on a table by itself. When you do this, say “There.”2 Find all the various hardware pieces that came with the laptop.Primarily, look for the power adapter and power cord. If your laptop came with only these scant items, wonderful.Secondarily, locate the battery (if it’s not installed), extra batteries (if any), cables, connectors, weird and tiny gizmos that you'll probably lose eventually, and other mystery junk. A handy trend for many manufacturers is to include a computer road map with the laptop. It’s often the first thing you find when you open the box. Unfold the map to see a visual guide to your laptop, including setup directions.
3 Make a pile for all the paperwork.Separate the product keys, manual, warranty, special offers, and weird piece of paper, the importance of which cannot be determined. Most important are the product keys, which help install or activate any software that comes with the laptop. The manual, if one exists, is so brief as to be a joke.
4 Place all packing material back into the box.This material includes plastic bags, twist-ties from the cables, and those silica pouches they tell you not to eat (probably because the stuff inside would give you superhuman powers).
Later, after your laptop is all set up and you're starting to become familiar with it, you can further organize the detritus from the box. As you work, you need to keep various items with the laptop at all times — for example, the power cord, extra batteries, and other objects, depending on how you use the laptop. You need a place, such as a laptop case, for those items.
Other stuff that comes with your laptop you might want to keep for as long as you own the laptop, such as any manuals or documentation. These things need not be kept with the laptop all the time, so storing them in a drawer or on a shelf is okay.
Only after using the laptop for a while should you consider throwing stuff away, such as the special-offer cards you don't need. Oftentimes, you can just toss those things in the laptop box. See the next section to find out what to do with the box.
If the laptop comes with a how-to manual, consider yourself lucky. Most laptops have no how-to material whatsoever.
Sometimes, the only manuals that come with the laptop are directories listing the locations where you can get it fixed. Sometimes, this material is in English.
Don’t lose the product keys!
See Chapter 13 for information on finding the best laptop bag. Even though your laptop may come with a genuine imitation-leatherette case, you want to see what else is available.
I have a shelf in my office where I store important material that comes with every computer I own. Each one has its own container, and each container holds all the stuff that came with the computer that I want to keep: spare parts and manuals and other documentation. I suggest that you have a similar shelf or location for a container or special box for your laptop’s extra stuff. Or throw it all in the everything drawer. I won’t judge you.
“How long should I keep the box?”
I recommend keeping the box and the packing material for as long as you own the laptop. That way, if you need to ship the laptop to a repair center or return it to the dealer, you have the original box.
When the laptop dies, you can then bury it in its original box, throwing out both at the same time or using them for recycling purposes.
Many dealers and repair centers accept laptop returns only when packed in the original boxes.
You might actually have two boxes: the laptop box and the shipping box that the laptop box comes in. Feel free to toss out or recycle the shipping box.
If you don't have the original box, you can order another one — but why pay for it when you can just save the original?
No, you don't need to pack the laptop in a box when you take it on the road; slipping the laptop into a suitable bag is fine for that purpose. You need the boxes only if you plan to mail or ship the laptop.
Submitting the warranty
Wait a week to ensure that the laptop works and that you have everything you ordered. When you're satisfied, submit the warranty card: Fill in the card and mail it or visit the proper website to fill out the online warranty.
When you order a computer directly from the manufacturer, you usually don’t need to fill out a warranty.
In some cases, activating the warranty sets the start date for the warranty period. Otherwise, the warranty may start on the day the laptop was manufactured, which could have been three months ago! Read the card or other information to be sure.
Set Up Your Laptop
All laptops have a generic look to them. At first glance, you might even say that all laptops look alike. Even so, they have subtle differences. Anyone who replaces an older laptop with a newer model recognizes instantly that the power button isn’t in the exact same place. And those newer laptops? The keyboard may just pop off like it’s some kind of peripheral.
When your laptop has come with specific setup directions, follow them. If not, or in addition to those directions, follow the information in this section to get your laptop all set up and ready for use.
Finding a place for the laptop
Yes, you can put the laptop in your lap. But what happens to your lap when you stand up?
Ah-ha!
Unlike desktop PCs, laptops can go anywhere or be put anywhere. No wonder they’re popular! With a fully charged battery, your laptop has a home wherever you go. Beyond that, you can place your laptop anywhere you like: on the kitchen table, the coffee table, a real desk, or a computer desk — or in bed with you.
Here are some general laptop-location tips:
Use the laptop on a flat, steady surface.
Yep: Your lap is not a flat, steady surface. It’s okay for short spells, but, otherwise, I recommend that you find something more stable.
The flat surface is a must: The laptop has air vents to help keep it cool. Setting the laptop on a pillow or another nonflat surface makes the laptop run hotter than it would like.
Keep the laptop away from the sun, if possible. Heat isn’t good for any computer, and you can’t see the screen in direct sunlight (or else you’ll waste battery power turning up the screen-brightness level).
Likewise, use your laptop in a well-ventilated area. Don’t cover the laptop while it’s on and open.
Keep Mr. Laptop away from, or out of spilling range of, any drinks or food you might be consuming.
If possible, connect the laptop to a power source while you use it.
Have a place to store your laptop when it’s not in use: in a drawer or on a shelf. Keeping it in the same place means that
