ThinkPad X140e - Chapter 8. Preventing Problems; General Tips for Preventing Problems

Chapter8.Preventingproblems
AnimportantpartofowningaThinkPadnotebookcomputerismaintenance.Withpropercare,you
canavoidcommonproblems.Thischapterprovidesinformationthatcanhelpyoukeepyourcomputer
runningsmoothly.
•“Generaltipsforpreventingproblems”onpage93
•“Makingsuredevicedriversarecurrent”onpage94
•“Takingcareofyourcomputer”onpage95
Generaltipsforpreventingproblems
1.Checkthecapacityofyourharddiskdrivefromtimetotime.Iftheharddiskdrivegetstoofull,the
Windowsoperatingsystemwillslowdownandmightproduceerrors.
Tochecktheharddiskdrivecapacity,clickStart➙ComputerontheWindows7operatingsystem.For
theWindows8operatingsystem,opentheWindowsExplorerandclickComputer.
2.Emptyyourrecyclebinonaregularbasis.
3.Usediskdefragmenttoolregularlyonyourharddiskdrivetoimprovedataseekandreadtimes.
4.Tofreeupdiskspace,uninstallunusedprograms.
Note:Youalsomightwanttolookforprogramduplicationoroverlappingversions.
5.CleanoutyourInbox,Sent,andTrashfoldersfromyoure-mailclientprogram.
6.Backupyourdataatleastonceaweek.Ifcriticaldataispresent,itisagoodideatoperformadaily
backupoperation.Lenovohasmanybackupoptionsavailableforyourcomputer.Rewritableoptical
drivesareavailableformostmachinesandareeasilyinstalled.
7.Schedulesystemrestoreoperationstotakeasystemsnapshotperiodically.Formoreinformationabout
systemrestore,seeChapter5“Recoveryoverview”onpage49
.
8.UpdatedevicedriversandUEFIBIOSwhenneeded.
9.Proleyourmachineathttp://www.lenovo.com/supporttokeepuptodatewithcurrentdriversand
revisions.
10.Ensuredevicedriversfornon-Lenovoperipheraldevicesarekeptuptodate.Youmightwanttoreadthe
devicedriverinformationreleasenotespriortoupdatingforcompatibilityorknownissues.
11.Keepalogbook.Entriesmightincludemajorhardwareorsoftwarechanges,driverupdates,minor
issuesyouhaveexperienced,andhowyouresolvedtheminorissues.
12.Ifyoueverneedtorunarecoveryonyourcomputertoreturnthepreloadontothemachine,the
followingtipsmighthelpalongtheway:
•Removeallexternaldevicessuchastheprinter,keyboard,andsoon.
•Makesurethatyourbatteryischargedandthatyouhavetheacpowerconnected.
•BootintoThinkPadSetupandloadthedefaultsettings.
•Restartthecomputerandstarttherecoveryoperation.
•Ifyourcomputerusesdiscsastherecoverymedia,donotremovethediscfromthedriveuntil
promptedtodoso.
13.Forsuspectedharddiskdriveissues,referto“Diagnosingproblems”onpage99toruna
diagnostictestofthedrivebeforeyoucalltheCustomerSupportCenter.Ifyourcomputerdoes
notstartup,downloadthelestocreateabootableself-testmediafromthefollowingWebsite:
http://www.lenovo.com/hddtest.Runthetestandrecordanymessagesorerrorcodes.Ifthetest
returnsanyfailingerrorcodesormessages,calltheCustomerSupportCenterwiththecodesor
messagesandthecomputerinfrontofyou.Atechnicianwillassistyoufurther.
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