Excessive heat
Even though laptops nowadays are more power-efficient than ever, they still generate a lot of heat. Many laptops become warm or hot to the touch when you play games, process photos and videos, or just have many tabs open.
Laptops have one or two fans to expel this internal heat, and you should keep the fan vent clear. If it’s obstructed, the heat has nowhere to go. Instead, it will get stuck around your laptop’s critical components, causing them to overheat. Over time, this excessive heat will damage the sensitive electronics and your laptop will fail.
A common way to overheat a laptop is by using it in bed or couch to watch movies. If the vents are obstructed by your blanket, you will notice the laptop will become uncomfortably hot!
If your fan starts to sound like a jet engine, it's usually not far away from failing. Most laptops have replaceable fans so don't delay bringing it in for service.
Vibration and shocks
Many modern laptops nowadays have solid-state drives (SSDs) for storage. Those are immune to shocks, bumps and vibration. However, older and cheaper laptops typically still have hard drives. There are plenty of moving parts so you have to be very careful with how you handle the laptop. If the laptop is moved while the hard drive is reading or writing data, it can cause damage to the platters that store your data. Treat your laptop gently and don't drop it!
As a side note, if your laptop still has the spinning drive (HDD), it's time to replace it with a Solid State Drive (SSD). Your laptop will become much faster, will have better battery life and last much longer. Sometimes, this simple upgrade is enough to give your laptop a new lease of life!
Mishandling
A very common way to damage your laptop is by picking it up by the screen corner, opening the screen too fast, or doing it with one hand. Most consumer-grade laptops have very weak hinges and as plastic weakens, the hinges attaching the display to the laptop body can break. When that happens, the screen will typically still work but the laptop will look ugly, won't close properly or stay open. Hinges can sometimes be repaired but it can become quite expensive and not worth for most laptops
Mangling the Power Cord
Have you ever had a laptop that could only be charged when the adapter is inserted half-way or at a certain angle? It's a very common issue and it happens when the laptop DC jack (where the power comes in) is damaged.
Another common issue is destroyed chargers. If you twist and bend the charger, or roll your chair over it, over time it will get damaged, rendering the power brick useless. These are usually cheap but harder to find in stock outside of New Zealand's major cities. If you are on a trip and your laptop stops charging... well, you better make sure you can buy a spare charger!
Improper Transportation
Laptops are mobile devices but they aren't typically made for active lifestyle. If your job involves a lot of travelling and working outside of an office, you need to make sure you have a decent bag or backpack to store the laptop in. Cheap laptop bags don't provide enough protection and a slip or fall from your desk is enough to cause damage.
You should also be careful not to put any objects where the laptop screen is. If you put your laptop in a bag along with the power cord, external hard drives, or anything else that you carry, make sure that they are not on the same side where the screen is. Laptop bottoms are typically sturdier than the top assembly.
Spills and Liquid Damage
Needless to say, but electronics and liquids don't mix well. If you ever spilled a drink on your laptop, you probably know it! It's best not to eat or drink while using your laptop - accidents happen despite your best intentions and repairing liquid damage is usually very expensive!
If an accident does happen, your best bet is to turn off the laptop immediately, unplug the power cord and remove the battery (if possible). Then turn it upside down to make sure the liquid doesn't touch the internal parts and bring it in for a repair.
If you spilled water, it's probably not going to do much damage but it's best to wait at least a few hours before trying to turn the laptop back on. Drinks with sugar, such as soda, coffee, or alcohol, can do more damage and will probably make your keyboard sticky as well.
