Now that almost half of the world has transitioned to working from home set-ups, laptops and personal computers have become more important than ever. As such, you can’t have your laptop breaking down on you during this crucial moment in time. The sad reality is that there will come a time where it will ultimately just give up, but there are a few things you can do to prolong its life span. These practical maintenance tips will help keep your laptop running smoothly for longer:
Backup your files
It’s difficult to keep track of how many files you’ve accumulated on your laptop over the years. If you haven’t yet cleaned up your hard drive, now is the perfect time to do it. Clogging your hard drive with files is a surefire way to slow down your laptop and compromise its overall performance. While it’s easy to get rid of unnecessary junk, it’s much harder to know what to do with essential files that you might not need at the moment but can’t simply delete. The best solutions for this include backing your data up on an external hard drive or going to a computer store to have your data backed up on a cloud service.
Clean your laptop
Your hard drive isn’t the only thing that you need to clean out. You also need to keep your laptop’s keyboard, openings, and monitor clean too. Stray debris that gets stuck on any of these can lead to them not working properly. To properly clean out your keyboard, turn your laptop upside-down and gently tap it to let any loose debris fall out. Use a compressed air canister or mini vacuum to blow out any remaining detritus that are still trapped under the harder to reach crevices of your keyboard. You can also use the air canister on ports and sockets. Wipe everything down with a damp cloth when you’re done.
Let your laptop breathe
Your laptop needs to remain at a certain optimal temperature to be able to function properly. To ensure that you’re keeping your laptop cool enough, you need to see to it that airflow isn’t obstructed. Always make sure your workspace is free from anything that could block your laptop fan’s airflow. You can elevate your laptop by using a laptop stand which is not only good for ventilation, but for your wrist and hand posture as well.
Update your antivirus
It’s not enough to have an anti-virus program installed on your computer. You’ll need to make sure it’s updated so that it can efficiently identify threats and eliminate them. Updating your anti-virus program also ensures that it can scan your computer at a much quicker rate and more thoroughly than ever before.
Turn off your laptop
This might seem pretty obvious, but lots of people forget to give their laptop a break by turning it off. Most people think leaving it on Sleep Mode is fine, but it can significantly compromise your machine in the long run. By setting your laptop on Sleep while charging overnight, you’re not only exhausting your hardware but you’re also overcharging your laptop’s batteries. It’s better to leave your laptop on Hibernate for a short period of time while shutting it down every so often.
There’s an expiry date for everything, including your laptop. These tips will help you delay that date so that you can keep your machine running smoothly and efficiently for as long as possible.