We see a lot of laptops come back. The ones in the worst condition rarely have anything exotic wrong with them — it is almost always heat, dust or a cable that has been yanked once too often. Here is what actually helps.
Heat is the enemy
- Never work with the laptop on a bed, sofa or cushion. Soft surfaces block the intake vents underneath and the machine slowly cooks itself.
- Blow out the vents every few months. A can of compressed air, short bursts, fans held still so they do not spin backwards.
- Keep it out of direct sunlight and out of a parked car. Mumbai afternoons will do real damage.
- If the fans are loud constantly, something is wrong — dust, a stuck process, or failing thermal paste. Do not just live with it.
Battery habits that matter
Modern lithium batteries do not need to be fully drained — that advice is two decades out of date and actively harmful. What genuinely helps is keeping the charge between roughly 20% and 80% where practical, and avoiding leaving the machine plugged in at 100% for weeks at a time.
Most business laptops now include a charge-limit setting in the manufacturer's utility. If yours is mainly desk-bound, turning that on is the single most effective thing you can do for long-term battery health.
Physical care
- Never lift or carry the laptop by the screen. Hold the base.
- Nothing on the keyboard when you close the lid — a pen will crack a panel instantly.
- Clean the screen with a dry microfibre cloth. Household glass cleaner strips anti-glare coatings.
- Use a padded sleeve in your bag, even for short trips.
- Keep liquids on the other side of the desk. There is no clever recovery from a spilled cup of tea.
Software housekeeping
Leave at least 15% of the SSD free — drives slow down noticeably when close to full. Restart properly at least once a week rather than only closing the lid. And keep the machine on a supported operating system version; security updates are not optional in 2025.
If you rent from us, routine servicing is included — bring the machine in and we will clean it out, check the thermals and replace the paste if it needs it. It takes about an hour and makes a bigger difference than people expect.
- Maintenance
- Battery
- Cleaning
