Caring for laptops

How Damage Occurs

An LCD screen is a layer of liquid crystals sandwiched between two sheets of glass. Because of this construction, the screen -- both the glass and the crystals -- are fragile and vulnerable to damage. LCDs have a rod-like molecular structure, and possess traits similar to both liquids and crystals, hence their name. When you apply too much pressure to these crystals, whether intentionally or accidentally, you can disrupt not only the physical composition of the crystals, but also their orientation between the layers of glass. This can lead to a permanent pressure mark.

What Pressure Damage Looks Like

Pressure damage can take on different appearances based on the type of LCD screen on your device, as well as the amount of pressure applied. For example, an LCD screen that only produces black or white -- such as one found on a washing machine -- will show pixelated damage in only those colors; however, a full-color LCD screen on a television will show damage in all colors. Damage to these full-color screens is generally less obvious when the screen is completely black or completely white; rather, it's most visible when there are many colors on the screen at once. Instead of a pixelated appearance, the damage may also take on the look of shadows on the screen or look like a bruise. The more pressure you apply, the more severe the damage will be.

How To Fix The Damage

Unfortunately, there is no way to repair pressure damage to an LCD screen. Many manufacturers -- including Toshiba -- do not include pressure damage under their product warranties, meaning if your LCD screen suffers this kind of damage, you'll have to pay for a replacement out of your own pocket.

Avoiding Pressure Damage

Pressure damage usually happens by accident when transporting or cleaning an LCD screen. To avoid this type of damage, use extreme caution whenever moving a screen. If your screen is on a laptop, always place it in its carrying case when not in use. If your LCD screen is larger, like a television, try to avoid touching the LCD surface altogether during transport.

When cleaning an LCD screen, use a combination of water and isopropyl alcohol or vinegar. Harsher chemical cleaners can damage the screen. Never apply the solution directly to the LCD monitor; instead, apply it first to a soft cotton cloth. Gently wipe the screen in one direction. If you come across a spot that is harder to clean, resist the temptation to apply pressure. Instead, continue wiping the screen in one direction -- preferably from top to bottom -- until the spot comes off.

If you store your LCD, make sure never to place anything on top of the screen. Even light objects can, over time, apply enough pressure to leave a permanent mark on your screen.

(Ehow n.d.)

Power surge

You can't always predict when a storm is going to break, or when an incoming surge through another path such as your telephone line, so surge protection devices (SPDs) "are a good investment," he advises.

Instead of connecting directly to the mains power socket, you can buy a power board with built-in surge protection and plug your computer and other devices such as your printer and modem into this, he says.

"Whatever its design, the primary function of an SPD is to block or mitigate the surges by limiting (clamping) the overvoltage or diverting (shunting) the overcurrent through another route.

"A multi-service surge protection device is even better because it blocks surges entering the house via potential conductors other than your power lines such as telecommunication lines, even water pipes."

Unfortunately, however, no surge protector is completely effective, says Phung.

"Although the response time of a SPD is very fast, some initial portion of the surge can sneak through. Furthermore, a large surge could exceed the SPD's capacity.

"That's bad enough if it means you have to replace your computer. But it's far worse if you lose all your data too because you haven't backed it up. That's why you should regularly save everything to a data storage device and put it away, just in case."

(Phung 2013)

That day in 2005, I knew a storm was coming. I did what I thought was a protective move and unplugged all my computers and televisions. Yet, after the violent crescendos had passed, I found that several unplugged devices had still suffered damage.

How did this ninja storm accomplish such a feat? Not by blowing a hole in my roof or anything like that. It simply dropped a bolt of lighting near my cable box outside, and then rode the line into the house. Although the damaged equipment, including two VCRs, a small TV, a DVD player, a PlayStation 2, two ports on my firewall and two network cards, were not plugged in, they were still connected to the cable, either for TV or Internet access.

I figured this out because on two of the computers, the modems were fried, but no damage occurred to anything else in them. I actually got off pretty lucky because the modems took the brunt of the surge.

(Breeden II 2012)

How to Take Care of Your Laptop Battery the Right Way

You probably know a few tricks for extending your laptop's battery life—whether it's dimming the screen or switching off Wi-Fi—but there are plenty of other ways you can and should look after its long-term health too. Here's how to get the most juice out of your laptop by following just a few simple rules.

