Remote work has become the norm, which means working laptops are suffering from greater wear and tear. Worse, your laptop may be close to its service life and starts to stutter when you try to get the job done.
Rather than waiting for IT staff to find, pack and ship new laptops, do-it-yourself comprehensive overhaul of your work laptop to restore it to its best condition.
Don't even consider doing anything with your working laptop before checking your company's IT and device strategies. Depending on their concerns and the contracts they have with the client, you may be restricted in terms of what operations are allowed. Also ask them if they have a “bring your own device” policy and see if other laptops you own meet the requirements.
If they approve your request, the next step is to get a complete list of machine specifications, including any information about the manufacturer and model, which you can find by looking at the bottom of the laptop. This will help you quickly determine if the component or external device is compatible with your machine. Note the ports you have and whether they have power – the more ports, the more you can add.
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When checking the bottom of your laptop, look for the detachable panel and access points. Ultra-light new laptops tend to have more parts glued together or made entirely of a piece of metal. In some cases, it is impossible to open the shell, so you will only be able to use external accessories.
This is also a good time to back up files. Put whatever you need to easily access into cloud storage and put everything else into a USB or external hard drive.
When finished, clear all unnecessary files and perform some basic maintenance, such as tidying up your hard drive. This will improve performance by putting all the information in one place and give you more space.
There are some quick ways to improve the performance of your laptop and in some cases you can use what you already have on your desk.
Start with your RAM. This is your computer's "short-term memory" and they store all the data that needs to keep the system running here-and it only has that much. When the built-in RAM runs out, your computer will start using the hard drive's memory to keep the system running. This is not ideal: Since hard drives have moving parts, they have strict speed limits, so programs can slow down by waiting for data to arrive. However, the USB drive is limited only by USB port speed, so you can turn it into "virtual RAM" with a few clicks.
In Windows, connect to the USB flash drive and right-click its icon in File Explorer. Select the Properties, and under the ReadyBoost tab, select to dedicate this device to ReadyBoost. Click to apply and to confirm and restart the machine.
There is one thing to note - due to the high workload, your USB drive will wear out faster than usual. It is best to assign several USB drives specifically for this work and first delete any files stored in it. You do not want these flash drives to be corrupted when storing important files.
If it takes a long time for your hard drive to open large files, consider using an external solid state drive or SSD, which you can also connect via USB-C. SSDs have no moving parts, so they are much faster than traditional magnetic disk drives. They are usually set up automatically and are also portable so they can be carried around.
If your work involves a lot of graphics-intensive tasks, such as CAD design or data visualization, an external graphics processing unit or GPU can help. External GPUs are more popular among gamers, but they can be used in any application, and if you have a spare graphics card, you can buy a case for it and plug it into a port without having to turn on your laptop.
You can upgrade almost anything on your laptop by connecting almost anything like a keyboard, camera, etc. to the port of your machine. But Josh Smith, a threat analyst at cybersecurity company Nuspire, said you need to be careful about where you get the devices, as they may be modified to penetrate into the systems of unsuspecting victims.
He explained, "The devices may be implanted in the back door and keylogger, making these devices vulnerable to fraud, theft or something more evil."
Chris Hickman, chief security officer at online security company Keyfactor, warns that before plugging anything into a computer, do your research and make sure you bought it from a reputable source.
He said: "Look for products that are certified, recommended or approved by laptop suppliers."
If you hate every aspect of your laptop and only need a processor and hard drive, it's time to buy a dock, commonly known as a dock. The dock is an accessory that connects to your laptop, which basically turns your laptop into a desktop with more USB ports, monitor connections and in some cases even enhances the performance of graphics and other tasks. These docking stations are most convenient when you have a dedicated workspace to set it up, or need more or different ports than the laptop offers.
But the docking station is not a universal solution. First, getting a dock doesn't mean you can connect anything to it - for example, if your laptop graphics card doesn't support the higher resolution you need on your monitor, the dock probably won't change that . Second, you will lose mobility because you will be tied to your home desk.
Video conferencing is essential for remote work, but unfortunately not every laptop is designed for it. Older models may have a poorly positioned microphone and camera (such as one directly above the keyboard, which is perfect for looking upwards on your nose), or have resolution limits that make you look blurry.
If your camera is bad, check out the external camera you already have. Action cameras like GoPro have webcam apps and modes that you can use the suction cup holder to place where you want it. You just need to remember to keep them charged.
Any camera depends on how much light is shining on its subject. The lower the resolution of the camera, the more light you need. If your laptop makes you look bad, literally use a USB-powered light source to see if you get a better look. There are some LED panels or ring lights that can be clipped to the top of your laptop or glued to the back with a suction cup to shine light directly onto your face. Get a light with adjustable brightness and color settings so you can fill in shadows and adjust so that you are happy with the look in your video chat.
The Bluetooth receiver can remove some wires from your workspace while giving you better audio. Some of you can plug in the headphone jack and pair it with the headphones you already have, allowing you to upgrade your audio right away. Like external cameras, you need to keep them charged, so consider placing a USB hub on your desk to keep the battery fully charged.
If you have been approved by the IT department, or work in a company that allows bringing your own equipment, you can do more by replacing some internal parts. Replacing or upgrading the battery and RAM memory are the two easiest hardware upgrades. But both require you to get close to the internal parts of your computer.
But wear an anti-static wristband before turning on the machine, as even a small amount of power can burn out the components.
Depending on the age and design of the machine, you may need a special screwdriver called a Torx screwdriver head. These screwdriver heads are star-shaped and you can find a set in auto supplies stores, bicycle stores and online. Once you have the tools you need, make sure the parts you want to replace can work with the RAM and processor you have. Check their required specifications on the manufacturer's website.
Battery is the easiest part to upgrade or replace. Check the laptop's manual to see if you can replace the battery. If you can, there will be instructions on how to do it, usually pop it out and replace it with a new battery. The battery should slide in and securely snap into the power connection. If it is too loose or too tight, please do not force it into it.
[Related: A clear sign of replacing laptop battery]
If possible, use the original manufacturer's battery whenever possible, as this will usually retain your warranty and reduce frustration. If you have to purchase a third-party battery, confirm with the manufacturer that it is compatible with your model. You may also want to view user reviews for people using the same laptop.
Memory, more specifically RAM on the motherboard, is a cheap way to get your computer more performance – the more RAM it has, the faster it will run. However, the motherboard will determine how much RAM your laptop can hold, so check the user manual for the maximum amount before trying anything.
RAM card into the motherboard, so depending on where it is in the machine, it can be easily reachable — or difficult to reach. If you can access it, just pop up the current RAM and replace it with a new module. Once you're done, start the computer and make sure everything is working before screwing everything back. If you see any issues, reverse the process by putting the old RAM module back in place.
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