Caring for Your Desktop or Laptop Computer
How to Care for a Desktop PC
Desktop PCs are built to last, but they’re basically dust magnets. That dust traps heat, makes your fans work overtime, and causes your processor to slow itself down just to stay cool. A little regular maintenance goes a long way.
The most important thing you can do is give your PC a deep clean every six months. Unplug it, take it somewhere with decent airflow, pop the side panel off, and gently spray the internals with a can of compressed air — focus on the fan blades, the CPU heatsink (the finned metal block), and the power supply area.
One thing people always miss: hold the fan blade still with a finger while you blow with the compressed air. Letting it spin freely can push electricity backwards into the motherboard and damage the bearings.
Beyond that, keep your tower off the carpet. The carpet smothers the bottom vents and pulls in a ridiculous amount of dust and fibers. A desk or a simple wooden riser works great. And leave at least 4–6 inches of space behind the back of the case so hot air has somewhere to go.
How to Care for a Laptop
Laptops are tightly packed machines, and small bad habits tend to snowball. The two things that fail first on most laptops are the battery and the display hinges — and both are, for the most part, avoidable.
On the battery front: keeping it plugged in at 100% all the time wears it out faster than you’d think. Most laptops from Dell, HP, Lenovo, and ASUS have a built-in battery app with a “Conservation Mode” or “Battery Charge Limiting” option. Turn it on — it caps charging at 80% and can seriously extend how long your battery lasts overall.
For the hinges, always open your laptop from the center or use both hands on the corners. Grabbing just one corner twists the display assembly and puts all the stress on one hinge until it eventually cracks the frame. Takes two extra seconds and saves an annoying repair.
When you’re going to be using your laptop for any appreciable amount of time, keep it on a hard surface. Using it on a bed, couch, or blanket blocks the bottom vents almost instantly, and things get hot fast. A lap desk or tray table is all you need.
Finally — and this one catches people off guard — always do a full Shutdown before putting your laptop in a carrying case or bag, don’t just close the lid. If a background Windows update wakes the machine up inside the laptop case or bag, it’ll run hot with zero ventilation and drain your battery to zero before you even get where you’re going.
Is there a way to spray a laptop clean since they are so compacted and batteries are not eAnnabeasily removed anymore? Q also?uestion is can laptops be can aired sprayed
Question is can laptops be air sprayed with compressed canned air? First time I wrote you the question is messed up. Please disregard it. I know that batteries are not easily removed anymore.
I would not use compressed air on laptops. I’d use a soft brush to brush away dust. Desktop computers are built differently and usually more resistant to rough handling.
I keep my keyboard covered with the protective thin paper-like covering that came with the laptop. My reasoning is so that it should be kept dust-free when I’m not using it. I keep it on a slide out part of my desk, and never close it. Is it necessary to close the laptop when not in use?
I should say yes, it’s best to close the lid, but I’d be a hypocrite – I never close mine.
How’s that for a non-answer?
Where would we find the battery app or the battery charging option. to keep it at 80% on an HP laptop.
TIA Linda
Have done this for a long time. Always have a can of air around. Unbelievable what can be found inside that casing!! The blades especially. I have taken rubbing alcohol on a piece of cotton ball and wiped down the blades! Be careful. It takes that greasy film of oil or whatever off! Thanks for the reminder!!
Dawn.