A laptop backpack is one of the best alternatives if you no longer want to use a laptop briefcase or the standard laptop bag that comes with your laptop when you bought it. People will usually not think that you are carrying an expensive laptop when you use a laptop backpack compare to the briefcase type of bag. Another great advantage of choosing a laptop backpack is it equally distributes the weight not only of your laptop but also the other heavy items that you are carrying. If you have been using laptop briefcase for some time now, you have already experienced sore shoulder muscles several times. This usually happens when you need to bring your laptop daily, walk from one place to another or just traveling somewhere or even commuting to work on public transport and carrying a bag around for hours a day has a long term effect on your health. Over the time, prolong subjecting your body to this kind of stress can develop real problems with you back and shoulders.

Different styles, brands and sizes of computer backpack are available on stores but what’s important is to choose a product that can protect your laptop and also secure your other items in it. Laptops are not cheap so you may want to buy a laptop backpack that can protect, secure and has a well padded insides. Paying a little extra is worth it especially for good quality bags that will surely last much longer compare to cheaper one that is usually poorly made.

Here are some things you should check before buying a backpack bag for your laptop.

1.    Make sure that it is comfortable for carrying around your heavy items.
2.    Always check the stitching and seams. Ideally double stitched is a better choice. This is to ensure that the backpack bag will last and won’t fall apart easily when you accidentally put too much things in it. Double stitched bags are sturdier even when you are carrying your laptop and other items at the same time.
3.    Choose a design that you like or will make you feel happy because you are going to use that laptop backpack for a very long time.

You will find a lot of Laptop computer buying tips on the internet. Some of those resources that you will find can really help you and most of them will just waste your time. Some buying tips that you will find on the internet fails to include hardware related details that a buyer should also consider before they buy a laptop or a notebook computer. This post aims to give you a simple notebook buying guide written on layman’s language and not written to sell you anything.

Notebook AC Adapter

When buying a new laptop, you should always make sure to check the size of the AC adapter included in the package before paying for it. When you are in a shop you can ask someone to assist you or ask them to check the AC adapter. But if you buy it online, you do not see the AC adapter before you buy the laptop and open the box at home. You’ll be very surprised to see that the AC adapter included in the package is half-size of your computer. The AC adapter wasn’t designed for a portable computer at all which can be problematic especially when you need your laptop immediately.

Physical Volume Control

If you are fond of listening to music a lot then you should buy a laptop with a physical sound volume control. Laptops with sound volume buttons or sound volume wheel located on the laptop are a good choice. You can easily adjust the sound level of your laptop without the need of adjusting it in the sound volume menu of your system.

Sound System

This is for music and movie lovers. Look for laptops with a good sound system. Some forums advices to get a laptop with Harman/Kardon system because it is one of the best like those on HP Pavilion zv5430us.

Laptop Memory Location

The motherboard of your laptop is one of the most important and expensive part of your notebook computer. You can save a lot of money and get an advantage if you know what kind of the system board is installed into your laptop. There are laptops that have memory integrated on the mother board and offer only one extra memory slot for memory expansion in the future. When the onboard memory fails you need to replace the entire system board. You don’t need to worry if your laptop is still under warranty but this will surely give you a big head ache when the memory of your laptop goes bad and it is no longer under warranty. There are also mother boards that offer two memory slots and don’t have any onboard memory. You will only have to replace the memory stick when it fails. Mother board with 2 memory slots can accept up 1GB memory stick in each slot and expand it. Do not hesitate to ask the sales person for any details especially if you plan to upgrade your laptop in the future

USB Port Location

For those who usually use USB devices such as wireless mouse, flash drive and other external devices, you should always check how USB ports are located on your laptop. It is preferable to have couple of USB ports on the side of your laptop and not only on the back. There are some laptops that do not have USB ports on sides and you need to turn the laptop first before you will be able to connect an USB device.

You should also check if the USB ports if it is placed too close to each other. Older USB devices usually has USB ports placed too close with each other which makes it unusable when you plug or use one of the USB ports for your device.

Laptop Keyboard

If your work requires a lot of networking like a network administrator then you probably want a keyboard that has Window key located in the lower left corner. Network Administrator usually uses the (Window Key + R button) shortcut for their tasks and they can easily do it easily using one hand. Some laptops this key is located in the upper right corner and you need your two hands to start the run box application. Window Key position might not be a big thing for some people but what if you need to use this shortcut many times a day?

Laptop Parallel Port

One laptop parts that is often overlooked. If you plan to use your laptop and print documents then you will need to connect a printer to your laptop via a parallel port. There are many laptops today that are designed for modern USB printers and they do not have the parallel port at all.

Laptop Warranty

There are some stores that offer extended warranty for their product. If I were you I will grab it because it can surely save you a lot of money in the future. A $300 for 3 years extended warranty can save you more money for future repairs when your laptop fails. A mother board repair will usually cost $400 for the part plus around $60/hr for the labor while LCD usually cost around $550 for the part. When your laptop fails after the 1 year warranty then you need to shoulder both the part cost and repair fee.

These are just few of the things that you should consider when you buy a laptop and to some this maybe not a big problem at all but for those who want to spend their hard earned money wisely this can surely help them a lot in making the right decisions.

I read somewhere that someone was having problem with her laptop computer. Her laptop suddenly shuts down after using it for 10 to 20 minutes without warning. This kind of problem is usually caused by overheating problem. Like what we said on our previous post “Computer Problem: Computer Overheating”, laptops are more susceptible to this kind of problem than desktop computers.

For laptop owners out there here are some signs that your laptop might have overheating problem:

1.    Laptop keyboard and the laptop bottom feel very hot when you use your laptop.
2.    Loud noise coming from the CPU fans and working all the time at maximum rotation speed.
3.    All of the sudden your laptop shuts down without any warning. When this kind of problem is just starting, your laptop shuts down after 1-2 hours and for serious cases it shuts down after 5-10 minutes of operation.
4.    Even if the laptop works perfectly when you are not using it or in idle mode it shuts down as soon as you use any hard application that requires a lot of memory such as playing DVD player, image and video editing software and the like.

Solution:

1.    For mild problem you can use any shop vacuum to suck the dust out from your laptop. You don’t need to take your laptop apart immediately.
2.    Check if the CPU and heat sink of your laptop if clogged with dust and lint. If it is mildly clogged with dust you can try to use canned air to blow the dust away from the CPU and heat sink. This is a nice precaution measure when your CPU and heat sink are starting to get clogged by dust and lint but might not work for serious cases. When your laptop is already completely clogged with dust you can use a heavy duty shop vacuum to clean out the fan and heat sinks. Instead of a vacuum cleaner you can also try powerful air compressor instead.
3.    You can clean the CPU fan and heat sink when you open your laptop case. Pls. check your manual how to open your laptop case because different manufacturer varies how to do this task. Remember that there are companies that will void your warranty if you open your laptop.
4.    Carefully clean the heat sink and the fan. After cleaning it test the fan if it will make any grinding sound when you use it. If it does then maybe its time to have it changed.
5.    If your laptop is still under warranty, you can take it to service provider and let them fix the problem at no charge to you.