I Have My Laptop, Now What? (Part II)

In this part . . .

Unlike personal robots of the future, your laptop isn’t going to jump out of the box, introduce itself, and shake your hand. That would be a nice trick. The next best thing to that would be, of course, to steal one of those cute kids in lab coats that populate various television laptop computer commercials. You know the type: They’re infinitely cheerful and eager to help. And I’ll bet they don’t eat much, either.

Even better than cheerful actors in television commercials is this book you have in your hands. This part of the book introduces you to your laptop computer. Here, you read about all its various features and important things to note — specifically things that differ between a laptop computer and its desktop counterpart. Consider this your For Dummies laptop primer on getting to know your new, best electronic friend.

Chapter 3

Out of the Box and into Your Lap

In This Chapter

Unpacking the laptop
Knowing what to keep and what to throw away
Setting up the laptop
Finding a place for your laptop
Plugging it in
Using a UPS (or not)

Ifind it puzzling that laptop computers come in such large boxes. It almost takes you back: “Whoa! I didn’t order something that big!” A little faith and a few rips of the cardboard later reveal that the laptop is safely tucked inside, along with lots of foam peanuts or packing material. But there’s a lot of other stuff in that box, too. Surprisingly, for many people, the instructions for setting everything up are not among all the packages, papers, and gizmos!

Breath easy, gentle laptop owner. This chapter was written to assuage your fears and dread about opening that box and setting up the laptop. As a laptop owner myself, I too have experienced the panic of not finding the friendly “Hello there! What to do next?” manual. Even a single sheet of setup instructions is better than the nothingness that accompanies most laptop computers. To make up for that lack, this chapter provides you with all you need to know on laptop unpacking and setup.

Basic Box Unpacking 101

No one tells a kid how to open presents on his birthday, and me telling you how to open the box your laptop came in is an equally futile exercise. Even so, after years and years of opening computer boxes, I do have a slew of tips and suggestions for you:

If there are instructions on how to unpack the box, heed them! I refer specifically to labels like, “Open other side” or “Remove first.”

Be sure to open and free the packing slip (if any) attached to the outside of the box. That contains the shipping invoice, which you should look over to confirm that what was shipped is exactly what you ordered. (Often, the invoice may be inside the box instead.)

Don’t throw anything away! If the laptop is a dud, you’ll want to return everything.

Be sure to look for boxes within boxes. Also be on the look out for things stuck in the sides or ends of the foam packing material.

Don’t fill out any warranty or registration cards until you’re certain that the laptop works.

Always open computer equipment boxes with your hands. Never use a box cutter because you could slice into something important.

Beware of those big, ugly staples often used to close cardboard boxes. They can go a-flyin’ when you rip things open, poking out eyeballs or just lying in wait on the floor for a bare foot to stomp on by.

Making piles for the various things in the box

Laptops, as all computers, come with lots of junk. Some you’ll want to keep, some you can toss. Right now, making the decision of what to keep and what to toss isn’t the most important thing, so I suggest creating piles for the stuff that came with the laptops.

First, unpack the laptop. Remove it from any plastic bag or shrink-wrap. Don’t worry about opening it (though the temptation may be great). Just set the thing on a table by itself.

Second, find all the various hardware pieces that came with the laptop. This includes the power adapter, power cord, extra batteries, phone cord, adapters, connectors, weird tiny gizmos that you’ll probably lose eventually, and other things.

Third, make a pile for any discs (CD-ROM or DVD-ROM) that came with the laptop.

Fourth, make a pile for all the paperwork. There will be three categories of paperwork: manuals, warrantees, special offers, and weird pieces of paper, the importance of which cannot be determined.

Finally, place all the packing material back into the box, including the plastic bags, twist-ties from the cables, and those silica pouches they tell you not to eat (probably because the stuff inside tastes like candy).

If the laptop came with a how-to manual, consider yourself lucky. Most laptops don’t come with any how-to material whatsoever.

Sometimes the only manuals that come with the laptop are directories listing the locations where you can get it fixed.

Software discs are included even though the software may already be installed on the laptop. Don’t toss away the discs! They were given to you so that you can reinstall the software in the future, should you need to.

After you get the laptop all set up, separate the piles into two stacks. The first is the laptop and anything you need to run the laptop. For most systems, this is basically the laptop itself and the power cord. (The battery will be installed inside the laptop.) The rest of the stuff should be kept elsewhere, either in a drawer or box.

I Have My Laptop, Now What? I have a shelf in my office where I keep containers for each computer I own. The container holds all the stuff that came with the computer that I want to keep: the manuals, spare parts, and other documentation. I suggest you have a similar shelf or location for a container or special box for your laptop’s extra stuff.

“How long should I keep the box?”

I recommend keeping the box and the packing material as long as you own the laptop. That way, should you need to ship the laptop to a repair center, or return it to the dealer, you’ll have the original box.

When the laptop dies, you can then bury it in its original box, throwing them both out at the same time.

Many dealers and repair centers won’t accept a laptop unless it’s packed in the original box.

If you don’t have the original box, you can order another one — but why pay for that 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 briefcase or any quality carrying case is fine for that. You’ll only need the boxes if you plan on mailing or shipping the laptop.

When to send in the warranty

Wait a week to ensure that the laptop works and that you have everything you ordered. When you’re satisfied, fill out and send in the warranty card.

Often times when you order a computer direct from the manufacturer, you do not need to fill in and return a warranty card.

I Have My Laptop, Now What? In some cases filling out and returning the warranty card 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 to be sure.