It was a fine crisp evening. I was full throttle on my bike, enjoying a sense of content. I tell you there is no joy compared to the joy of finishing a set task on time. I was on my way to meet the owner of a web site hosting company, off course with my partner, my dear laptop. I was pretty much happy because I had just finished developing a project which I wanted to host at this company’s web space. It was all fine, the evening, me and my love. No chance for any misfortune to happen. The code for the project had been tested over and over again. It was like the winner was announced long before the race had begun.
As soon as I reached,I was ushered into the owner’s office. Greetings and pleasantries were exchanged which was followed by a small formal introduction. The ’Meeting’ began! A little talk and I was asked for a quick demo of the project. Out of reflexes, I got my laptop out from the case, hit the power button and waited for my sweetheart to start the show. It was over 10 minutes, I and the owner rambled on every possible topic related to my project but laptop wouldn’t start, phew what a snob I thought! I take my laptop out for the first time and it behaves like this. That day I realized what it feels to be in a relationship where you have to refer another person as high maintenance. Just an hour ago when I tested my code everything was at the zenith of its health and now it won’t even start. Finally when we both couldn’t ramble anymore, we decided to call off the meeting. I was out of the building, embarrassed, lost and of all willing to have a nice talk with my laptop, if at all it decided to start.
I reached home, again took laptop out of case, hit the power button and guess what, it starts. Project is up and running. Apparently I thought, may be my laptop heard Al Pacino when he said, ”Vanity is my favorite sin!” Why so much attitude, you start in one place and you don’t start at other! I was pretty upset that night; you may say our relationship was on the rocks. As Harvey Dent said in ‘The dark Knight movie’: ”The night is darkest just before the dawn”, I am sure it was not the darkest of the nights in my life but the dawn for sure arrived.
Once again sleeves rolled up, fingers moved and in no time I was in company of Master Oogway. O now-a-days I call Google Master Oogway from Kung fu panda! Geez can’t imagine my world without that thing; it would be like the entire mankind taking a step back in Stone Age. Alright the main thing in here is the problem was with me. It was my surprisingly lazy attitude towards maintenance that got me into this trouble. As it turned out, a few simple maintenance chores would have sailed me through that meeting. I am pretty sure the authors of the quote “What is right is often forgotten by what is convenient” must be laughing their guts out as their quote just got demonstrated. I chose only to use my laptop, never thought that like any other thing it also needs maintenance! This brings us to the topic of this post!
Actually the gamut of laptop maintenance is pretty large area to cover but I shall try to sum up the most important points. Laptop maintenance can broadly be of two types: hardware and software maintenance. These are few of the errands you can run just to keep your laptop from embarrassing you occasionally:
1. Clean Your Hard Drive
Over the course of a month it is easy to accumulate a lot of unnecessary files on your laptop hard drive. Take the time once a month to go through your hard drive and examine the files there. Determine which should be saved elsewhere for future reference and which can be trashed. If you download programs on a regular basis to try new things or just to have access to new programs for projects, properly uninstall those programs when no longer needed. A cleaner hard drive runs smoother.
2. Defrag Your Hard Drive
Defragging your hard drive is another step to ensuring your laptop will run more efficiently. Taking the time to defrag once a month will allow your programs to run more quickly and make better use of the space on your hard drive. When you defrag your laptop hard drive on a monthly basis you should notice fewer software crashes or freeze ups and programs will run better. Here’s where I made my goof-up.
3. Keep Your Laptop Clean
Cleaning your laptop helps prevent overheating and those nasty dust bunnies from building up inside your laptop fans and exposed ports. Now didn’t I tell you this in my first post? Cleaning the screen also means you'll always view your data clearly and it's much easier on the eyes. Keeping your case free of dust and dirt buildup will help your laptop by preventing that dirt from getting inside the laptop.
The five general parts of the laptop you should keep clean are: the case, the LCD screen, the laptop keyboard (and touchpad), the ports, and the cooling vents.
You can also open up your laptop to expose and clean its cooling system (the fan and heat sink), but only attempt that if you're comfortable opening up your laptop. Cleaning the cooling system can help solve laptop overheating problems and related symptoms like your laptop freezing or having issues shutting down.
As always, defer to your laptop manufacturer's manual for the recommended procedure for laptop cleaning.
Materials
You'll need the following things to clean your laptop:
- Isopropyl alcohol, available at drugstores and supermarkets. Because it evaporates quickly and doesn't leave a residue, isopropyl alcohol is safe to use on electronic equipment and LCD displays. Not safe to use: ammonia, tap water, mineral water, and household window cleaners.
- Distilled or purified water or bottled water. Avoid tap water, which can leave permanent mineral spots.
- Can of compressed air, also commonly available at many types of stores.
- Lint-free cloth, like the kind used for cleaning eyeglasses. In a pinch you can use a soft, 100% cotton cloth. Do not use: paper towels, facial tissues, or scratchy or abrasive cloths.
Prepare to Clean
- Make sure the computer is off and unplugged, and remove the battery.
- Make a 1:1 cleaning solution using the water and alcohol.
- Dampen the cloth with the cleaning solution--it should be slightly moistened rather than very wet. Also, never spray anything directly on the computer; the liquid should go on the cloth first.
Clean the Laptop Case
Use the damp cloth to wipe down the exterior of the laptop. This will help you make it look brand-new again. Then open the lid and wipe the areas around your keyboard.
Clean the LCD Screen
Clean the display using the same cloth or a new moistened one if the original is too grimy (again, don't spray any solution directly on the screen). Use gentle circular motions or wipe the screen from left to right, top to bottom.
Clean the Keyboard and Touchpad
Use a can of compressed air to loosen and remove dirt, crumbs, and everything else that may be stuck in the keys. Alternately, you can turn the laptop over and gently shake out any loose debris, running your fingers over the keys to aid the process.
If you have stuck keys or a very dirty keyboard (due to spilled drinks, for example), you can also remove the individual keys and wipe beneath them with a cotton swab dipped in the cleaning solution. Be sure you check your laptop manual to make sure the keys can be removed for cleaning, and, of course, put them back the right way.
Some laptops have drains built into the keyboard tray. If yours is like that, you can pour distilled water into the keyboard and let it air-dry. Check your manual to be sure.
Finally, use the damp cloth to wipe the keys and the touchpad.
Clean the Ports and Cooling Vents
Use the can of compressed air to clean the case openings: the ports and cooling vents. Spray from an angle so the debris is blown away from the computer, rather than into it.
Also, be careful when spraying the fans, because if you spray too hard liquid may get in the fan blades. To prevent the fans from over spinning while you're blowing the air on them (which can damage the fans), place a cotton swab or toothpick between the fan blades to hold them in place.
Last But Not Least
Make sure your laptop is completely dry before turning it on.
4. Full Back-Up
Full back-ups should be conducted on a monthly basis and you should have a secure, fire-proof location to store your back-up. There are a variety of software and hardware options available. You should choose the method that is easy and can be done without fuss on a monthly basis. It may require trying different methods before you find the best back-up system for your needs.
5. Software Updates
Just as you keep your anti-virus and firewall software up-to-date, you should also keep your software programs updated. For many programs the updates will address security issues which help keep your laptop and data protected.
Now TuneUp Utilities is one such product which helps you to at least relax on software maintenance front. After installing it, your laptop does become more efficient. Again there are many products for doing these things but TuneUp is something I personally use. So this is it! Enjoy a happy and clean laptop!
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