When was the last time you cleaned your laptop? Yeah, we thought so. This simple computer maintenance task doesn't just get rid of accumulated dirt and dust--it keeps your laptop running in tip top shape.The five general parts of the laptop you should keep clean are ​the case, the LCD screen, the laptop keyboard (and touchpad), the ports, and the cooling vents.You can also open up your laptop to expose and clean its cooling system (the fan and heat sink), but only attempt that if you're comfortable opening up your laptop. Cleaning the cooling system can help solve laptop overheating problems and related symptoms like your laptop freezing or having issues shutting down.As always, defer to your laptop manufacturer's manual for the recommended procedure for laptop cleaning.You'll need the following things to clean your laptop (click on the links to compare prices and buy them online): Use the damp cloth to wipe down the exterior of the laptop. This will help you make it look brand-new again.

Then open the lid and wipe the areas around your keyboard.Clean the display using the same cloth or a newly moistened one if the original is too grimy (again, don't spray any solution directly on the screen). Use gentle circular motions or wipe the screen from left to right, top to bottom.Use a can of compressed air to loosen and remove dirt, crumbs, and everything else that may be stuck in the keys. Alternately, you can turn the laptop over and gently shake out any loose debris, running your fingers over the keys to aid the process.If you have stuck keys or a very dirty keyboard (due to spilled drinks, for example), you can also remove the individual keys and wipe beneath them with a cotton swab dipped in the cleaning solution. Be sure you check your laptop manual to make sure the keys can be removed for cleaning, and, of course, put them back the right way.Some laptops have drains built into the keyboard tray. If yours is like that, you can pour distilled water into the keyboard and let it air-dry.

Check your manual to be sure. Finally, use the damp cloth to wipe the keys and the touchpad.Use the can of compressed air to clean the case openings: the ports and cooling vents. Spray from an angle so the debris is blown away from the computer, rather than into it.Also, be careful when spraying the fans, because if you spray too hard liquid may get in the fan blades. To prevent the fans from over spinning while you're blowing the air on them (which can damage the fans), place a cotton swab or toothpick between the fan blades to hold them in place.Make sure your laptop is completely dry before turning it on.A video of how to clean your laptop is also available if you'd like more visual instructions. Looks like you didn't complete your reservation. Do you want to If you need help making your reservation, call 1-866-237-8289. Free shipping* on orders over $35 (excludes products with ) Earn Reward Zone points on all your purchases To Book A Service Call 1-800-GEEKSQUADOr visit a store today

Dr. Battery Toshiba Dynabook / Qosmio / Satellite 6-Cell Laptop Battery (L16-232-SS)cost to clean a dryer ventBy Tim Trott, Monday 28th July 2008 in Hardware Share on Facebook Tweet Share on Google+ Share via LinkedInHP Laptop repair and a guide on how to dismantle an HP laptop to clean or repair internal components such as the cooling fan, hard drive, memory or screen.best vacuum cleaner in india for pet hairMy laptop is getting on a bit now and has started developing a few problems. best price on shark vacuum cleanersPrimarily I am experiencing overheating, with the fans running at full power and various a few other niggles. best way to clean cafe blinds

This is my illustrated guide for HP laptop disassembly. cleaning wood floors urethane finishIt is based on the ze5400ea model but should be similar for any HP pavilion disassembly. best way to clean exterior shuttersI am approaching this with four main objectives:This procedure will certainly invalidate any warranty you may have on your product. This guide is produced through experimentation and is in no way endorsed by HP or Compaq. Always follow correct electrical safety procedures. Do not undertake this task if you are uncertain about dismantling/repairing electrical components. The author, Tim Trott, accepts no responsibility or liability for any damage to hardware, loss of data, injury or anything else. Whilst every effort is made to document as accurately as possible, this is a guideline only and any work you decide to carry out, you do yourself.

