Keep That Laptop - It's Cheaper and Environmentally Friendly

Laptops are used in many locations, from airplanes, at the beach, to in bed. Therefore, laptops are put through more wear and tear than a desktop. So, how long can a laptop last? If you perform upgrades and maintenance tasks, you can extend its life about 7 or 8 years. Some computer gurus manage to get computers to last longer and give them alternate uses, making them into digital frames, music players, movie players or old game consoles. The following are a few tips that can help keep your laptop running in optimal condition:

Defragment 
When using your computer files break and pieces scatter to different areas of the hard drive. Defragmenting reviews all the scattered pieces and places them back in their original formation. Perform this about once a week.

Clean the Registry 
 Errors in the registry can cause corrupt files and configuration errors, which eventually cause your operating system to stop working. Look for a free reliable registry cleaner like Ccleaner to help with this issue. A good registry cleaner should be run about every 2 to 3 weeks.

Clean the Hard Drive 
Do this by eliminating unnecessary files, programs and content from your recycle bin. A hard drive with too much data can also cause slower processing speeds and problems with RAM memory.

Install Antivirus Software
Once you've installed antivirus software on your laptop, be sure and keep it up to date. You should scan your computer for hidden virus infections every month or so.

Install More RAM
The installation of additional RAM should be done approximately halfway through the laptop’s life-span. When you start noticing a slow down of the operating system, or start getting memory errors, this is a good time to install an additional RAM module. These can be found online or in computer shops.

Replace Hard Drive 
Even when you defrag, and run frequent registry cleaning processes you may need to replace a hard drive 3 to 4 years after you purchase your laptop. Any repair technician can help you replace this drive and install a new operating system. Just be sure you back up all your current information to an external drive.

Maintain Lamps 
Somewhere down the line you may begin to experience a darkening of the screen. This is due to the dimming of the CCFL lamp. This back light is the component that illuminates your computer screen and is only made to withstand 3 to 5 thousand hours of use. You can get the lamp replaced, and continue to use the laptop.

Bottom Line 
Many computer users believe that when a laptop starts having issues, it’s time to throw it out and get a new one. It’s true that laptops are less expensive than what they once were, but it’s also true that we are filling up the landfills with electronic waste. So the longer you can keep a laptop running, or give it an alternate use, the cleaner you keep the environment.

(Thanks for this guest post Sam Peters)