Every laptop battery degrades over time, but you can help to make sure it stays in fine fettle to a ripe old age by heeding the advice we've laid out below. With some care and attention you can make sure your laptop needs replacing before its battery does.

Temperatures and cleaning

Operating temperatures can have a big impact on battery life: check the manufacturer's guidelines for the 'safe zones' for your laptop, which are usually different depending on whether you're storing your computer or actually using it. For an accurate read of how hot your laptop is, OS X users can turn to Temperature Gauge, which will set you back five bucks but give you more temp info than you'll know what to do with. Windows users might want to look at Rainmeter, a free system monitor that displays all kinds of visually pleasing goodies—temperature included.

Generally speaking, room temperature (or as close as you can get) is ideal. That means you shouldn't leave it lying in a packed trunk in the height of summer or on the window ledge of your skiing chalet. If you're at an uncomfortable temperature while you're working, then your laptop's battery will be too, so make adjustments accordingly.

Watch out for excessive heat, which is particularly unhealthy. If you have a tendency to use your laptop whilst wrapped up in bed or stretched out on a sweltering Caribbean beach then the battery's going to give up the ghost sooner. Keep it cool and on a flat, stable surface as much as possible, and make sure the cooling vents are clear and unobstructed. Invest in an extra stand or fan tray if necessary.

For those of you with a removable laptop battery, take it out and clean the metal contacts at either side once every couple of months with a dry cloth and alcohol solution—this helps to keep the transfer of energy to your computer as efficient as possible.

Keeping the juices flowing

To ensure the battery in your laptop has a long and healthy life, avoid leaving it constantly charged. It's important that the electrons inside are kept moving on a regular basis—think of it as being akin to getting up to exercise rather than sitting at a desk all day. Broadly speaking, the less frequently you use your laptop, the less frequent the discharges need to be.

Ideally, you want to be draining your laptop's battery to around 40-60 percent at least once a week. On top of this, fully discharge it and recharge it once or twice every year. In other words—as far as the electrons inside your laptop battery are concerned—the routine should be regular weekly appearances at the gym and a 5k run in the summer.

The reason behind this is that a full charge puts your battery under more stress. If a laptop is plugged in all the time, the battery is working harder than it would be if it was slowly cycling between 40 percent and 80 percent. Some experts recommend removing the laptop battery entirely when the computer's plugged in to avoid overheating, particularly for intensive tasks. Letting your battery run all the way down every so often also helps calibrate it, making for more accurate power display readings.

There are rules for long-term storage too. If you're going somewhere without your laptop for more than six months then it's a good idea to store it with a 40-50 percent or so of juice left. Leave it fully charged or fully discharged and you run the risk of causing damage to it while the computer is in hibernation.

(Nield 2014)

Moving your Laptop.

Shaken Laptop Syndrome.

Solid state drives are becoming more common in laptops, but most still have a mechanical hard drive – and probably will for at least the next few years.

One problem with a mechanical hard drive is its use of moving parts. There’s a read/write head that must move to interact with the disk, which spins. The problem is that these moving parts have their own inertia, so if a laptop is moved while they are active, they’ll try to move along their original direction. This can cause contact between internal hard disk components. And that makes your data die.

You can reduce the risk by moving your laptop gently and not moving it when running a program that frequently accesses the hard drive. Treat your laptop like a baby. No quick movement. Instead use a gentle, soft touch.

(Smith 2012)

Magnetic fields.

Television sets and computer screens

Computer screens and television sets work on similar principles. Both produce static electric fields and alternating electric and magnetic fields at various frequencies. However, screens with liquid crystal displays used in some laptop computers and desktop units do not give rise to significant electric and magnetic fields. Modern computers have conductive screens which reduce the static field from the screen to a level similar to that of the normal background in the home or workplace. At the position of operators (30 to 50 cm from the screen), alternating magnetic fields are typically below 0.7 µT in flux density (at power frequencies). Alternating electric field strengths at operator positions range from below 1 V/m up to 10 V/m.

Microwave ovens

Domestic microwave ovens operate at very high power levels. However, effective shielding reduces leakage outside the ovens to almost non-detectable levels. Furthermore microwave leakage falls very rapidly with increasing distance from the oven. Many countries have manufacturing standards that specify maximum leakage levels for new ovens; an oven that meets the manufacturing standards will not present any hazard to the consumer.