JULY 2020 • TECH ADVISOR 37thenopenit upandblowit out(again,movingoutside
ifyoudon’twanttocreatedustcloudsinside).
Laptopsareabittrickier.Someofferaccessvia
screwsonthebottomchassis,butopeningit upmay
voidyourwarranty.Inanyevent,turningitoffand
blowingsomecompressedairintotheventsshouldn’t
hurt,andmaydislodgesomethingunpleasant.
Yourscreencouldusesomepolish,too.Amicrofibre
cloth works well to eliminate smudges there and on
thelaptoptouchpad,possibly with a bit of isopropyl
alcoholaddedtothecloth.
Somedevices,likerecentiPhones,andtheHPElite
Dragonflylaptop,haveoleophobiccoatingsthatrepel
oil.Microfibreclothsusuallydothetricktocleanthese
devices,butpayattentiontothemanufacturer’sadvice.
KeepyourPCrunningsmoothly
NowwecometoyourPC.Ifyou’reusingalaptopthat
yourcompanyissuedtoyou,theymightnotwantyou
tofiddlewithit.Ifit’syours,though,that’sdifferent.
Check for latest Windows Update. Maybe your PC is
up to date with the latest Windows 10 update, but have
you checked with everyone else? Imagine my shock and
embarrassment when I discovered that a family member
hadsetasideseveralupdatesbecausethe‘timing
wasbad’.It’seasytomanageWindows 10 updatesso
theydon’tdriveyouinsane.SomecorporatePCsusea
separateapp(Lenovo’sVantageisagoodexample)to
managefirmwareanddriverupdates;justlaunchitand
letit downloadthe necessary drivers and other updates
fromthecloud.