Tips to increase life of laptop

Hello,

I'm looking for tips on how to increase the life on my laptop. There is a post on how to increase performance of xp but it would be great to hear from people who know what they are doing on how to also increase the life of your laptop. Specific areas I'm interesting in finding an informed answer to:

1. What is the best thing to do to your computer when you are not using it (standy, hibernate, or turn off)? Or what combination (for example, hibernate for breaks of 30 minutes, reboot once a week) is best for increasing the life of the laptop?

2. Specific tips on keeping different parts/programs in good shape (for example, the lower the brightness the longer the monitor will last, don't run certain intensive programs at the same time to protect processor, use docking station if you can to increase life of ports on laptop, etc.).

It would be great to learn the right way to do things to increase how long I have the laptop as much as possible. Thanks so much.

 

as long as you keep your temps down the longer the hardware in your notebook will last, so investing in a notebook cooler is a smart idea. Always keep your vents clean and make sure your fans work.

 

The best way to increase the life of your laptop is to use it no more than once a year. At that rate it should last until the next millineum.

 

My recommendation: don't drop it or pour water on it. Seriously - if you want it to last, take good physical care of it.

You certainly won't kill your laptop if you run programs at the same time - if this were the case, I would be on my 10th laptop by now. You also don't have to turn it off when you're not using it (use common sense - all day is ok, but stay away from weeks at a time), do some weird hibernate/off cycle, or worry about overusing your USB ports.

 

The main reason why laptops fail is because of heat; heat is usually attributable to dust build-up. So my advice to you would be to vacuum out your laptop about once a month for dust and debris. This ensures good air circulation and clearance for the fans to freely spin. A cool laptop is a "healthy" laptop.

 

I usually Stand-by when breaking during the day. But if I know the computer will be off for awhile I will turn it off. The reason I reboot the computer is for an update or after an install. Otherwise I follow the standby/turn off pattern.

I use NHC to undervolt as well, but I'm really not that concerned with temps. Once it gives me a reason to be concerned, then I will deal with it.

Notebook components fail, just like anything else. Make sure to keep backups off the computer, because I will bet you dollars to doughnuts that (assuming you take good care of fans/vents) the hard drive will fail first. Moving parts do that.

 

anybody has recommendations on a good cooler for a 15.4" widescreen?

i had this one on my old 15" machine - it worked very well, relatively quiet and at that price it was one of the best i found
http://sewelldirect.com/Vantec-Lapc...rce=froogle&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=cse