Comments on: Complete Laptop Care Guide

By: Jill Coert

Jill Coert — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 23:18:31 +0000

Pat, I had the same problem with my Inspiron 9200 and got it fixed under a special warranty program for that specific issue. Contact Dell and see if they are still covering your lines. Too bad my laptop now will not charge my battery, it is probably the motherboard, but I am going to check the connections inside. It is a known good battery.

By: Pat

Pat — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 22:43:53 +0000

I have a Dell Inspiron 9200 4yrs old this month, it is a great computer, the screen has 3 vertical lines needs to be replaced cost $200-$250,
would it be worth fixing or should I replace the laptop? what is the life
Expectancy.

By: shogan

shogan — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:16:28 +0000

Thanks a lot for all the great comments and suggestions. Keep them coming.

By: William H. Bill Giddings

William H. Bill Giddings — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:16:47 +0000

Bounce will clean the screen much better. It also does not allow dust to collect for quite a while. There is no residue to deal with.
I use it on the TV too. My wife has started
using Bounce sheets to dust.

By: shogan

shogan — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:30:45 +0000

No problem at all Electron, however I wouldn't count on the laptop battery to act like as a UPS. The reason for removing the battery was to lower it's exposure to heat. That would extend it's life.

I've never removed my laptop key board. Can you tell us how to do that?

By: Electron

Electron — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 14:46:13 +0000

Leaving the batery in essentially gives you a built-in UPS. Unless you live where the power is super-clean & steady, it's not worth crashing the OS because you took the battery out. I second Hills on the heat. And most of you can take the keyboard out to clean it – the dirt won't end up in the chassis! Sorry Shogan, but we're tuning up your post…..

By: alun thomas

alun thomas — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 11:23:13 +0000

Good guide, very useful, but "works in the same MANOR" ?
Shame on you! Spellcheck! Ugh!

By: Janette Irby

Janette Irby — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:28:43 +0000

I have a surge protector made especially for electronics, such as laptops, printers etc…,and have always left my laptop plugged in. My laptop is over six years old . When/if there is a bad storm, there is a switch on the surge protector that I turn to the off position. That's why I leave the battery in my laptop.

By: Bill Weger

Bill Weger — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:10:49 +0000

After my experience with a surge-fried laptop, I have been using the following safety procedures:

1. Never plug the computer directly into a LAN — use a wireless connection.

2. Never leave the computer plugged into the power adaptor — always unplug the adaptor overnight, and especially during storms.

My computer was fried during a thunderstorm, either through the LAN (which acted freaky after the surge) via the cable line or via the power circuit. Don't take a chance with either.

By: Marrixster

Marrixster — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:39:28 +0000

Thanks for this guide is quite straight forward. However, there is currently an argument with regard to battery care, in that many of the newer versions running the latest Intel chips perform much better when plugged into AC, and the battery retained in the machine.
Must stress I have not seen any evidence of this to date, but I'm not a gamer, there is a thread dedicated to this on noteboookreview.