15 Laptop Mistakes You Might Be Committing Unknowingly

June 28, 2025 News 0

Most laptops don’t fail because they’re old. They fail because of how they’re used.

At Computer Repair Adelaide, we see it every day. Overheating, battery damage, cracked hinges and slowdowns. And most of it is preventable.

This guide covers what not to do with your laptop. These are the real-world laptop mistakes we see all the time, plus newer habits that are causing trouble in 2025. If you want your laptop to last longer and work better, avoid these.

Using Your Laptop on the Bed

Your laptop needs proper airflow to stay cool. The vents pull in air to cool the internal parts and push hot air out. When those vents are blocked, heat builds up fast.

At Computer Repair Adelaide, we see overheating damage all the time. Failing fans, slow performance, melted plastic and dead motherboards. Most of it starts with blocked airflow.

Common mistakes:

Using your laptop on a bed, pillow or blanket
Keeping it on your lap for long sessions
Letting dust clog up the vents

Best practice:

Use your laptop on a hard, flat surface. A desk or table is ideal. If you like working from bed, use a laptop tray or cooling pad.

Don’t Stay Plugged In All the Time

Using your laptop while charging is fine, but keeping it plugged in constantly can shorten battery life.

When a battery stays at 100 percent for too long, it holds a high voltage and builds up heat. That heat is one of the things that kills the battery the most.

Never using the battery at all is just as bad. If you always stay plugged in, the battery loses calibration and slowly loses capacity. Letting it drain to zero and charging it to full once in a while also damages the cells.

Best practice:

Keep the battery between 20 and 80 percent during daily use. Unplug it when it’s charged. Do a full battery cycle once a month. If you work at a desk most of the time, turn on battery health or care mode in your settings.

Never Run a Laptop Without Its Battery

Your laptop was designed to run with a battery, don’t remove it.

Without a battery, there’s no backup if the power cable gets bumped or there’s a blackout. The laptop shuts off instantly, which can corrupt files, damage your system or even wreck the storage drive.

Some laptops also won’t run properly without a battery. You might get slower performance, or it may not power on at all.

Best practice:

Leave the battery in if it came with one. If you’re worried about battery health, use built-in charging limits or battery care modes. The battery protects your work and your hardware.

Keep Food and Drinks Away

It only takes one spill to kill a laptop. Liquids can short out the keyboard, trackpad or motherboard in seconds. Even a splash can cause long-term damage.

Crumbs cause their own problems. They fall under keys, jam the keyboard, and attract dust or even pests. Some laptops end up with sticky residue inside or clogged fans, all from food getting too close.

Best practice:

Don’t eat over your laptop. Keep drinks at least a metre away. If you need a drink nearby, use a sealed bottle, not an open cup.

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Don’t Leave Your Laptop in Hot or Freezing Places

High heat, meaning temperatures above 35°C, like leaving your laptop in a parked car or under direct sunlight, can cause the battery to swell and damage the screen. Overheating also reduces overall component lifespan and may cause unexpected shutdowns.

On the other hand, cold temperatures below 10°C can crack LCD panels and cause condensation inside the laptop when you bring it back indoors. This moisture can lead to short circuits and corrosion over time.

Best Practice:

Use your laptop in a temperature range between 10°C and 35°C. High heat means temperatures above 35°C and cold means below 10°C. Avoid leaving your laptop in hot cars, direct sun, or freezing environments. If your laptop gets cold, let it warm up to room temperature before switching it on.

Closing the Lid Isn’t the Same as Shutting Down

Closing your laptop lid usually puts it into sleep or hibernate mode. But it doesn’t fully shut down.

Sleep still uses power in the background. If you leave it like that for days, the battery can drain slowly. It can also cause wear to internal parts as it keeps waking slightly for updates or notifications.

We often see laptops come in with battery or overheating issues, and it turns out they were just sleeping for days instead of being shut down.

Best practice:

Use sleep for short breaks under 2 hours.
Use hibernate or shut down if you won’t use the laptop for a full day.
Make sure to shut down completely at least once a week to clear out background clutter and reset hardware.

Avoid Cheap or Uncertified Chargers

Using third-party or cheap chargers can cause serious damage to your laptop.

Off-brand adapters often do not regulate voltage properly. This can lead to overvoltage, which may fry battery controllers, damage the logic board, or harm the charging port.

Cheap cables might not support the correct amperage. This causes slow charging and can make the laptop heat up more than usual.

Some modern laptops, especially gaming rigs and MacBooks, refuse to charge with uncertified USB-C chargers.

Best practice:

Always use the original manufacturer’s charger or officially certified replacements. Check the exact wattage and voltage specs before buying a new charger. Also, keep the charging port clean and undamaged to ensure safe charging.

Don’t Let Dust Build Up Inside

A thin layer of dust can block airflow and make your laptop’s fans work harder and run hotter.

Modern ultrathin laptops have less space inside, so dust causes bigger problems than before. Poor airflow raises temperatures and shortens the life of your components.

Best practice:

Every 3 to 6 months, shut down your laptop, open the bottom panel if you feel comfortable, and blow out dust using canned air.
If you’re not confident doing this yourself, book a professional cleaning at least once a year.

Don’t Ignore Software, Firmware and Driver Updates

Ignoring updates leaves your laptop open to malware, ransomware and phishing attacks.

Outdated operating systems or BIOS versions miss important security patches. Missing firmware updates can cause battery charging problems or poor temperature control. This can lead to overheating and shorten battery life.

