Had a look around on the net but couldn’t really find much on this particular subject… Just wondering if there is any form of servicing or general maintenance that could/should be done to prolong the life of a macbook. I had a piece of shit PC laptop for a period of time when my powerbook was stolen. The fan stopped working & when I opened it up it was totally clogged up with dust & fluff. I’m just wondering if there’s any form of maintenance that can be performed at home to keep macbooks in tip top condition before something simple like a bit of fluff takes the fan out, damages it meaning having to replace it, or even worse, over-heats the processor and causes expensive damage or having to replace the laptop altogether.
I know laptops & most electronic equipment ultimately have an expiry date (nothing lasts forever). But if there’s steps that can be taken to get the most out of my macbook, and more importantly, not have it die mid set, I’d be happy to know these steps.
To get things started I just read in another forum that apparently it’s best to not turn your macbook off if you use it every night only to turn it on the next morning, instead let it go to sleep as this can save wear on parts needed to turn the machine on.
you could put some compressed air into the fan or something like that to get the fluff out or open it up and cneal the fan, ive had my macbook for 3 years still works perfectly had to replace the fan and hd though fan broke when a big fly got stuck in there hehe
dont use compressed air , it will just push the dirt farther into the machine. Get a mini hand vac or something to SUCK the dirt out.
One thing i do with my laptop, is once a month drain the battery dead. DEAD DEAD DEAD. so dead it wont turn on. Then toss it in the fridge for an hour or two. Take it out, charge it full. It helps reset the “memory” on both the battery on the computers sensor. As a IT professional, i approve this message.
Use the hardware test CD/DVD (there are 3rd party tools too) It will power your fans up to 100% and fire them in ‘bursts’, I do it regularly on all my laptops, just did it to my friend’s mac mini and he was blown away by how much SHIT came out the vents. If you’re handy with disassembly, then actual fan servicing isn’t a bad idea. And it’s fun
Download a service manual .pdf off the net. Use the google-fu
Strip her to pieces and re-assemble her. Repeat until one is capable of doing this whilst hanging upside from a moving ceiling fan, blind folded and singing yankee doodle.
Replace the thermal paste. I’m sure apple skimps on that. Put some of that arctic silver with diamonds shit on your cpu and watch the temperature drop 20 Celsius at full load.
I feel I should point out that while yes the air in most places contains water, that doesn’t mean that it won’t do your laptop any harm to put it in the freezer. Water in gaseous form in the air is not too much of a problem, but when you cool everything down and liquid water condenses on the boards, that’s very bad joojoo.
The battery by itself should be ok to put in the fridge, but I wouldn’t say it’s a good idea to put the whole thing in there. And like completej said, apple don’t say it’s necessary anyway.
