So, you have a laptop from your office and a personal laptop that you alone may use or you might share with your family. Congratulations! But you do know that your responsibilities don’t end there, right? Being a responsible laptop owner by knowing how to take proper care of it is a must for your device to serve you for a long time. If you don’t want to be on the market searching for replacement units every six months or so, then you have to know how to handle your device properly. Laptops, if properly cared for, can actually last for years, so knowing how to do that can save you a lot of money, not to mention prevents you from suffering brought about by a damaged unit.
Keep Updated on BIOS Updates
A number of laptop models have control over their fans through the BIOS. Thus, responsible laptop owners like yourself should regularly check online with your laptop manufacturer if there are BIOS updates for your unit. I am sure you might be in the dark on how to do these BIOS updates by yourself (although most of them just require you to run the update and restart your device once the updating is done). So, if you feel like you’re not the most qualified person to update the BIOS yourself, ask for some help from someone with more IT experience, particularly someone from your company’s IT department. I’m sure your company’s IT guy would appreciate some human interaction after almost a year of not seeing someone because of the pandemic.
The BIOS, or Basic Input Output System, is the crucial low-level interconnect between your motherboard, the components plugged into it, and your OS. This firmware stored locally on the board initialises everything plugged into the mobo’s I/O, and is crucial to the smooth operation of your PC, from the best SSD for gaming to your CPU to the best gaming RAM. Think of it as the system governing the highway between all your computer’s most important components.
Laptop Desk Yes, Lap Burn No
For some reason, a lot of us have adapted to using our laptops as their names imply – on top of our laps. After all, we are in the comforts of our home, “working” our jobs while in our pjs and not leaving our beds. But remember that our laps do not provide ventilation and the right temperature to our devices. Unless you’re a cold-blooded amphibian, your body temperature isn’t really conducive to the proper functioning of your laptop. So, it comes as no surprise when we feel our laptops getting hot when we use it on top of our laps for a long time. To prevent this lap burn situation, get yourself a laptop desk or cooler that will have vents to improve air circulation on the underside portion of your device. Not to mention that laptop stands or desks not only lessen the possibility of overheating, they can also do wonders for your posture!
No matter whether you’re working remotely, bingeing TV shows from bed or gaming on the go, it’s always important to maintain a good body position, yet while everybody knows this far from everybody practices it daily. A laptop stand can fix this; by placing your laptop on a stand, then adjusting it to the correct height and angle, you can immediately remove the strain caused by a poor computer posture.
(Via: https://www.expertreviews.co.uk/accessories/1410227/best-laptop-stands-desks-for-posture)
Don’t Forget to Unplug
As laptop users, we also tend to forget that we have accessories attached to our devices such as external keyboards, hard drives, and mice that we need to unplug when we don’t use them. They consume power and they can contribute to your device overheating. It is advisable to detach them before storing your laptop for the day. Finally, never forget to unplug your laptop when its battery is already fully charged. Leaving it plugged in even if the battery is already fully charged is just inviting overheating.
If your laptop already has a hard time keeping cool, leaving it plugged in and at 100 percent charge is probably a bad idea.
But then, even if you’re the consummate pro at taking care of your gadget, you might still encounter some bumps when using your laptop. If your device is acting up, get in touch with us before it gets worse.