Basically if you mess up its your fault.I am experiencing ever increasing fan noise, due to the processor overheating. A quick inspection through the fan grille shows substantial dust build up and I assume that this is restricting the air flow and the thermal efficiency of the cooling mechanism.I am also experiencing a poor wireless performance, while one minute it will be connected perfectly fine then, without warning, the bandwidth will drop to 1mbs (still with good quality and strength) and will not communicate with anything. When I disable the connection and re- enable a few networks are discovered, but not mine. I have to keep dis/re-enabling the connection and eventually it will pick up the signal again. This could remain stable for the rest of the day, or 5 minutes. As a temporary fix I am using a PCMCIA wireless card which has functioned perfectly fine.The power switch is very detrimental about when it works, mostly not working. I have to use the quick function buttons to activate the laptop.

Feels like the switch is Pepsified (that's covered in Pepsi).Finally, the floppy disk no longer accepts floppy disks. They go in part way but do not 'clunk' down to the heads and spindle, rendering it useless.The first thing we need to do is remove the Battery and AC connector to prevent any electric shocks. Next is to remove the Hard Drive and store it safely to prevent risk of data loss. The hard drive can be removed by unscrewing three screws on the underside of the laptop. One screw is covered by a rubber grommet.Next remove all the screws from the underside and rear of the laptop. There are no screws under the memory and expansion panels and there are no labels covering any screws.Having removed the heat sink it was obvious that the metal fins were totally clogged up with dust. Taking it outside and blowing compressed air into the fins and fans removed most of the dust, and a paintbrush helped with the rest. The difference is obvious between before and after. Hopefully this will help with the overheating issue.

When reassembling the heat sink to the main board I cleaned both surfaces with isopropanol and I used a little Artic Silver to aid with thermal transfer. Please also observe the correct sequence if you decide to do this.Mindi has kindly written in advising me that HP offer a BIOS update that will reduce fan noise. Since my fans are still noisy (although much less now) I had a look into this link. The BIOS version to fix fan noise is version KH.F.15, and since my BIOS is KH.F.08 I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a go. I don't usually update BIOS software (if it isn't broke, don't fix it), but if this can help reduce fan noise I had to check test it out.This BIOS update was tested on my ze5440ea model, the update process was absolutely perfect and as easy as downloading the file (1.6mb) and running it. I would make sure that you check compatibility from the HP website before running the update, and it looks as though the flash updater itself check compatibility before starting.Once downloaded, simply run the executable and it will self extract and launch the flash program.

From there it's just a case of following the onscreen steps. If successful the system will reboot and you should have an Intel logo as well as the HP logo as it boots up.First impressions are that the fans are less noisy, I have determined that there are 4 fan speeds in use: 1) Off (only if using outside or in very cold rooms (AC). 2) Quite running (seldom heard) 3) Normal Noisy running and 4) Going into meltdown.It seems that in this update HP have changed the normal running mode to quiet running by changing the temperature threshold. The BIOS flash works! Thanks for sharing this tip with us Mindi.My first task was to clear the fans and heat sinks from dust to reduce the noise from the fans running at full speed constantly. This was achieved by removing the heat sink assembly from the processor and blowing compressed air into it, further, a paintbrush was used to remove stubborn particles.This has had the desired effect, with the noise greatly reduced. This should also improve the performance of the laptop slightly as well as lengthen the lifespan.

I could find no cause for the poor wireless performance, all cables intact and all contacts clean, however the card and contacts were cleaned with alcohol and reseated and it does seem to be performing a little better. Update on next day: Back to usual - non working. No idea why this laptop can't connect to wireless lans one minute and not the next.The faulty power switch I have put down to a bad design flaw. The switch is illuminated by an led from below. When pressed, the switch rock on a pivot point to depress a micro switch to the left of the button, therefore the button must be depressed not in the centre, but off to the right, in order that the micro switch be activated. Poor design, but knowing this does make it easier to operate by pressing the right edge of the button down and to the right.Floppy drive shows no visible cause of error and remains broken.My website and its content are free to use without the clutter of adverts, tracking cookies, marketing messages or anything else like that.