How To Take Good Care Of Your Laptop Computer With Pictures

Keep food and drink away from the laptop. When drinking water or other beverages while working on your laptop, keep your glass or bottle at least one foot away from the laptop. A useful rule of thumb is that even if you toppled over your drink, it should be far enough away from your laptop that the laptop won’t experience the spill. If you need to eat near the laptop, close the laptop lid. If you do want to watch videos on the laptop while eating (and accept the greater risk to your laptop), keep the laptop as far away as possible and cover the keyboard with a plastic foam to minimize the risk of spills. Use your laptop in safe conditions (e. g. , away from water, extreme temperatures, and so on). For instance, try not to use your laptop where it faces direct sunlight, near heating vents, or outdoors where there is risk of rainwater, dust, or other particles getting into it. During days of high temperatures, it’s even more important to keep your laptop on a hard surface and make sure the vents are unobstructed, and keep workloads on the laptop low. Place your laptop out of reach of children and pets.

You might also want to invest in a specific laptop bag (or a backpack with a dedicated laptop compartment) if you travel often.

Unfortunately, factory laptop batteries tend to have reduced lifespans, so your laptop’s battery life will usually not match the factory estimates. Battery life reduces each time you have to charge it, so consider keeping your laptop plugged into a power cable until you absolutely have to use the battery. If the laptop is constantly plugged in, there is some risk of overcharging. However, modern laptops have built-in protections against overcharging – if they detect that you tend to keep the laptop plugged in most of the time, they will occasionally discharge the battery a little bit to maximize its lifespan. Make sure that you have enabled this functionality if available on your laptop. For Macs, this is available at System Preferences > Battery > Battery as “Optimized battery charging”. It’s usually better to just leave the laptop plugged in and let the machine do the occasional discharge, rather than unplug the power cord yourself every few days. However, older laptops may not have this overcharge protection functionality, so if you’re using an older laptop and never need to unplug it in your regular use, you may want to unplug for an hour or two every week.

Make sure your hands are clean before using your laptop. Place your laptop on a clean, dust-free surface. Make sure the laptop is well-ventilated by ensuring that the vents are clear of obstructions. Keep your environment at a neutral temperature. Use a dehumidifier if your climate is exceptionally humid.

Keyboard Vents Screen

This includes anything from your phone to books, dishes, or clothes.

Windows — Click the Start {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/0/07/Windowsstart. png”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/0/07/Windowsstart. png/30px-Windowsstart. png",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:460,“bigWidth”:30,“bigHeight”:30,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

I edited this screenshot of a Windows icon. \n</p>

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\n</p></div>"} icon, click the Power {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/5/5d/Windowspower. png”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/5/5d/Windowspower. png/30px-Windowspower. png",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:460,“bigWidth”:30,“bigHeight”:30,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

I edited this screenshot of a Windows icon. \n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_domain">Public Domain</a>
\n</p></div>"} icon, and click Shut down. Mac — Click the Apple menu {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/f/ff/Macapple1. png”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/f/ff/Macapple1. png/29px-Macapple1. png",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:476,“bigWidth”:29,“bigHeight”:30,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

I edited this screenshot of a Mac icon. \n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Fair_use">Fair Use</a>
\n</p></div>"}, click Shut Down. . . , and click Shut Down when prompted.

If you lift your laptop 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, so take care not to place pressure on it. If you drop the laptop while transporting it, it’s much more likely to get damaged if the lid is open than if it is closed. So it’s better to close the lid when transporting the laptop, even over relatively short distances (e. g. , from your bed to your table). Closing the laptop lid also reduces the pressure imposed on the hinges. When transporting the laptop, it’s better to support it from below with one hand and from the side on the other. If that isn’t feasible, hold it from both hands on both sides. Do not just hold it with one hand from one side, as this increases the risk of losing your grip over it and can also result in more pressure on the hinges. Do not carry other things inside your laptop, on top of your laptop, or in your other hand while holding and transporting the laptop. Among other risks, if any of them slip you might be tempted to catch them, losing your control over the laptop as well.

