Laptop Tips and Advice
(Don't Say We never told you so!)

There are so many things that you can do wrong it is hard to know where to start, but here is a list of some of common actions to avoid ...

Don't Leave your Laptop on all the time: At least once a day, turn off your laptop and give it a chance to cool off. This is more important for the stability of the Operating System than to save wear and tear on the hardware. Also, I like to go with a complete shut down, not just sleep mode or hibernate.

Don't Download Files from just anywhere: File Sharing Sites are a Virus Superhighway and when you start downloading files from just about any "free" site, you are asking for trouble.

Don't use your Laptop in Bed, or on your Lap: Ironically, using your laptop on top of your lap can lead to poor air circulation and may even cause health problems.

Don't Keep Opening and Closing the Lid: I call em like I see em, and even though a laptop is designed to be opened and closed on a regular basis, the more the lid is opened and closed, the more likely you are to end up with loose hinges that do not hold the LCD in place. This is not to say that you should never open or close the lid, just that you should try to keep it to a minimum.

Don't even Look at the Power Plug the Wrong Way! For sure the Achilles Heal of any laptop, The DC Input Jack, commonly known as the Power Plug, is one of the most delicate parts of a laptop and yet one of the most important. If this dainty jack is bent more than 15 degrees in any direction, you are headed for an expensive repair that most technicians would not want to attempt. Of course, here at Laptops plus we can handle that kind of repair, but it is not cheap.

Keep drinking and computing separate! While it has not been determined what percentage of spills are related to alcohol consumption, I have noticed that wine spills are very common, with beer a distant second.

Avoid installing software just to see if it's something cool: Every application uses resources when running - some even when they're not running. Uninstalling isn't necessarily the answer either --- there are a lot of programs out there that don't remove everything they install.

Use Compressed Air to blow out dust regularly: If enough dust and dirt collects inside of your laptop, you will have poor air circulation and the heat will remain in your laptop, instead of being blow out with the exhaust air.

Keep Your Screen Clean ... Cloths made to clean eyeglasses can be used to gently wipe dust from lcd screens. Finer hotel rooms sometimes have small soft cloths for shining shoes in with the toiletries - these also work well.

Fast is the New Big when it comes to Hard Drives. When purchasing a laptop - don't underestimate the value of a fast hard drive. If you do a lot of operations that access the drive, like multi-media editing, a faster drive will give a performance boost.

Contributors: Eric Webb, Matt Fielder

Questions and Answers:

What is the best anti-spyware and antivirus program out there? There are too many of them and it gets very confusing. MacAfee and Norton seemed to cause problems as they don't catch all the viruses or spyware.

Eric Webb
San Diego,CA

Dear Eric,

In the opinion of Laptops Plus, we feel that NOD32 is the overall best antivirus software. It seems to catch everything, and runs fast without causing problems. For budget conscious computer users, consider AVG FREE 7.5, maybe not as good as NOD32, but it is free.

A couple of months ago, I had a new HD installed in my laptop and had my XP system renewed at your Kerney Mesa store. Now I can not install upgrades/patches to Internet Explorer. It says that I am not the administrator and therefore will not upgrade the program. On the other hand ALL other programs allow me to install/upgrade as normal.

Lily

Lily,

This should be an easy fix, i think that you just need to be logged in under the right user. Then you should be able to install IE upgrades and patches. If not, visit the KM store so they can take a look at your computer. Really good advice is to just drop IE and use Mozilla Firefox, in my opinion.

Mark

Questions about 2 laptops:

One laptop is an early model IBM ThinkPad 755c (old generation - win98) that needs a power cord. Do you know where I can find a used one?

The other is a Toshiba Satellite 2805-S202, that has a bad DVD drive that needs to be replaced. Disks don't always work when put into it, no matter what they are, and I get errors when installing programs, and the drive whines and seizes up at times. This is an older model that Toshiba no longer supports and has discontinued many years ago. Processor still works, but having a very hard time trying to install OS software with original recovery disks (win ME). Do you know where I can find a replacement DVD drive? We've got questions, you've got answers...

Eric

Eric,

We may have a used adapter here we would need to see the connection on the old one to be sure. For your Toshiba Optical drives are not usually hard to aquire but we need the part number from the old one. Just bring them in and we can take care of the rest.

David

Do you by any chance have any Apple laptops?

Celenie Singley

We do not have any Apple laptops.

Computer geeks might be your best bet, they are in Oceanside.

www.geeks.com

Tell them we sent you, and they might give you a special deal.

Mark

I see that "Log Me In" program is on my workstation. Can I retrieve work stuff from my computer at home?

Ron

If that is the logmein that we installed then it will need to be removed and he will need to go to http://www.logmein.com and create a free account from that computer then he can add that computer from that account and be able to login to that computer from any computer that has internet. If he wants to transfer files from one computer to another he will need to get a pro account. You only need to purchase LogMeIn Pro for the computer you wish to access. You will then have unlimited access to that target computer from all computers with an Internet connection. If you need to access more than one computer, we offer volume discounts starting at just 2 computers. You may choose an annual or monthly subscription.

Rick

My laptop that I had fixed at your shop ran great when you worked on it. But it won't turn on anymore should I try to fix it again. I have had nothing but problems with it. I sent it back to China 5 times to be fixed and has really never ran right except after you fixed it. Last time this happened with it not turning on, they replaced the mother board in China. I just can not afford at this point to fix a computer that is going to continue to be broken much of the time. What do you think?

Jennifer

Jen,

From what you wrote, i have to say that your laptop is going to continue to be a thorn in your side for a long time, so i would write that machine off. You can bring your laptop to any of our stores and we will recycle it for free. You can also buy a different laptop from us and consider an extended warranty to ensure that your next machine works for the coming years. Regardless of who you buy your laptop from, get an extended warranty. I used to think these were a waste of money, but have come to realize that they are really worth it for laptops, cars, vacuum cleaners and a few other items.

Make sure to call us before you buy any laptop, some are built better than others, and we have a good idea of what is solid and what is going to fall apart.

Personally, i always make sure to have a desktop in my life, they are low maintenance and more reliable. If the laptop throws a fit, just fire up the desktop and you are up and running, if not mobile.

Mark