Summer vacations are great. Coming home to a computer that has overheated, drained its battery flat, or been sitting vulnerable to a power surge for a week - less great.

If you are heading out for a few days (or a few weeks), here is what I recommend doing before you go.

Shut it down completely

Not sleep mode. Not hibernate. All the way off. A computer that is fully powered down uses no energy, generates no heat, and is not susceptible to power surges the same way a sleeping machine is.

This is especially important in summer, when storms are more common and power fluctuations happen more often.

Unplug what you can

A surge protector helps, but unplugging your computer entirely when you are not home is even better. If a bad storm comes through, your machine is completely protected if it is not connected to anything.

This goes for your router and modem too, if you want to take it a step further.

Take care of your laptop battery

If you are taking your laptop with you, try to keep it somewhere cool in the car, not in a hot trunk or on the back seat in direct sunlight. Heat is one of the fastest ways to wear out a battery.

If you are leaving a laptop at home for an extended trip, storing it at around 50% battery (not fully charged, not fully drained) is better for the battery over time.

Check your backups before you leave

Vacation is a great time for something to go wrong. Make sure your important files are backed up before you head out. Whether that's an external hard drive or a cloud service, just verify it ran recently.

If you are not sure whether your files are being backed up at all, that is worth figuring out sooner rather than later.

Not sure if your computer is set up safely before a stretch without supervision? I'm happy to do a quick remote checkup before you head out. Book a session and we'll go through it together.