Bad Behaviors: 7 Habits That Are Ruining Your Laptop
The average lifespan of a laptop is between 3 to 5 years, but this can shorten due to certain behaviors. Here are 7 habits that can be ruining your laptop.
Laptops are ubiquitous in modern society. In just one year, more than 161 million laptops were shipped around the globe. The popularity of the laptop as a personal computer is undoubtedly tied with its portability. You can do your work, watch movies and play games from anywhere you carry your laptop and its accessories. As digital technology steadily improves, the capabilities of laptops have now matched those of standard computers, with the added benefit of being light enough to carry around.
The average lifespan of a laptop is approximately between 3 to 5 years, depending on certain conditions. However, certain behaviors can hasten your laptop’s demise. If you want to keep your laptop running for as long as possible and reduce the amount of electronic waste in landfills, there are certain habits you need to watch out for.
Here are 7 behaviors that could be deteriorating your laptop faster. Learn to avoid them, and you could extend your laptop’s lifespan.
1. Putting Laptop on Cloth
Your laptop needs to breathe if you want it to last longer. The fan and exhaust ports of your laptop are essential in reducing its temperature and preventing the heat from cooking its internal components. They must not be blocked for a prolonged time. However, putting your laptop on top of a soft cloth surface like your bedclothes or a pillow can stuff the exhaust port and increase the heat of your laptop.
2. Keeping Laptops Plugged During Storms
Storms and similar natural occurrences can interfere with the power grid and cause electrical fluctuations. If you keep your laptop plugged during such an event, an energy surge could cause its electrical components to go haywire. You may lose data if you’re doing work or homework. Although programs, like the Office 365 backup restore can save your data, there’s nothing you can do to prevent such a surge from frying your hard drive.
3. Keeping Laptops Charging
When you’re engrossed in a movie or busy typing for work, you may forget that your laptop is still plugged in and charging. This may not seem like such a bad thing, but it can lead to overcharging. Your battery is meant to only hold so much electricity, and keeping it plugged in and charging can reduce the battery life and eventually make your laptop dependent on its plug.
4. Draining the Battery
On the other hand, you should also avoid completely draining your laptop battery. All laptop batteries have a set number of times they can be completely drained and fully charged. These are called battery cycles. Once you exceed your laptop battery’s cycle, its battery life will be reduced. Although you can replace the battery with a fresh one, some people use this as an excuse to buy a new one.
5. Eating in Front of the Laptop
If you’re in front of your laptop all day, whether because you’re working remotely from home or watching the longest video on YouTube, you may feel like eating. However, there are multiple reasons this is going to a bad idea. First, crumbs and small food debris can fall into your keyboard and jam them. These crumbs can also attract insects who may live inside your laptop’s casing. If you spill liquid like water or a beverage, it may short out your laptop or at the very least ruin your keyboard. Depending on the damage, you may either have to buy replacement part or purchase a new laptop entirely.
6. Downloading too Many Programs
Your laptop is lot like a pack animal or other living being. If you put too much strain on it, it will deteriorate much faster. If you download to many computer programs and apps into your laptop, they will start taxing its ability to run them. Too many programs will clog up your laptop’s memory, making it perform slower and work harder. The strain of keeping all these programs running and storing them in its memory will run down your laptop sooner rather than later.
7. Not Updating the Software
Your laptop’s operating system is the framework that keeps everything running smoothly. Think of it like the language that runs your laptop. However, like language, it needs to constantly update itself because of new developments such as new programs, threats or features. If you don’t update the operating system, your laptop will not be able to run new programs efficiently or defend itself against attacks effectively. Keep your laptop operating at peak capacity by always updating the software.
Your laptop can be your primary source of income or your only means of connecting to the internet. Keeping it running for as long as possible is essential, not just in reducing electronic waste but also in helping you save your resources.