Compared to desktops, smartphones and tablets, laptops and hybrids such as certain Microsoft Surface devices tend to be more prone to potential damage and failure. The portability and design of laptops somehow elicit rougher handling and exposure to harsh conditions. In Apple Valley and other communities in the High Desert, laptops are often exposed to hot, dry and dusty environments that require preventive maintenance.
Summer Can Have Real Effects on Your Laptops
The warmer summer months of the High Desert can take a toll on laptop systems due to thermal stress. Portable systems with traditional hard drives have gotten slimmer over the last few years, and they tend to operate at higher temperatures than desktop systems because the cramped arrangement of hardware components take away precious space needed for ventilation and air circulation. To this effect, if you plan on purchasing a slim laptop these days, you should ensure that it uses a solid state hard drive that is easier to cool.
[su_note note_color=”#F4f4f4″]Preventive summer maintenance of your laptop means taking steps to protect it. To prevent thermal stress, you should avoid storing your computer in a space where the temperature is higher than 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Likewise, you should not expose it to temperatures lower than 40 degrees.[/su_note]
Preparing Laptop Devices for Travel
If you plan to fly away on vacation, you should try to pack your laptop in a padded case that you can bring aboard the aircraft as carry-on luggage. If you must store your laptop as checked luggage, do your best to cushion it all around.
When you travel to new destinations in the summer, you should allow your laptop to go through an acclimatization period. Let’s say you plan a beach vacation in the Caribbean or in Costa Rica; before you rush to check your email and social media feeds, give your laptop about 30 minutes to adjust to room temperature. Air circulation is crucial in hot and humid environments; condensation is the last thing you want happening on a laptop equipped with a spinning hard drive.
[su_note note_color=”#F4f4f4″]Poor ventilation and dust buildup are two factors that can exacerbate thermal stress and cause overheating by limiting air flow. Before going on a beach vacation, you may want to bring your laptop to A Plus Computers so that it can be thoroughly cleaned with compressed air. Our technicians will also make sure that the fans are running smoothly and that the components that generate the most heat are properly insulated.[/su_note]
