Maintain and keep a Healthy Laptop/PC
Edited by Eng, Jerry Rivers, Robbi, Dougie and 2 others
Most of us own a Laptop or a PC; we in general use it, for Gaming, getting into the Web, personal usage. Yet few of us take proper care of our device, either in Hardware perspective or software wise. It is a very wide topic, with so many things to watch for, in here I will try to cover as much as I recall of those aspects, and shall amend this article upon recalling new issues, and should any of you dear readers find a missed point, please kindly put your comment, and I shall amend accordingly.
The Article will be sub-branched into two branches, 1- Hardware wise, 2- Software wise.
Hardware Wise
Dusting and Heat issues
One of most overlooked issues is dusting and cleaning your Laptop or PC. If you hear a strange sound from your PC during running - Or if your computer shuts down unexpectedly after a short period of running, then it is time to take this step. It is most likely that your PC is overheating due to non-active Processor Fan. PC's especially will accumulate a lot of dust particles from the surrounding environment. It is an easy task to clean it. You simply are going to need a hair dryer.
- 1Unscrew the fasting screws of the side of the PC case. You need to do that for the side opposite to your motherboard (opposite to where you hook all the peripherals like the monitor jack, or keyboard). Slide out the cover.Unplug all cables and peripherals attached to your PC, START with power cable, then others.
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- 5The most overlooked issue with Laptop is that, we tend to block the air-inlet holes and/or the fan outlet. Always make sure you are NOT blocking your Laptop inlet and outlet holes when placing your Laptop on your thighs, or on the bed linens. It is advisable to place the Laptop on a solid tab, like a wooden tab, an old screen filter will do.As for Laptop, they will collect dust particles, yet the airing inlet holes are much finer.
- 6You may also try to provide an auxiliary fan to help cooling your device. For Laptop, you may purchase a Universal Cooling Pad to place your Laptop over, those use USB power cord to supply power and contain auxiliary fans to help cool down your Laptop and supply fresh air in hot weather conditions. In addition, you may use a regular home fan to blow directly on your Laptop.Don't over use your PC / Laptop in very hot weather.
Other Hardware issues you should pay attention to
- 1If you are barefoot, and when you touch your PC case with your fingers you feel a slight electrical nudge, then your home electrical wiring is not grounded. It is advisable to ground your PC. A simple way to do that, is to get a single ½-1mm single core electrical cable and attach one end to any screw on your PC case; the other end, you need to attach to a ground object, like near a heating radiator, or a water tap. Make sure the brass of the wire is in contact with an unpainted part of the radiator. If needed scrape the paint from a small area to uncover the metal base, into where to attach the wire.Grounding your Device.
- 2Peripherals have a very thin core wiring. Mostly they do not withhold any excessive tension, and they might break from the inside at any point if we pull them with force, although the insulation might not show any indications. After a while, especially if subjected to direct sun light or heat, the plastic (synthetic) insulation will wear-off. Over twisting the wire will cause it to break from the inside too. Don't pull your mouse cable to set it free; try to work out where it is clogged, rather than pulling it.Clogged Wiring and Twisted Wires.
- 3Most of the time, kids will get so excited during a game, that they put excessive force to keyboard keys. You will find yourself with a broken keyboard when you most need it to finish a work you need on the PC.For kids, get them a joystick to avoid using the keyboard for gaming, or even better a separate keyboard for them to use.
- 4You can also use the vacuum cleaner to vacuum it. Ensure that the vacuum is on blow setting.Periodically, flip the keyboard upside down and tap on the back, you will be astonished of what might fall off from in-between the keys.
- 5For sometimes, the copying job is not finished, and we might lose or corrupt the information we are copying. So it is best to use that, for it will warn you if an operation or program is still using that flash-pen and it will advise you if it is safe to unplug it.Unplugging a Flash-Pen (also called a flash-disk), after copying to it, without using the safe un-attach service can be tricky.
- 6Drain your battery until the Laptop shuts down at least every 2-3 days.To maintain your Laptop battery, do not keep the Laptop hooked to an electrical supply.
Software Wise
- 1Several applications are out there in the market, some are free too. I use the EASEUS Todo Backup program. You can download it for free from the web EASEUS Todo BackupOnce you get your Laptop set and configured to your need, make a backup of the OS and C drive using a backup program.
- 2I use "CCleaner", CCleaner. You may also Google it to download and install it; it is free and does the job.When you have an abnormal shut down, you need to start and use a cleaning program to look for and clean temp files residuals.
- 3Most of the times, there is a conflict in programs. Try to uninstall the newly installed program, or roll back to a previous version of your newly updated program or service, then reboot and check if the error is cleared. To view your update history, go to "Control Panel" then Click on "Programs and Features". Then click on "View Installed updates". There you can find your latest updates. You may tab on the "Installed On" column to sort those in Date order.When you experience an unexpected error or behavior, first try to recall what you have installed, updated, or removed.
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Questions and Answers
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
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Categories : Tech
Recent edits by: Calob Horton, Dougie, Robbi