You use your laptop every day. It’s your academic companion, your workspace, and even your entertainment center. You need it to perform reliably and efficiently if you’re going to remain productive and happy. And unfortunately, it won’t be able to perform reliably and efficiently forever.
Over time, laptops follow a slow march toward death. They suffer wear and tear. Internal components take damage. And specs become less impressive as modern demands grow higher and higher.
So how can you tell when it’s time to look for a new laptop?
In other words, what are the signs that your laptop is nearing the end of its life?
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Alternate Explanations and Fixes
First, a big caveat. In most circumstances, the signs we’re about to explore are clear indicators that your laptop is running out of time. But it’s also possible that these signs are mere symptoms of other underlying problems. In some cases, it’s possible to address these root problems and restore your laptop to its former reliability.
For example, if there’s an issue with a specific component of your computer, like the battery, the hard drive, or the RAM, you may be able to replace it or upgrade it and continue using your laptop normally. A malware infection could also cause many of the signs we’ll list in the next section, and clearing it up could resolve the issue.
That said, these are typically mere temporary fixes, as all laptops eventually become obsolete.
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Signs Your Laptop Is Nearing End of Life
These are some of the most prominent signs that your laptop is nearing the end of its life:
Your battery performance is unreliable. Ideally, a laptop battery should be able to last many hours after being unplugged – and the battery indicator should be reliable enough that you can count on its accuracy consistently. If your laptop dies a few minutes after being unplugged, or if the battery charge indicator is completely unpredictable, it could be a sign that your battery needs to be replaced or that your laptop is completely dying.
Everything feels sluggish. Do you feel like you can perform at top speed when using your computer? Or do you feel like you’re being held back? Dying laptops often struggle with apps that are slow to open, a lack of responsiveness, stuttering, loading issues, and overall slowdown. It’s true that this could be attributable to malware or an abundance of background programs, but if you’ve done some basic troubleshooting, the only thing that remains is a failing computer.
You can’t multitask anymore. Human attention doesn’t allow for productive multitasking in the strictest sense, but as an average laptop user, you can and should expect your laptop to handle multiple programs at once. If opening more than one app at the same time causes your computer excessive strain, it’s a sign that it’s time to upgrade.
Your laptop is constantly overheating. The internal components of your laptop constantly generate heat. This is normal. However, there are also cooling components in place to dissipate this heat effectively – and on top of that, normal laptop use shouldn’t generate much heat initially. If you find your laptop is constantly overheating, with fans running at full steam, it’s a sign that your laptop can’t keep up anymore. You may also be able to check your laptop’s temperature directly, depending on the model you use.
You hear mysterious noises coming from inside the laptop. Good, suitably powerful laptops should run relatively quietly. If you hear mysterious noises coming from within your laptop, like clicking, humming, or whirring, it could be a sign that something inside is failing or that your laptop is having a lot of trouble keeping up with your tasks.
You notice weird lines or marks on your screen. Do you ever notice weird lines or marks on your screen? Frozen and dead pixels, discoloration, and other disruptions could be signals of a failing monitor. In some cases, replacing the screen can resolve the issue, but this is still a troubling sign of a laptop that’s showing its age.
Your laptop shuts down unexpectedly. Nobody wants to be interrupted in the middle of an important task. If your laptop shuts down unexpectedly, and without warning, it could be because the laptop is overheating or otherwise running into a performance wall. If one program or condition consistently causes the problem, it may not be a laptop issue – but if the cause is unpredictable, the laptop is undoubtedly the culprit.
Your keyboard is falling apart. What does your keyboard look like? Are you forced to avoid certain words so you don’t have to type certain letters that no longer work? Obviously, a keyboard is indispensable for using a laptop, and it’s often difficult to replace. You can easily substitute in a secondary keyboard peripheral, but at the same time, if you’ve used your keyboard to the point where it’s falling apart, your laptop probably doesn’t have much life left to live.
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If you’ve had your laptop for many years, don’t be sad that it’s running out of steam. This is an inevitability for even the highest-quality and best-maintained computers. See this as an opportunity to shop for a newer, better, even more enjoyable laptop – and get back to your ambitious levels of productivity.
