Hey Webmasters! New Photo Album Service Launched - Check it out!
|
|
|
Developing a preventive maintenance program is important to everyone who uses or manages laptops. The two main types of preventive maintenance procedures are passive and active.
Passive preventive maintenance includes precautionary steps you can take to protect a system from the environment, such as using power-protection devices; ensuring a clean, temperature-controlled environment; and preventing excessive vibration. In other words, passive preventive maintenance means treating your system well and with care.
An active preventive maintenance program includes performing procedures that promote a longer, trouble-free life for your laptop. This type of preventive maintenance primarily involves the periodic cleaning of the system and its components, as well as performing backups, antivirus and antispyware scans, and other software-related procedures. The following sections describe both passive and active preventive maintenance procedures.
From a technical standpoint, many of the components used in portable systems are similar to those in desktop computers. However, in many ways they are also different. Portable or laptop systems are in many ways less upgradeable or repairable than desktop systems, mainly because of the lack of standard form factors for cases/chassis, motherboards, keyboards, displays, and even batteries. They are also highly integrated, meaning functions that might be replaceable adapter cards in a desktop system (such as video, for example) are built in to the motherboard of a laptop system. However, despite these challenges, in some ways a laptop system can actually be easier to upgrade than a desktop because laptops often use modular bay storage devices that eliminate the need for ribbon cables, mounting rails, and separate electrical connections. Memory, hard disks, and Mini PCI slots are often accessible through easy-to-open access panels, making upgrades of these devices easy without disassembling the system. Therefore, common tasks such as adding memory, upgrading a hard drive, and upgrading an optical drive (on models with modular drive bays) can often be accomplished in seconds. Adding other interfaces, such as Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi wireless, USB 2.0, and IEEE 1394 (FireWire/i.LINK), can be easily accomplished via plug-in PC Cards.
The problem with replacing other components in portables is that the hardware tends to be much less generic than it is in desktops. The exceptions are for PC Cards (which are interchangeable by definition), memory (on newer systems), and in some cases, hard drives. Purchasing a component that is not specifically intended for use in your exact system model can often be risky.
In some cases, these compatibility problems are a matter of simple logistics. Portable system manufacturers jam a great deal of machinery into a very small case, and sometimes a new device just will not fit in the space left by the old one. This is particularly true of devices that must be accessible from the outside of the case, such as CD-ROM and floppy drives. Keyboards and monitors, the most easily replaceable of desktop components, are so completely integrated into the case of a laptop system that they can normally be replaced only with specific parts from the original manufacturer.
In other cases, your upgrade path might be deliberately limited by the options available in the system BIOS. For example, depending on the BIOS date or revision, you might be limited in drive capacity, the same as desktop systems. Fortunately, most use a flash ROM BIOS that can easily be updatedthat is, if the system manufacturer makes such updates available. When shopping for a portable system, you should check with the manufacturer to see whether it has a support website with BIOS updates, drivers, and any accessory or utility programs necessary to support and maintain the system. A lack of BIOS or driver updates can prevent you from moving to a newer operating system in the future, or at least make such a move difficult.
Most of the time, components for portable systems are sold by referencing the system model number, even when third parties are involved. If you look through a catalog for desktop memory, for example, you see parts listed generically by attributes such as chip speed, form factor, and parity/nonparity. The memory listings for portable systems, on the other hand, most likely consist of a series of systems manufacturers' names and model numbers, plus the amount of memory in the module. This has improved somewhat, with most modern laptops using industry-standard SODIMMs (small outline dual inline memory modules) instead of proprietary modules.
There are always exceptions to the rule, of course. However, purchasing compatible components that fit together properly is certainly more of a challenge for a portable system than it is for a desktop system.
Instead of telling you what you should do to take care of your system, it is perhaps easier to tell you what you shouldn't do. I often observe people doing things to their laptop computers that make me cringe. While some of these are painfully obvious, here is a list of bad things you should not do to your laptop computer:
Bump, jar, shake or physically punish the system, especially while it is running.
Drop the system. Even if it is in a carrying case, many cases are not padded well enough for excessively rough treatment.
Pack a laptop in luggage that will be checked at the airport, thus subjecting it to very rough handling.
Place heavy cases or other objects on top of a laptop (such as in the overhead compartment on a plane), even if it is in a carrying case.
Store the system where the temperature is below 41°F (5°C) or above 95°F (35° C).
Operate the computer on a blanket or other soft surface where material might bunch up and cover the cooling vents on the sides or back, which will cause the system to overheat.
Operate the computer while it is still half-inside a carrying case, which will block the cooling vents and cause overheating.
Place the system closer than about 5 inches (13cm) from any electrical device that generates a strong magnetic field, such as electric motors, TVs, refrigerators, and large audio speakers.
Operate two-way radio transmitters in close proximity to the system, which can induce currents and voltages causing lockups or failures.
Spill liquids on the system, which may contaminate the internal components and/or cause a short circuit.
Place heavy objects on the system with the lid closed or pack the system in a tightly compressed suitcase or bag, which may put excessive pressure on the LCD panel.
Place an object between the display lid and keyboard, which may cause damage when the lid is closed.
Pick up or hold the system by the LCD panel, which may damage the display and/or the hinges.
Scratch, twist, or push on the surface of the LCD panel.
Move the system or pull on the AC adapter cord while the adapter is plugged in, which may cause the plug to break off and/or damage the socket.
Plug a modem cable into an Ethernet port (and vice versa), which may damage the connectors.
Hard-mount the system in a vehicle or anywhere that it is subject to strong vibration.
Crush, drop, or press on the cover of a disk drive while it is removed from the system.
Insert a floppy disk into a floppy drive at an angle or upside down, which may cause it to jam in the drive.
Place more than one label on a floppy disk, which might cause it to jam in the drive.
Touch the lens on the CD-ROM tray when it is open, which may contaminate the lens and/or throw it out of alignment.
Connect the internal modem in the system to a private branch exchange (PBX) or other digital telephone line that may subject the modem to improper voltages, thus causing permanent damage.
Forget your passwords. If you forget a supervisor or hard disk password, there is no easy way to reset it, and you may have to replace the motherboard or hard disk.
Speaking from experience, I can tell you that the systems you use will last a lot longer if you avoid any of the aforementioned behavior.
Note that because laptop systems are much more difficult to disassemble, I normally don't recommend opening up or disassembling them just for cleaning. Of course, if you have the system open for some other reason, you should definitely take advantage of the opportunity and clean the interior components thoroughly. For most general preventive maintenance, cleaning the system externally or through any openings is sufficient. This means using either compressed air or a vacuum cleaner to clean dirt out of the keyboard, cooling vents, drive openings, data ports, or any other openings in the system.
Tip
Cigarette smoke contains chemicals that can conduct electricity and cause corrosion of computer parts. The smoke residue can infiltrate the entire system, causing corrosion and contamination of electrical contacts and sensitive components, such as floppy drive read/write heads and optical drive lens assemblies. You should avoid smoking near computer equipment and encourage your company to develop and enforce a similar policy.
Tip
Because viruses and especially spyware are more dangerous and numerous than ever, it is a good idea to enable the automatic update feature found in most recent programs to keep your protection up to date. Even if you have a dial-up connection, it takes only a few minutes a day to get downloads. If you have a broadband connection, the latest protection is downloaded in just a few moments.
bravenet.com