Easy Tips to Keep Your Laptop in Good Shape

Your device can become slow and begin to crash over time. However, you can keep your laptop in good shape to avoid most of the common issues associated with them. Here are some tips.

Don't Clog Up Your Hard Disk

A clogged-up hard drive is one of the most common reasons for poor performance when it comes to your laptop. The more you have on there, the more potential information your operating system has to sort through. This can result in a sluggish laptop. You can remove unwanted apps, defrag the hard drive, and delete old update data for Windows. Sometimes, reinstalling the OS can restore your laptop to good as new. However, the space required for a new version often increases. So always check if your machine meets the requirements.

Swap the Battery and Charger

Laptop batteries are notoriously unreliable. Even today, most laptops eventually succumb to having to keep them plugged in. Fortunately, all you usually need to do is replace the battery. You can find OEM batteries online or buy them directly from the manufacturer. Sometimes there might also be an issue with the power supply. So also check your cables for breaks and replace the charging unit. If you leave the charging unit to degrade, it can become dangerous. And in conjunction with a poor battery, there is the potential for electric shock, fire, and explosion.

Keep Software and Hardware Updated

A program is never perfect when it is made. Bugs and difficulties can start to show up over time. And the developers let you install patches and updates that fix these problems. They often add new features and sometimes fix issues. They also make hardware work with each other. Drivers are another type of update. A driver is a piece of software that lets a computer's hardware, like a video card, talk to the operating system. Hardware is almost totally ineffective without a driver. So, update your laptop often to get the most out of it.

Use Cleaning Apps for Better Performance

No matter what operating system you use, if you don't keep up with maintenance, bad things could happen to the performance of your laptop. Disk space can be taken up by files you don't need. When there isn't much space, your laptop can have all kinds of problems. Among these are programs that won't run, programs that freeze, and system crashes. You will lose data, time, and money if you do any of these things. So keep your laptop running well with apps like CCleaner for macOS and PC. It's free, easy to use, and does an excellent job.

EXTRA: At-Home Cyber Security Techniques

You've probably heard of cybersecurity but aren't sure what it is. In a nutshell, it relates to protecting yourself from the dangers of the internet. This includes viruses, spyware, and even watching you through your webcam. Here are some easy ways to boost cybersecurity at home:

• Keep ALL software and firmware updated to the latest versions.

• Use a combination of antivirus, antimalware, and firewalls.

• Use a password manager to create very strong passwords for sensitive sites.

• Use a VPN, like PrivacyJournal when doing anything that can reveal personal information.

• Be careful about who you allow to use your home network and Wi-Fi.

Just one of these methods goes a long way to making your home computer or laptop much safer. Yet using all will fortify your home against even the most determined criminals. However, there is also much more you can use, such as encryption and multifactor authentication.

Keep the Battery at Optimal Charge

If you own a laptop, you know that battery life can be a problem. Most people don't know there is a right method for charging a laptop battery, though. The batter should never be below 40% or above 80%. But your battery charge can't get too charged and breaks. Don't panic if it gets to 100% because the system knows when it should stop. But the batteries can get hot, which hurts their performance. So check to ensure that the cooling fan on your laptop is working right. When it's not, your laptop could damage itself by getting too hot and shorting out the CPU.

Use Account Restrictions

Every operating system has ways to set up multiple accounts on a laptop. Most of the time, the most powerful account is called the Administrator account. You can do everything with it, including maintaining other accounts. Setting up restricted accounts is always a good idea on a laptop that more than one person uses. There are many reasons for this. But mainly, you can stop other users, like your kids, from messing around with system operations they don't understand. You can also restrict their ability to install apps that might contain malware.

Keep Your Laptop in Good Shape with Dust Removal

Taking care of your laptop means taking care of it physically, too. Fans are used to cool down laptops. But as they pull in air to cool, they also pull in dust and other things in the air. Then the dust can get inside, making your laptop run slower as the components inside get hotter. Fortunately, most of the dust will gather on vents and fans. So you can easily clean your laptop on the outside with a soft brush. You can also open up your laptop case and remove dust from RAM, the hard drive, and the CPU fan with some gentle brushing using a clean paintbrush.

Connect to a UPS to Avoid Data Loss

If you use your laptop for work, data loss will be a nightmare. While it won't help maintain your laptop, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) can help preserve your work should your laptop suddenly lose power. Maintenance and software updates can help stop most data loss. But if the power goes out, anything that is currently written will be lost. Frequently, the data is completely lost or can be hard or expensive to get back. But a UPS can help keep data from being lost. It will give you enough time to save your data and shut down following power loss.

Summary

It's vital that you keep your laptop in good shape for increased performance and life. Some tips include hard drive maintenance, cybersecurity methods, and keeping it free of dust.