10 Hacks To Make Your Laptop Last Longer

November 17, 2023

Preventive maintenance techniques for laptops

Joseph Chisom Ofonagoro

laptop tips

devices

10 Tips to Make Your Laptop Last Longer

With the high rate at which people venture into tech and its related fields, the use of laptops have increased despite smartphones being comparatively affordable and has more mobility.

One issue which majority of laptop’s owners face is longevity of their laptops. Laptops are more fragile than smartphones both in the technical and physical aspect, thus the need to keep them working optimally for long is very important.

In this blog article, courtesy of Techgix, I’d be enlightening you on some of the things you need to do to ensure that your laptop lasts longer, and also bring to your awareness certain practices you might be doing wrongly that might be costing you your laptop’s lifespan.

Grab your coffee cup, fill it with coffee and let’s learn together.

Ventilation and Coolness:

Generally, electronics are not supposed to be kept in hot places. Laptops consume much power and even with their inbuilt fans, they still get hot pretty fast making it suicidal to the laptop to operate in hot places.

For best performance, laptops should be used in an environment that is slightly below room temperature.

Using your laptop in an environment that is hot will heat up the processor, and processors don’t work well under heat.

As a bonus tip, don’t block your laptop’s cooling system.

Software Update:

Regular software updates might look like work, but the benefits of updating your software is numerous.

By software, I mean both the installed software, system software and the drivers. Though, updating the drivers is something you might need expert knowledge to do.

Many laptop users don’t take laptop software update seriously until the adverse effects starts manifesting, by then, it might have been too late.

Handling:

Like I wrote above, laptops are very fragile and mishandling them can cause serious consequences. A little fall from a height can damage certain components within, so the way a laptop is handled is totally different from how mobile phones which are more compact and mobile is.

Mistakes do happen occasionally and that’s why I compiled these tips to help you minimize the occurrence of a laptop falling:

• Balance it on your desk or thighs (spread your thighs slightly.)

• If you must carry it around, get a good bag that has straps in it.

• Never use your laptop while standing.

• When not in use, keep on low tables or balance properly.

Avoid Water and Food:

This sounds like common practice and any one with common sense should know this, but funnily enough, many don’t adhere completely to this.

If you need to consume foods or liquids, move away from your laptop. Also, if you use your laptop from a desk, keep your drinks far from your PC. I see many laptop users keep their coffee near their laptop: it looks dope, but it’s unethical.

Remember that a laptop is more open than a mobile phone; it has many ports and the keyboard can serve as a door for liquids to easily pass through.

Files and Storage:

For smooth running of your laptop, save files on it the right way, don’t save files when the laptop’s battery isn’t stable as interruption of power when a file is being saved can result in the hard drive being damaged.

Additionally, ensure you keep about 10% of your storage free to ensure smooth running of system’s operation. Constant crashing of your hard drive can cause permanent damages to your storage drive.

Regular Maintenance:

Even if the laptop doesn’t generate faults, a regular checkup is still advised. Conducting a laptop maintenance can either be done by the laptop user or by a qualified technician depending on what you want to check.

DIY procedures simply involves cleaning the screen and keyboard with a dry cloth, removing the battery from the slot to check for dust or rust, checking the cooling fans to check for any obstruction and also checking all the ports.

If it involves losing the nuts with a screw, it is best to consult the assistance of a qualified

technician.

Hardware Upgrade:

Software aren’t the only thing that can be changed from less to more, hardware can also be upgraded, though it requires an entire replacement or an addition.

Upgrading the hardware components of your laptop not only ensures it works smoothly and optimally, it helps keep in its overall wellbeing.

While upgrading, check for compatibility and upgrade to the hardware component that is compatible with your device only.

Install Good Software:

The type of software you use on your laptop can have an effect which can be negative or positive on your laptop’s health affecting it.

A faulty software can overstress your laptop causing it to overheat. Aside from overheating your laptop, a faulty app can cause your laptop to lag which can result in consistent crashing.

When downloading any software, either download from your official store or from reputable websites.

Overcharging:

Many laptop manufacturers use lithium-ion batteries, and such batteries have a lifespan that is finite. Their lifespan as finite batteries is hugely dependent on the number of charge cycles it goes through.

Overcharging can reduce the lifespan of your laptop and also cause it to overheat. Despite the fact that newer generations of laptops come with charge control, overcharging it can still have adverse effects on it.

As a guide, keep it within 20% to 85% and let it run down and charge up to 100% periodically to keep its calibration accurate.

Familiarize Yourself with Your Laptop:

Getting to know your laptop better can help you understand the approach to use when you need to do something really quick.

One of the best things to do when you get a new laptop is to check its documentation online and understand its working mechanisms.

Ignorantly using a laptop can cause you to accidentally misuse or damage it resulting in bigger issues if not handled promptly.

Summary

Preventive maintenance of laptops is very crucial. Adhering to these 10 preventive measures will not only make your laptop last longer, but last well.

If you’re a techie, you’d benefit from these guides more. They are pretty straightforward and easy to follow.

Cheers to better productivity.