How to Use a Laptop (laptop)

Laptops (laptops or notebooks) are becoming more and more powerful these days, and at the same time, it’s also a great on-the-go tool beyond smartphones and desktops. If you have just switched to using a laptop or have to use someone else’s laptop, you will probably be quite clumsy. Don’t worry, you can follow the steps below to familiarize yourself with all types of laptops, and before long, you’ll be using your laptop like a pro.

Table of Contents

Setting up the laptop

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If you are at home, you should plug in your laptop to use it. Laptops can run out of battery quickly, especially if you’re multitasking. Unless you’re on the go or outside, it’s best to plug in your laptop to use when possible.

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Place the base of the laptop on a table, in front of you if you’re sitting. Laptops are called “laptops” because you can use them on your lap (“lap”: lap; “top”: above), but that does not mean that this is the most appropriate position. You should choose an angle where your hands and wrists are comfortable – move the laptop until you find a comfortable position.

The laptop should not be placed on soft, rough, or rough surfaces as the ventilation holes are likely to become blocked. Most laptops have ventilation fans located on the side or bottom of the body, this area needs to be ventilated for the laptop to work properly.

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Turn the monitor up until you feel comfortable. Most laptops have a latch or hinge that allows us to fold / open the screen.

If the laptop can’t push the screen up, don’t force it! You should replace the hinge instead of trying to bend the screen up.
Do not oversize the screen. 45 degree obtuse angle is suitable for most laptops. The screen or hinge may be damaged or broken if opened too wide.

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Find the power button and turn it on. On most laptops, the power button is usually located above the keyboard. The power button may be marked by the international symbol ‘power on’ circular with a straight line going from top to bottom to a semicircle.

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Wait for the machine to start up. Laptops have a powerful configuration but are highly portable, so their hard drives are dedicated and take longer to boot than desktop computers and smartphones.

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Use your laptop’s navigation device. On most laptops, this is a flat area capable of touch and called the trackpad , this device allows us to use our fingers instead of the mouse. You just need to slide your finger on the trackpad to move the mouse pointer.

Multi-finger trackpad – this multi-finger trackpad offers more user interface operations than a one-touch trackpad. You can experiment on your computer by moving one, two or three fingers across the trackpad and trying out different ‘gestures’ or actions.
Lenovo laptops often have a red joystick-like button called a “trackpoint”, which is located between the ‘G’ and ‘H’ keys on the keyboard. Users can use the trackpoint with their fingers similar to a very sensitive joystick.
Some older laptops also have a trackball. When you rotate the ball on the trackball, the mouse pointer will move.
Some laptops are also equipped with a stylus. With this model, the pen will come with the calculator. To move the mouse pointer, you move the pen on the screen and press the tip of the pen to the screen you want to click.
If you find the navigation device on your laptop small and difficult to manipulate, you can use a mouse. Find the USB port on the camera body and plug in the cable or mouse receiver. The laptop will recognize it and automatically set it up for you to use.

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Use the left key of the trackpad as the left mouse button. On most trackpads, you can click using the key located at the bottom left of the trackpad.

Some trackpads also allow a light press on the touch surface to click. Experiment – you may discover more features that you didn’t know about before.

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Use the right key of the trackpad as the right mouse button. You can open the “context menu” or “right-click” simply by tapping the key located at the bottom right of the trackpad.

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Find the optical drive on the laptop. If your laptop is not a ‘netbook’ (an ultraportable compact computer) it will have an optical drive for installing software or viewing multimedia. The optical drive is usually located on the right or left side of the laptop chassis.

On Windows and Mac OS laptops, you can open the optical drive by clicking the small button located on the disc tray, or by right-clicking the optical drive icon on the operating system and selecting “Eject”.

Install software

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Regularly update software on your computer. Laptops may come with some basic ancillary software: a word processor, a calculator, and some simple photo-sharing software. There is also special software for power handling and graphics; these programs require multiple driver updates to function properly. To install additional software is not too complicated, just know how to do it, you will be able to increase the capabilities of your laptop (in most cases, for free).

You will need to update your version of Windows with your Windows-based laptop. Windows laptops often use Windows Update or the manufacturer’s software to update Windows.
With Mac laptops, use the built-in upgrade option on MacOS. You can easily find this feature on Mac laptops.

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Install office software. The laptop’s built-in accessibility software can cover basic writing or note-taking needs, but if you’re using it for academic or professional purposes, you’ll need a full suite of software. more than enough.

Similar to the proprietary Microsoft Word software, the free OpenOffice software is also capable of word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations.
Google Docs is an online alternative to office suites. Google Docs is ‘cloud-based’ office software that offers many of the same features as OpenOffice and Microsoft Office. This free software is quite powerful, especially suitable if you need to share documents with others.
If you only need to use Microsoft Office and are still a student, you can download it for free or buy it at a discount. Check this out before buying a copy of the software from a computer store.

