CARE AND MAINTENANCE

  • Use only approved wipes for the screen - cleaners that are designed for LCD screens (regular glass cleaners that contain alcohol or ammonia  will cause damage).
  • While the computer is turned off, you may clean the keyboard, trackpad and surfaces with a lightly damp cloth. Never spray cleansers directly on your computer.
  • The trackpad can be damaged if not used properly. Never use a pencil, eraser or other object on the trackpad.
  • Don’t place heavy objects on top of the laptop. This may cause damage to the screen. In a pile, the laptop must be on top!
  • Do not place stickers on the inside/outside of the laptop.
  • Be careful with the screen. Don’t touch the screen with your fingers or any other object.
  • Don’t place anything between the screen and the keyboard when you close the computer.
  • Do not use CDs/DVDs that have stick on labels on them.
  • Use your laptop on a sturdy surface that allows for adequate air circulation. Placing the laptop on a pillow during use or blocking the side air vents can cause it to overheat.
  • Run the batteries down completely before using the AC adapter.
  • Do not bend the AC adapter wire.  Leave plenty of room for the wire to reach the computer.
  • To check your battery level without opening your computer, press the battery button located on the side of the laptop. (The LED lights indicate the level of charge.  Eight lights means the laptop is fully charged).  

 BEST PRACTICES

When moving about with your laptop (From room to room and/or leaving campus): 

  1. Eject drives and shared folders
  2. Save all open documents
  3. Put laptop to sleep (close the lid)

Save and Backup Your Data:
Data will be backed up, if and only if, you save your documents to your H drive, CD/DVD, or external drive. Be sure to sync every time that you do a significant amount of work that you would regret losing. 

Once a week:

  • Empty the trash
  • Restart (recommended but not a requirement)
  • Shut Down (if you are not going to use your laptop for 2 or more days)

Keep your Home Directory organized:

  • Do not keep documents on your desktop.  Reserve the desktop for documents that you want to temporarily take off the network shares, work on at home and then put back on the network when finished.
  • Keep your folders organized; documents in the Documents folder, movies in the Movies folder, pictures in the Pictures folder, and music in the Music folder.

Quit applications that you are not using:
Applications like iTunes and Firefox query the network every few minutes and put a strain on the network that slows down traffic for all of us. If you are not using an application, you should quit the application.

Keep labels out of your laptop:
Do not insert CDs or DVDs that have homemade labels on them. The discs will heat up in the laptop, peel off inside the laptop and “tape” your disk inside your laptop.

To maximize battery life:

  • Do not let the battery run down completely before plugging in AC (you will get a warning at about 18% remaining level)
  • Turn down brightness
  • Quit any applications that you are not using (Command Q)