/on/by you hand - turn on is fine
backpack - turn off/sleep/hibernate.

Usually hibernate is not needed unless you switch/take off battery often.

 

I used to hibernate my laptop alot somehow I now notice it has now shorter battery than usual..

A HP G6 series btw..

 

My tip for laptop care is to handle the USB ports like they're made of glass. Don't plug things into USB in the dark, don't plug in while you can't see the port. If one of the USB connector pins in the laptop gets bent backwards due to a failed connection attempt. Well my Toshiba would just instantaneously reboot. Also see if your laptop manufacturer offers a charger that offers the option of charge and power or just power. You will be able to tell if your battery is failing because you'll put your laptop to sleep at night, and see if it is keeping its charge well. ( At least on my HP laptop I can tell this )

 

Pretty sure it has been mentioned before but don't overcharge battery. My batteries are subpar as a result.

 

Make use of the defragment option and remove any files not needed, as well as making sure that the laptop does not overheat.

 

Unless you're using an SSD, then never defrag it.

 

I remember defrag making a difference on Windows XP but have noticed no difference on Windows 7. Granted we had much slower hard drives back in the XP days but ... I wouldn't bother anymore. Just not worth the time.