Taking Care of District Issued Equipment
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It is important to take care of your laptop(or Desktop) and keep it in good shape. There are a number of easy things that you can do to keep your equipment in great shape.
Please follow these simple guidelines:- Do not put stickers, labels, decals, etc. on your laptop, desktop or monitor. Please keep the equipment in good condition as when you received it.
- Keep food and liquids away from your laptop or desktop. The crumbs can damage the circuitry. Worse, it makes the laptop look dirty if there are crumbs and food stains on it. As tempting as it might be to drink coffee, soda, water or any other liquid near your laptop, accidents can happen all too easily. Use a cup with a cover on it, so even if it does spill, the liquid doesn't go anywhere. Spilled liquids may damage the internal microelectronic components or cause electrical injury to the laptop. Short circuits can corrupt data or even permanently destroy some parts.
- Always have clean hands when using your laptop. Clean hands make it easier to use your laptop touch pad and there will be less risk of leaving dirt and other stains on the computer. In addition, if you clean your hands before use, you will help reduce wear andtear on the coating of the laptop caused by contact with sweat and small particles that can act upon the laptop's exterior underneath your wrists and fingers.
- Protect the LCD display monitor. When you close your laptop, make sure there are no small items, such as a pencil or small ear-phones, on the keyboard. These can damage the display screen when shut; the screen will scratch if the item is rough. Close the lid gently andholding from the middle. Closing the lid using only one side causes pressure on that hinge, and over time can cause it to bend and snap.
- Hold and lift the computer by its base, not by its LCD display (the screen). If you lift it by the screen part alone,you could damage the display or the hinges attaching it to the base. The display is also easily scratched or damaged by direct pressure – avoid placing pressure on it.
- Don't pull on the power cord. Tugging your power cord out from the power socket rather than putting your hand directly on the plug in the socket and pulling can break off the plug or damage the power socket. Also, if you have the power point near your feet, avoid constantly bumping into the plug or you could loosen it and eventually break it.
- Plug in accessory devices into their proper slots. Always look at the symbols on the laptop carefully before inserting devices. Jamming a phone line into an Ethernet port or vice versa could damage the sockets, making it impossible to use them again. It is very important to observe this step.
- Don't expose your laptop to rapid temperature changes. When bringing your laptop indoors during winter, don't turn it on immediately. Instead, let it warm to room temperature first. This will avoid any potential for damage to the disk drive from condensation forming inside the machine. Avoid heat from sunlight as well.
- Don't leave your laptop in a car. Not only do the insides of cars experience large temperature swings that could damage a laptop, but a laptop (or laptop bag) is an inviting target for a smash and grab thief.
- Avoid placing heavy materials, such as books, on top of your laptop and keyboard. This can push the LCD screen into the keyboard, and will eventually damage it. Also, the CD-ROM insert will also be squished and, eventually, will break.
- Use and store in a well-ventilated area. When you are using your laptop, do so in a place that has a constant air-circulation. Lots of people ruin their laptop by using it in an enclosed area and thus making the laptop overheat.
- Use an old toothbrush to clean the area around the exhaust fan screen or a can of air. If that gets plugged up, air flow is diminished and overheating can occur.