I'm by no means an expert. I actually have a friend who I ask the more serious hardware and software things. But I do know the basics of how to treat a laptop. And so should you.
1) Breaks.
When using a laptop/computer for heavy-duty things like rendering, gaming or simply have way too many programs open at once, your laptop can and will get problems. Two of these problems, and probably the most important once, are Overheating and Ram breakdown.
To avoid this, simply avoid using too many programs at once and take breaks. Not only you yourself, but let your laptop/computer have a break as well. Shut it off or put it on sleep mode.
2) Battery Life.
For laptops, the charger and battery is a big deal. That's what makes and breaks a laptop. There are many myths to keep a battery at it's full potential, such as charging it full and letting it drain without doing anything with your laptop. Just put it on screensaver and let it drain dead. I've tried it myself, haven't actually noticed any results. The one thing I did notice, batteries heat up. Obviously. Meaning that if they heat up too much, they'll be less effective.
So again, take breaks and keep your laptop cooled. Another thing I noticed that works is to simply unplug your laptop once the battery is full. That way you can actually keep an eye on the battery life and how it's doing, which will notify you when you need to replace it.
3) Overheating.
This is a trickier one as it does happen to every laptop/computer eventually. Even if you barely use it, it will overheat after some time. There can be many things that'll cause this. The main reasons will be dust, aged thermal paste and overusing it.
Easy solutions for dust are to clean it, which may or may not require you to open your laptop/computer up yourself. It's optional, but you can clean bits from the outside as well. However putting a vacuum cleaner against it might be tempting, but not wise. The insides are too fragile for that.
For overuse, simply take breaks as I said before.
Thermal paste however is a tricky one. This most likely will not happen while you have the warranty of the company you got your laptop/computer, so there's no problem in opening it up. If you are not skilled in dealing with hardware and replacing parts, like I am, simply go to your local computer workshop, who will have it fixed for you very quickly. From my experience, they usually clean the insides as well if there is any excessive dust.
Another good way to fight overheating, is to buy a cooling pad or cooling system.
4) Malware.
One important thing my friend told me once is that nobody can put anything bad on your computer without physically touching it. This does not include hacking accounts though... that's a completely different story.
Simply watch what you download and what you click. If you do not trust it or know it, ignore it.
5) Hacking.
Now this is harder. But most of the time, you'll get hacked because you let out some personal info somewhere. And no, leaving your facebook account open and a friend changes stuff is not hacking. Let's not get into detail of
how it happens, just how to
counter it.
So for starters, do not leave your passwords, mailing addresses and usernames everywhere you go. Not any personal info either. This should be obvious. Change your passwords and addresses every so often. Some say every week, some every month. Whatever you see fit.
Now sometimes, you get hacked without leaving out personal info. I have no idea how though. But as soon as you notice it, look for traces on your account about the hacker. Some like to change the description, some the mail address. I once got lucky that they left a site in the description, where I simply asked for my account back. One nice hacked approached me and said he'd get it back for me, because I was just a kid and it's wrong to hack account. I immediately changed everything as soon as I got it back.
Now when you do get hacked, you can do as I did and seek help from other hackers. Only a small percentage of them are the bad ones who just want to ruin peoples days. Most of them simply dig for information on say games (datamining), help companies out as a job or even to protest by shutting corrupt sites down.
Another solution is to call the company of your account and notify them. They can usually shut it down or change your information so you can get it back.
6) Software.
This is pretty simple. Know what programs your laptop/computer can and cannot handle. Know what you download. Know what you install. If you try to play a game far above your systems specs, it will most of the time be denied. Sometimes it wont though, where you change the settings in-game. This can make your system crash or at the very least, slow it down immensely. Nobody wants that.
7) Hardware.
Also pretty easy to understand. Don't overload your computer with accessories. Most laptop/computers have only two USB slots filled up at all times. For a mouse and a cooling pad. A 3rd would be frequently in use for a stick or harddrive. Only use more if you absolutely need to. I strongly advise against putting toys in it. The only exception is to charge something, which rarely causes any problem.
8) Knowledge.
Know your programs. Know your system. Know your brand. Know your laptop/computer to the best you can. If there ever is a problem with it, it will help out immensely if you can provide that information. Things like CPU, Memory, OS, HDD, and Series of the brand are extremely important.
There are many ways a laptop/computer can break down. It happens. But avoiding it is much easier and better than dealing with it. And after the first few times, it won't look as bad anymore. It's part of the experience you'll get. Of course, for any questions you can simply comment and I'll reply as soon as I can!
