Using a laptop for school? It’s time to check and see if you need to get something fixed before school work flows in. Read below to know what you should look out for, and what you should do when you spot an issue.
In today’s world, having a computer you can take anywhere and pop open with a single button is extremely convenient. Top that with useful features such as video calling, watching movies, playing music, and other heavy tasks such as developing applications and editing media — you already know you have a powerful electronic device the size of your backpack. It can be smaller or way bigger — and you know you can’t live without one especially if you’re a student or a professional. That’s your handy laptop for you, but what are you gonna do once it stops serving you the way it used to?
Electronics have been with us for so long that we forget that they don’t last forever. Their performance levels decrease over time, their parts deteriorate with use, and they encounter problems — some fixable, and some impossible to solve. Luckily, we have a big array of choices when it comes to portable computers — or laptops. There are consumer-favorite Apple MacBooks and there are high-performance and gaming laptops from Acer, Asus, Alienware, Dell, and many other manufacturers that are no strangers to the modern and digital world.
But no matter how expensive, powerful, and sturdy a laptop is, it’ll always get hiccups. It can even be rendered useless one day. To the average user, the sound of their reliable go-to laptop dying in the middle of schoolwork due in less than 24 hours sounds like a chilling nightmare. That’s why it’s always a good measure to observe your laptop’s health — see if it’ll live through another semester — to make sure it won’t die on you during your most grueling days as a student.
To help you see things through with your laptop, we’ve compiled a list of the most common issues laptops get. Some are due to the nature of how you use your laptop, some due to age, and some due to other factors such as the environment. Take a look:
Overheating
While basking in the comforting heat of summer is always a good thing, such is never the case for electronics. Most especially for laptops because they’re not equipped with high-performance cooling systems like desktop computers are. Owning a laptop means you can’t do much to help it cool down and maintain ideal temperatures.
Laptops are compact. Components are squeezed in to fit and work the same way desktop computers do, and that comes with sacrificing space for adequate airflow to cool down these components, which makes overheating a big problem. Overheating is always possible when:
Other factors contribute to bad component airflow, but those three are the most common culprits. That’s why there are small solutions such as laptop stands with fans installed to help remove the hot air from the components. But if your laptop experiences high temperatures for prolonged periods, its components will degrade much faster and you’ll need to visit laptop repair shops more often for professional laptop repair services.
Short battery life
Remember when you got your laptop out of the box and it can last you more than a day’s worth of work? That’s because your laptop’s battery is at its peak health, and over years of use, bad charging habits, and overall maintenance, deterioration is unavoidable.
Even if you don’t use your laptop for a month, its battery life still shortens. They’re engineered to not last forever, hence the existence of replacement laptop batteries from manufacturers and laptop battery replacement services from computer repair shops.
When you notice that you can’t stay away from the wall socket while you’re doing school work, it’s best to get a new battery installed by a professional. Doing this prevents your laptop from shutting down in the middle of intense work and losing all the work you put in. A fresh battery also allows you time away from the wall socket — something very important when you’re in university and constantly switching spots.
Broken Keyboard
Imagine writing a term paper with some keys of your laptop’s keyboard not working. Just thinking about it stresses you out, right? While there are band-aid solutions such as your operating system’s native on-screen keyboard, it’s not a productive option. It slows you down and makes typing a hassle, especially when you’re at your peak and ideas are pouring out of your brain.
Sadly, laptop keyboards are prone to damage. It can be from spilled water, coffee, crumbs of your favorite snack while working, and dust. Even if you’re very careful about snacking and drinking close to your laptop, you can’t avoid it from getting worn out or dislodged from years of usage — even worse when you’re a heavy user and have sweaty hands. Your laptop’s keyboard legends will turn invisible in no time!
Luckily, manufacturers are very aware of this laptop keyboard phenomenon. Some of them produce replacements and include them in warranty policies for their laptops! If your laptop isn’t covered anymore, your best bet would be to drop by your go-to laptop repair shop and get their expert help.
Bad loading times
Almost every laptop that came out during the previous years came with hard disk drives (HDDs), which are thick, mechanical storage drives for computers. Although they come cheap compared to solid-state drives (SSDs), they’re not as reliable because:
The number one cause of bad laptop loading times is an old HDD. If not, it’s your inadequate memory capacity doing its thing. Laptops today still come with HDDs, but there are always computer repair shops ready to help you upgrade to an SSD and a bigger memory capacity.
Slow laptops are annoying. But there are technicians out there who can solve your problem with a few hours of tinkering.