If you have a laptop, you should be mindful of potential problems that the computer will pose you. Even if you take proper care of the device, you should not expect that it will run without any issues. And those who neglect to maintain their laptop in good condition are bound to experience performance problems while playing video games, surfing the net, working, or doing other activities on the device.
The question is, what kind of problems can you expect to see and whether you can deal with them yourself. More often than not, less troublesome issues are manageable without any help from professionals because of all the available instructions and video guides online.
On the other hand, more technical and hardware-related problems are better left off to those who have the necessary experience and tools to deal with them.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common laptop issues and find out whether you should try solving them yourself or not.
Sluggish Speed
First of all, there is the problem of having a slow computer. Overall, new laptops should not perform sluggishly. If you encounter this issue soon after purchasing the device, it is likely that something is wrong with the hardware, and you bought a damaged computer.
Now, the situation is different for older laptops. After you have been using a laptop for a while, you will notice that it takes longer for it to launch software or to transfer files from one folder to another.
Check if there is enough free space on the drive. If not, consider which files you can remove and transfer to external storage.
Next, if there is too much clutter on the desktop (shortcuts and documents), remove them from the desktop.
Scanning for viruses and malware is worth a shout as well. Your laptop might be infected, and not taking care of potential cybersecurity threats will lead to problems.
Memory Leaks
Memory leaks are one of those problems that you cannot notice right off the bat. However, it still exists whether you like it or not. After a laptop has been running for a while, there are issues with its memory allocation.
Software in the background starts to allocate the system’s memory where the memory should not go, and the overall performance starts to crumble. To solve memory leaks, you need to restart the computer.
After a restart, you should notice how much better the laptop runs. As a rule of thumb, try to restart the device every few hours or so.
Screen Flickers
A restart is a temporary solution to screen flickers, so do not rely on it too much. Instead, get to the bottom of the problem if you want to get rid of screen flickers permanently.
The likeliest cause behind this particular issue is the incompatibility between operating systems and GPUs. After updating one or the other, you may notice that a laptop’s screen starts to flicker now and then. And before you know it, the issue becomes unmanageable.
Downgrading driver updates or an OS version is a reasonable solution. On the other hand, if the flickering persists, you will need to seek professional help from laptop hardware specialists.
Slow Loading Speed
In case you are fed up with having to wait for the laptop to load for a long time, you can cut that time by doing a few things.
To start with, remove startup items. The software you do not need to use immediately after a laptop loads should not be in the startup item list.
Next, get rid of desktop clutter, as each icon on the laptop’s desktop hinders the loading speed and overall performance.
Overheating
Overheating is more or less inevitable even if you manage to maintain the laptop in good condition. It is likely that the device has relatively lackluster hardware, which is not good when there are high-end background processes.
Of course, there are ways to reduce the problem. Keep in mind that while the laptop’s fans can be loud, too much noise usually indicates that you have a dust problem.
The dust that accumulates inside is an issue that will not solve itself. You need to clean the laptop yourself or get someone else to do it for you.
Unresponsive Keyboard
You do not want to purchase an external keyboard because the one for your laptop is not working properly. If there are issues with one or two keys, try looking for replacements, as there are plenty of sellers on eBay and other sites.
In case the issue is bigger than just a few unresponsive keys, you will need to take the laptop to a service store.
Audio Problems
Before you give up on audio problems, check to see if the software has access to it because some individual apps require permissions.
Another thing to note is that there might be issues with the audio settings, and tinkering with them might be enough to eliminate the trouble.