Best practice:

Turn on automatic updates for your operating system, whether it’s Windows or macOS.
Visit your laptop manufacturer’s website once a month to check for BIOS and firmware updates.
Restart your laptop at least once a week to make sure updates install correctly.

Avoid Running Heavy Apps on Battery Alone

Heavy apps like gaming and video editing demand a lot from your laptop’s CPU and GPU. When these parts work hard, they generate significant heat. Managing that heat requires extra power, which the battery alone can struggle to provide.

Running these apps on battery causes the system to draw more power quickly. This rapid discharge wears down the battery cells faster, reducing overall battery lifespan. The heat from heavy use adds stress to the battery and internal components.

Modern GPUs can reach temperatures above 80 °C during intense use. Without being plugged in, your laptop cannot efficiently control this heat. That increases the risk of overheating and thermal throttling, which slows your system down to protect itself.

Best practice:

Always plug your laptop into power before running heavy apps. If you need to use battery, lower graphics settings and limit frame rates to reduce heat and power consumption.

Never Lift by the Screen or Press Down on the Lid

Lifting a laptop by the top of the screen might feel convenient, but it puts direct stress on the hinge assembly. Over time, this weakens the hinges and can cause them to snap or break the internal mounts. Once that damage happens, the repair often involves replacing the entire top or bottom housing.

Pressing down on the lid is just as risky. Resting books, leaning on it, or placing a bag on top of a closed laptop can crack the screen or damage the internal display layers.

Best practice:

Always lift your laptop from the base.
Keep heavy items away from your closed laptop to avoid pressure damage.

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Don’t Skip Backups

Laptops can fail without warning. Solid-state drives (SSDs) may suddenly stop working, and mechanical hard drives wear out over time.

Malware or ransomware attacks can lock your files permanently. A single spill or electrical short can corrupt your entire drive—including saved documents and email archives.

Important emails are often overlooked until they’re gone. If your email isn’t backed up or stored in the cloud, a crash could wipe years of work or personal history.

Best practice:

Set up automatic cloud backups for important folders using services like OneDrive or iCloud.
Backup your entire drive to an external SSD or hard drive at least once a month.
Also, regularly export and back up your email using your email app or a cloud-based service.

Protect Your Laptop from Power Surges

Power spikes can happen in an instant. Lightning strikes, grid drops, or unstable wiring can send a jolt through your charger and straight into your laptop. The result? Fried motherboards, blown charging circuits, or dead SSDs. These failures are often permanent and expensive to fix.

Many people use cheap power boards or extension cords without real surge protection. These do nothing when a serious spike hits.

Best practice:

Always plug your laptop into a quality surge protector with a joule rating of at least 1,000.
If there’s a lightning storm, unplug it completely to be safe.

Attempting DIY Laptop Repair

Fixing a laptop isn’t the same as building a PC. Still, many people watch a quick YouTube video and think they can handle it. We’ve seen this go wrong too many times like torn ribbon cables, snapped hinges, cracked screens, and stripped screws.

Modern laptops are tricky. Batteries are glued, parts are soldered, and components are packed tight. One wrong move and you could damage the motherboard or lose display signals entirely. Even using the wrong screwdriver or thermal paste can cause overheating or break something important.

Best practice:

Avoid DIY repairs unless you know exactly what you’re doing. When in doubt, leave it to certified experts. Computer Repair Adelaide handles complex laptop repairs every day — safely, properly, and without voiding your warranty.

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Best Laptop Practices

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a laptop every day?

Yes, you can use your laptop daily. Just make sure to give it breaks, keep it on a hard surface to avoid overheating, and follow best practices like regular updates and battery care to keep it running smoothly

What are the do's and don'ts of laptop usage?

Do use your laptop on flat, hard surfaces, keep it clean, and update software regularly. Don’t block vents, avoid extreme temperatures, never use cheap chargers, and don’t eat or drink near it.

What should I do with my laptop when not using it?

For short breaks under two hours, close the lid to put it to sleep. For longer periods over 24 hours, shut it down or put it in hibernate mode to save battery and reduce wear.

How many hours a day should I use my laptop continuously?

Avoid using your laptop nonstop for more than 2 hours. After every 1 to 2 hours of use, take a 10 to 15-minute break. This helps prevent overheating, reduces strain on your laptop’s components, and gives your eyes and body a rest.

How low should I let my laptop battery go before charging it?

Try to keep your battery between 20% and 80% to prolong its lifespan. Avoid letting it drop below 20% regularly or charging only when it hits 0%.

How often should I service my laptop?

Clean vents and fans every 3-6 months to prevent dust buildup. A full professional service is recommended at least once a year to check internal components and thermal paste.

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Avoid These 15 Laptop Mistakes That Can Damage Your Device

Using Your Laptop on the Bed

Common mistakes:

Best practice:

Don’t Stay Plugged In All the Time

Best practice:

Never Run a Laptop Without Its Battery

Best practice:

Keep Food and Drinks Away

Best practice:

Don’t Leave Your Laptop in Hot or Freezing Places

Best Practice:

Closing the Lid Isn’t the Same as Shutting Down

Best practice:

Avoid Cheap or Uncertified Chargers

Best practice:

Don’t Let Dust Build Up Inside

Best practice:

Don’t Ignore Software, Firmware and Driver Updates

Best practice:

Avoid Running Heavy Apps on Battery Alone

Best practice:

Never Lift by the Screen or Press Down on the Lid

Best practice:

Don’t Skip Backups

Best practice:

Protect Your Laptop from Power Surges

Best practice:

Attempting DIY Laptop Repair

Best practice:

Best Laptop Practices

Frequently Asked Questions

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