How to Take Good Care of Your

Laptop Computer
1
Prevent accidents before they happen. Protecting your laptop's hardware is usually a
matter of caution. You can avoid the majority of common pitfalls by doing the following:
 Keep food and drink away from the laptop.
 Use your laptop in safe conditions (e.g., away from water, extreme temperatures, and
so on).
 Place your laptop out of reach of children and pets.

2
Buy a computer case. Especially if you're particularly accident-prone, having a hard-
shell case for your laptop will prevent damage from minor falls or spills when your laptop
is shut.
 You might also want to invest in a specific laptop bag (or a backpack with a dedicated
laptop compartment) if you travel often.

3
 Know how to treat the battery. 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.

4
Use your laptop in ideal conditions. When using your laptop, try to recreate the best
possible conditions by doing the following:
 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.
 5
Clean your laptop often. Taking a few minutes to clean your computer of dust, grime,
residue, and so on will make a huge difference in your laptop's lifespan. Focus on the
following:
 Keyboard
 Vents
 Screen

6
 Be gentle when plugging in peripherals. Peripherals are items you plug
into your laptop; these can include USB flash drives or accessories,
headphone or speaker cables, adapters, and even the power cable. Many
of these items have specific ports or locations into which they fit, so pay
attention to the shape and size of an item's connector before plugging it into
its respective port.

7 Don't leave your laptop in a car. Not only do the insides of cars experience large
temperature swings that could damage a laptop, but a laptop (or laptop bag) is an
inviting target for a thief.

8
Avoid placing things on top of your laptop. This can push the LCD screen into the
keyboard, and may eventually damage your laptop's screen.
This includes anything from your phone to books, dishes, or clothes.

9
 Shut down your laptop once every few days. You may notice that your
laptop begins to run sluggishly after a few days of being constantly on. You
can remedy this problem by turning off your laptop all the way and leaving it
alone for 15 minutes; this will allow your computer's hardware to rest and
reset. To turn off your computer all the way, do the following:

10
 Hold and lift the computer by its base. 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.
 11
 Protect the screen. One of the reasons your computer's screen will always
end up smudged regardless of how careful you are is because the laptop's
screen touches the keyboard keys, which have oil, grit, and dust on them,
whenever you close the lid. You can cut down on this problem by placing a
thin piece of foam or plastic on your keyboard before closing the lid.

Part 2
Taking Care of Software on Windows

1
Keep your computer's programs up to date. Out-of-date programs can slow down
your computer and cause errors, so make sure you're updating your programs
whenever you see the "Update available" window pop up.
 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.

2
Install a faster browser. If you're still using Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer
on your PC, consider switching over to something like Google Chrome or Firefox.

3
Close programs you aren't using. Each running program takes up a certain amount of
memory (known as RAM) and processing power, so make sure you're closing the ones
you don't want to use. You can force stubborn or unresponsive programs to close by
doing the following:
 Press Alt + ⇧ 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.

4
 Remove unwanted programs. Having programs and apps installed on your computer's
hard drive takes up space, thus creating strain on the hard drive itself. You can remove
programs you neither need nor want by doing the following:

 Open Start

 Open Settings
 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.

5
Update Windows whenever possible. When your computer's operating system has an
update available, it's best to update right away. Not only will doing so give you access to
the latest features and support, it will also ensure that your computer is protected from
the most recent threats:
 Open Start
 Open Settings
 Click Update & Security.
 Click Check for updates, then allow any available updates to install.
 Restart Windows to allow operating system updates to install.

6 . Clear out temporary files. Temporary files, such as the ones left over from Internet
browsing, can clutter your hard drive. You can easily remove them by doing the
following:
 Open Start
 Type in d i s k c l e a n u p .
 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.

7
Turn off as many startup programs as possible. Startup programs—i.e., programs
which begin running as soon as you start your computer—are notorious for making the
 process of starting your computer incredibly slow. Preventing all but the most necessary
of startup programs from beginning automatically will ensure that your computer loads
significantly faster, thus reducing the strain on your processor and lengthening your
computer's lifespan:
 Press Alt + ⇧ 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.

8
Clear out old files. Manually deleting files, photos, videos, and other items that you no
longer need is essential if you want to maintain your hard drive.
 You can delete a file by right-clicking it and then clicking Delete.

9
Defragment your computer's hard drive. Due to Windows' file system, files and other
data can become "fragmented" across your hard drive over time. This makes it harder
for your hard drive to find the files. Defragmenting your hard drive will reassemble most
of these files in their original locations, making your computer run much smoother.
 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.

10
 Empty the Recycle Bin. It's easy to forget that files you've moved to the
Recycle Bin by way of deleting them aren't automatically removed from
your hard drive. To empty the Recycle Bin, right-click it, click Empty
Recycle Bin in the drop-down menu, and click Yes when prompted.