How to preserve an old laptop?


vsub

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91
OS
Windows 11
Little backstory first to explain the situation

I have an over 10 years old pc with ssd(samsung evo)that I rarely use(maybe once a year)
After a long period of time the pc is off,when I turn it on,it takes an extremely long time to load the os(it's like you are loading windows from a floppy drive,it usually takes half a day to load the os)
Once windows finally loads and after few restarts(only the first load is extremely slow),the pc starts to work normally as if it was not off for a very long time
The next time I leave it for such a long time,I will encounter the same problem

Now on the the laptop.
The battery is connected and it gets drained very slowly(it can last maybe two months without charge)
Does keeping the battery on also gives some voltages to the ssd or no power is sended to it(I think this is what is causing the problem on the pc)
Does just charging the battery maybe once a month without turning the laptop on keeps it from getting the problem I have with the pc or I have to turn it on periodically
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI Sword 17 HX
    CPU
    14700HX
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 4070
You are likely experiencing bit-rot on the SSD where cells loose their charge and it takes longer to read data from those cells. This happens when a cell has not been written to for a long time.

Keeping the battery charged and/or turning on the laptop will not correct the situation.

Two possibilities that you may consider doing every 6-18 months are:
1. run DiskFresh on the drive. It will read and rewrite every sector.
2. Take an image backup of the drive, then do a full restore where all the data is written back to the drive.

Ps. I the laptop is important to you then there should be an image backup just in case it fails to boot at some point.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP / Spectre x360 Convertible 13
    CPU
    i5-8250U
    Motherboard
    83B9 56.50
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio(SST)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 256GB SSD
    Internet Speed
    500Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
It is just Windows updates and maintenance tasks, these will take a long time if you leave a PC/Laptop off for long periods of time. Just a rinse and repeat the next time.

There is no problem with either.

Batteries have a self discharge, and a slowly decreasing full charge capacity, that's how they are.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
It is just Windows updates and maintenance tasks, these will take a long time if you leave a PC/Laptop off for long periods of time. Just a rinse and repeat the next time.
Exactly this all missed tasks are run at startup, also installing new updates.
A few friends that uses there laptop once a month have this issue also in some degree. After bootup is is about 2hours slow, after that a reboot and machine is slow. After i told them it has to do with missed task, that are goign to run, they now just turn on the machine once a week for a few hours, let it do its thing and then shut it down again. Then the next time they want to use the machine, it is ready to go. Had no complaints anymore.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Does just charging the battery maybe once a month without turning the laptop on keeps it from getting the problem I have with the pc or I have to turn it on periodically

The battery hasn’t been changed in 10 years?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build 22631.5335
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    5 x LG 25MS500-B - 1 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech: G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    1000/400Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Antivirus
    Defender / Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.

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