Keep the laptop at least a few inches away from the edge of the table you’ve placed it on, so that there’s some room for it to be pulled without toppling off the table. Make sure that power cords are placed in a way that you are unlikely to accidentally trip over or pull them. The same applies to accessories such as plugged-in headphones, though the risk there is less.

If you try opening or closing the lid without holding the base steady, this puts pressure on the hinges, which weakens them; it also increases the risk of toppling or pushing the laptop. For the same reasons as above, it’s good to use multiple fingers when opening or closing the lid.

You can also check for updates manually by opening your program’s Settings or Help menu and looking for a Check for Updates button. Downloading the latest version of a program’s installer file and running it will also replace the older version of the program with an updated version.

Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Esc to bring up the Task Manager. Select a program that’s listed in the “Apps” section. Click End task in the bottom-right corner of the window. Repeat with other programs you want to close.

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I edited this screenshot of a Windows icon. \n</p>

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\n</p></div>"}. Open Settings {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/d/d0/Windowssettings. png”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/d/d0/Windowssettings. png/31px-Windowssettings. png",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:445,“bigWidth”:31,“bigHeight”:30,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

I edited this screenshot of a Windows icon. \n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_domain">Public Domain</a>
\n</p></div>"}. Click Apps. Find the program you want to install. Click the program’s name, then click Uninstall. Click Uninstall again when prompted. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the uninstallation.

I edited this screenshot of a Windows icon. \n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_domain">Public Domain</a>
\n</p></div>"}. Open Settings {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/d/d0/Windowssettings. png”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/d/d0/Windowssettings. png/31px-Windowssettings. png",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:445,“bigWidth”:31,“bigHeight”:30,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

I edited this screenshot of a Windows icon. \n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_domain">Public Domain</a>
\n</p></div>"}. Click {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/a/ad/Windows10-Update. png”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/a/ad/Windows10-Update. png/30px-Windows10-Update. png",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:460,“bigWidth”:30,“bigHeight”:30,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_domain">Public Domain</a>
\n</p></div>"} Update & Security. Click Check for updates, then allow any available updates to install. Restart Windows to allow operating system updates to install.

I edited this screenshot of a Windows icon. \n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_domain">Public Domain</a>
\n</p></div>"}. Type in disk cleanup. Click Disk Cleanup. Check any box on the main window, including the “Temporary Internet Files” one. You can also click the Clean up system files button in the lower-left corner to see additional options. Click OK, then click Delete Files when prompted.

Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Esc to bring up the Task Manager. Click the Startup tab. Select a program that you want to disable. Click Disable in the lower-right corner of the window. Repeat with other programs.

You can delete a file by right-clicking it and then clicking Delete.

Do not defragment your computer if you have a Solid State Drive (SSD) instead of a traditional hard drive. It isn’t necessary, and can actually ruin your drive in the process.

Click the Apple menu {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/f/ff/Macapple1. png”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/f/ff/Macapple1. png/29px-Macapple1. png",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:476,“bigWidth”:29,“bigHeight”:30,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

I edited this screenshot of a Mac icon. \n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Fair_use">Fair Use</a>
\n</p></div>"}. Click App Store. . . in the drop-down menu. Click the Updates tab. Click UPDATE ALL at the top of the page.

Click Spotlight {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/e/ea/Macspotlight. png”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/e/ea/Macspotlight. png/30px-Macspotlight. png",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:460,“bigWidth”:30,“bigHeight”:30,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

I edited this screenshot of a Mac icon. \n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Fair_use">Fair Use</a>
\n</p></div>"}. Type in activity monitor. Double-click Activity Monitor. Select a program you want to quit, then click the X icon in the top-left corner of the window. Click Force Quit when prompted.

I edited this screenshot of a Mac icon. \n</p>

You can delete a file by clicking it to select it, clicking File, and clicking Move to Trash.