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Install photo editing software to organize, edit, and share images. Laptops are likely to have some basic image processing software built-in by the manufacturer. You can upgrade these software easily and quickly (in some cases at no cost).

Use Photo Stream to organize and share photos. If you have an iPhone or a Mac laptop, you can set up Photo Stream and share images.
You can use Picasa to organize and share photos. Picasa is a product of Google, this program provides many basic tools to help you manipulate images such as cropping, editing, even changing colors and creating panoramas.

Internet access with laptop

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If you don’t have a network at home, what you need to do is set up a network. While it’s a powerful mobile device, a laptop won’t be able to reach its full potential without an Internet connection. Usually, laptops come with built-in software to make accessing the network easier.

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Most laptops have an Ethernet port on the side or back. After you plug the Ethernet cable from your router or modem into this port, the laptop will automatically recognize the connection.

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With a Mac laptop, use the Mac OS operating system to connect the computer to the Internet. You can see more online on how to connect a Mac laptop via an Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi.

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On a Windows laptop, we use the Windows operating system to connect the computer to the Internet. If your laptop is plugged in with a new or different wireless network card, you may need to use the software that came with the network card instead of using the built-in Wi-Fi utility.

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When you’re out of the house or on the go, you can use free Wi-Fi. Schools, libraries, and coffee shops often offer free Wi-Fi, and you may even be able to use it in unexpected places (such as some supermarkets, banks, and other locations). other outdoor spots).

Live and work with a laptop

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Additional wireless mouse . An external mouse will make working on your laptop easier – you won’t have to rotate your wrist as much to use the trackpad or trackpad.

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Combine your laptop with another monitor for a high-performance dual-monitor workspace. You can arrange the laptop and the second monitor into one large workspace, or set up the second monitor to mirror what’s happening on the laptop screen (useful if you’re giving presentations).

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Use your laptop to play movies and show photos on TV . Some laptops have HDMI or DV-I connections along with DVD/Blu-Ray players with the ability to play high-definition HD video – this is exactly what you need to play your recorded movies or TV shows. back on TV.

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Connect your laptop to speakers for a powerful MP3 player with high output. The laptop even has built-in digital audio, SPDIF or 5.1 audio output for high-fidelity sound.

The laptop can be connected to the car stereo. You can learn how to do this, but be careful – if you’re driving and reaching for your laptop to change music, it’s very easy to cause an accident.

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Laptop can be used as desktop. If you want to use your laptop like a desktop computer, simply plug the monitor cable into the VGA port, connect a mouse, keyboard, and speakers (if needed).

Advice

Arrange laptops and work areas safely and efficiently . Laptops are often less secure and more efficient than desktop computers due to their smaller keyboards, which require you to twist your wrist to use all the keys. Besides, the laptop is also compact, can be placed anywhere, so it is easy to lead to inappropriate use posture.
Put your laptop in a shockproof bag when you’re on the go. Laptops are very fragile and easily damaged if bumped against other objects when in an unlined bag. You should consider investing in a shockproof laptop bag – or make your own if you have a hoodie you don’t use anymore.

Warning

Regularly back up your laptop . If you only work and save data on your laptop, it will be extremely miserable if your laptop is damaged. Make regular backups of your data, especially if you use a laptop for work.
Always keep an eye on your assets . A laptop is a valuable technology product, highly portable and easy to resell, so it is very attractive in the eyes of the bad guys. You need to take basic precautions when traveling, don’t leave your laptop in the car seat or unattended and always be careful with your surroundings.
Do not spill food or drink on the laptop! The laptop has plenty of open ports for ventilation, and the open keyboard sits above the heated board that fits snugly, so it would be a disaster if you spill coffee on the laptop. Laptop warranties usually do not cover these cases. It’s a good idea to keep drinks away from your laptop — on the other side of the table, for example, or even on another table (if possible) — when you’re working and eating.
Do not drop or allow the computer to be impacted while in operation. Most laptops use hard drives that can easily fail if suddenly impacted while in operation. An impact force strong enough will cause a crash (an error that occurs when a rapidly spinning disk in a hard drive comes into contact with the drive’s read head). You will have to spend a lot of money to repair. So be careful and gentle with the laptop.
Laptop gets hot . Many laptops, especially those with powerful configurations, will get hot under the base if used for a long time. This can cause discomfort or give you a rash if you frequently use your laptop on your lap.
- Laptops with powerful graphics cards and processors for gaming are prone to overheating. You should be especially careful with this line of laptops.
- Limit use of the laptop in a sunny or hot environment. At that time, the screen will be dazzling and difficult to read, and the device will also heat up faster.
- You should consider buying a heatsink if your laptop gets too hot. Devices with these fans will cool the air underneath the laptop, while reducing heat build-up.

Steps