New laptop!

boohbah · 23 Sep 2010

Today my wife and i purchased a new laptop ,she needs it for starting university and its not even out the box yet, ( im supposed to be cooking dinner !)
It is a Lenovo G series
heres a features spec

CPU and Memory:

AMD Athlon 2 dual core.
2.1GHz processor speed.
512KB cache.
2GB DDR2 RAM memory.
250GB hard drive.

Display features:

15.6in widescreen display.
High definition display.
Resolution 1366 x 768 pixels.

DVD optical drives:

DVD-RW(read/write).

Graphics:

ATI Radeon HD with 4200 graphics card.

Interfaces and connectivity:

5-in-1 media card reader.
Secure Digital (SD), Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick Pro (MS-Pro), xD, Multi-Media Card (MMC) compatible.
3 USB ports.
1 Ethernet port.
B/g/n wireless/WiFi enabled.

Multi-media features:

0.3MP built-in webcam.
Built-in mic.

Operating system and software:

Microsoft Windows 7 Premium.

Software included:

Microsoft Home Office and Student (trial Version).
Anti-virus and security (trial version).
Microsoft Works.
Adobe Reader.

Preloaded manufacturers suite of applications include:

General features:

Up to 4 hours battery life.
Size H2.65, W38.1, D24.5cm.
Weight 2.7kg.

the question is ,as i have never had a laptop and this is lois's first computer
what advice would you give a novice laptop user
thanks

DocBrown · 23 Sep 2010

Turn it ON

Nigsy · 23 Sep 2010

Wipe all the bloatware off it and install Ubuntu Netbook remix 10.04??

boohbah · 23 Sep 2010

Baring in mind this is lois first computer we dont want to confuse her Doc,
anyhow i meant top tips ie how to get the most out your battery etc .lois will be able to see this thread and no doubt will become a forum member ...in time so !
Be nice or else i'll get it in the neck!

Bill2 · 23 Sep 2010

1) Dont drop it from ANY height when the hdd is not parked.

2) Keep the vents clean and vacuum out the dust and lint once in a while.

3) Dont spray cleaning liquid on the screen, spray it on a soft cloth then wipe the screen with it. Keep coffee etc. away from it.

4) Dont hesitate to call for any warrantee repairs or replacements.

5) Dont click on shady ads and popups and try to stay away from shady sites, they contain malware.

6) Run a CCleaner cleanup, AV scan and defrag once a week.

7) Buy a Home & Student edition of Office, how will the good lady do her homework?

Phew....I'll be back.

ken9122 · 23 Sep 2010

The first thing is to make an image of the dirve. Then clean out all the blotware and preinstalled AV. Add MSE and your good to go!

Ken

Bill2 · 23 Sep 2010

For the battery, just run it down once a week or so. There are many theories about batteries but frankly the gain in battery life is not worth getting into so many theories. If the laptop will stay at home (or in any one place) for a few days, take out the battery and store it in a cool dry place. No matter what you do, the battery WILL degrade over time. If possible, buy a spare battery so the user is never short of juice.

DocBrown · 23 Sep 2010

I just recently upgraded my mate's Compaq Presario 2100 (XP) to a new Hp/Compaq Presario CQ61 with win7 Home Premium :)

Kirsch · 23 Sep 2010

Bill2 said:

6) Run a CCleaner cleanup, AV scan and defrag once a week.

I agree with everything in your post Bill, except for this bit.

Defrag once a week (in my opinion) is overkill. Once a month gets the job done as well :)

Bill2 · 23 Sep 2010

Kirsch said:

Bill2 said:

6) Run a CCleaner cleanup, AV scan and defrag once a week.

I agree with everything in your post Bill, except for this bit.

Defrag once a week (in my opinion) is overkill. Once a month gets the job done as well :)

Actually defrag frequency is a very subjective thing. If you move around files a lot, download/ cleanup/ install/ uninstall a lot you need to defrag more frequently than the staid lot. But this is just the routine I follow.

Of course, one can schedule defrag once a week or month or whatever so one doesnt have to think about it.