The Ultimate Guide on How to extend life of laptop?

Published on: 01/06/2022 | Updated on: October 25, 2024

How to extend life of laptop in the best ways? Laptops, for all of their good points, often have a shorter lifespan than desktop computers. And while buying a new laptop computer can certainly be exciting, it’s usually not the kind of thing you want to do any more often than necessary.

That’s why so many laptop owners want to know: How can I extend the lifespan of my laptop? Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to squeeze an extra year (or even more) out of most laptops, provided you follow a few common-sense precautions and know a handful of key tricks. So, how to extend life of laptop? Up ahead, we’ll look at five of the top things you can do to give your laptop a long and happy life.

Guide on How to extend life of laptop

1. Take common-sense steps to keep your laptop from getting damaged.

Many of us have, at one point or another, but our laptops through something they really weren’t designed to withstand. So please don’t think we’re here to shame you for the time your dog knocked your laptop off the coffee table. It happens!

That said, here are a few simple tips for keeping your laptop out of harm’s way:

• Don’t leave your laptop where it could be easily knocked or pulled off a piece of furniture, especially while the computer is plugged into its charger.
• Avoid leaving your laptop anywhere that it could experience extreme heat or cold, such as in a parked car.
• Make sure your laptop is protected when you bring it out and about. A backpack with a padded laptop pocket or a laptop bag are both good choices, and a protective sleeve or case is a great idea for extra protection.
• Avoid eating or drinking around your computer as much as you can. Yes, most of us do it, but it’s an easy way to spill all kinds of sticky things on your computer that is difficult to remove.

2. Upgrade parts in your laptop to improve its performance.

If your laptop is starting to show its age, you might be able to give it a performance boost by upgrading some of its parts. Upgrades such as adding more RAM, swapping out the battery, or switching from a magnetic HDD to a solid-state drive can give an older machine the boost it needs to keep serving you for a few more years.

This varies a lot according to the laptop and the parts, and it’s often much more difficult on newer notebooks than on older generations of laptops. Some computers, especially Macs, simply aren’t designed for it due to their features like soldered RAM, but many PC laptops still allow a few key components to be swapped out.

Start with your laptop’s manual and/or any support documentation from the manufacturer’s website, including the warranty if your laptop is still under one. YouTube is a rich source of resources and walkthroughs, but make sure you’re looking at exactly the right model. By the same token, take care to get the correct replacement part. Laptop battery replacements can be particularly tricky, so be sure to either use an OEM battery or a compatible battery manufactured to the exact specs.

3. Follow the 40-80 rule when you can.

The 40-80 rule is a bit of conventional wisdom for prolonging the life of a laptop’s battery (or any lithium-ion battery). Basically, letting the battery hit either zero or 100 percent runs through its finite number of charge cycles more quickly. That translates to more wear and tear on your battery and, ultimately, a shorter lifespan.

Instead, try to get your laptop on the charger when it hits 40 percent, and take it off at 80 percent when possible. Of course, many people regularly need to use their laptop’s full battery capacity, so this rule is more of a “do what you can with what you have” situation. Get as close as you can to the 40-80 rule, and each time you’ll save a little bit of your laptop’s battery capacity in the long run.

This also means that leaving your computer constantly plugged into AC power isn’t the best move for your battery life, although it’s unlikely to cause major harm. However, what’s really bad for a laptop battery is storing it for an extended period while completely drained, so always try to charge it up to at least 50 percent before putting it away for a while.

4. Clean your laptop regularly.

Many of us put off cleaning our laptops, but we probably shouldn’t. Regular cleaning will help reduce the chances that (for example) dust and hair will cause the internal components to overheat, or that a piece of gunk stuck to the screen will create a scratch.

Before you do any kind of cleaning task, shut down the laptop and disconnect it from power. Once that’s done, here are some standard ways to keep your laptop clean:

• A dry microfiber cloth should be enough to remove most dirt from the screen. For more tenacious grime, get the cloth slightly damp. If something is truly stuck, a 50-50 vinegar-water solution will work, but use as little as possible and be extremely gentle.
• If you can open the bottom panel of your laptop, use a can of compressed air to gently blow off dust, hair, and anything else that’s accumulated inside. If your bottom panel doesn’t open, you’ll spray the vent area with compressed air from the outside instead. Don’t blast the air excessively hard. You might damage sensitive components like the fan.
• To clean those crumbs out of your keyboard, you can use a soft bristle brush or microfiber cloth to get the biggest crumbs out. Follow up with a cotton swab and some rubbing alcohol if you’ve got serious grime. Avoid taking off the keys unless you’ve spilled something on it. It’s all too easy to damage the sensitive mechanisms underneath.

5. Protect your laptop from malware.

Finally, viruses and other malware can send a good laptop to an early grave if you’re not careful about what you click on and download. Refresh yourself on the basics of avoiding malware, such as using a non-administrator account for everyday browsing and downloading only from trusted sites.

You’ll also want to make sure you have good anti-malware software watching your back. Fortunately, most newer Windows and Mac computers have built-in security features (such as the Windows Defender antivirus) that work well against common threats. Whatever security solution you use, make sure that you keep it current by updating it regularly or using its automatic updates feature.

Besides how to extend the life of your laptop, you also have to consider how to extend the life of a laptop battery. Hope you will experience a better laptop usage journey.