Check these out when buying a used laptop

Thinking of buying a laptop but short on budget? Buying a used laptop will certainly offer a much lower price. But before buying, check these out. 

Buying a used laptop can be practical nowadays, with the high cost of a new one. However, getting a much lower price doesn’t always mean a good bargain. As there is usually no warranty on buying a used device, the risk is high that the used device will not last long. Here are 4 things to check before deciding to buy the used computer or laptop.

Check the RAM of the old laptop

Random-access memory (RAM) is like the computer’s temporary memory storage where the data being processed is placed for the unit to run smoothly. When inconsistency is shown compared to what is stored to the RAM, it may mean a faulty RAM. 

With defective RAM, the computer will encounter crashes, distortions of images, poor performance, and more errors. Below are instructions to check the RAM:

1. Type “mdsched.exe” into the search bar at the bottom left and press Enter.
2. Choose “Restart now and check for problems (recommended)” option.

Windows will restart and the Memory Diagnostic tool will start working. Windows will restart again after the test. 

Results will be provided after the second restarting. If results are not shown, then use Windows Event Viewer to check the results. Follow the steps below:

1. At the bottom left, right-click the Windows Start button.
2. Click the Event Viewer.
3. Click the Windows Logs option and choose System.
4. Under Actions, click Find.
5. Type in “MemoryDiagnostic” and then click on Find Next button.

Examine the Health of Hard Drives

With a defective hard drive, expect to encounter several issues. One can encounter crashes, very slow loading, unable to read files from the drive and unable to write to the drive. 

When hard drives are in good condition, they normally don’t fail, their temperature usually is within the acceptable range and they do not have bad sectors.  

While there are several available tools, Shan Abdul of MUO recommends the tool from Crystalmark.Info. Download the software by clicking the CrystalDiskInfo tool and install. Upon launching the tool will show the health and the temperature of the hard drive. Temperatures between 30 °C and 50 °C are best. 

Check the Battery’s health

It is expected that the battery performance of laptops will continue to decline over time. Here are steps to check the battery:

1. Type “cmd” in the search bar at the bottom left.
2. Right-click the Command Prompt option and click the Run as administrator.
3. After C:\Windows\system32> type in “powercfg/batteryreport” and press Enter.

A battery report will be generated and saved in the C:\Windows\System32\battery-report folder. 

Stress test the CPU and GPU

It is important that the CPU and GPU are robust to cope with heavy usage. One can know by doing the stress test. 

A stress test forces the computer hardware to their limits. If it remains stable, then the unit is ready to take on heavy usage and will not easily crash or malfunction. Failing the stress test may mean that the unit will not be able to handle heavy usage and will likely have serious issues with performance. 
When the laptop shuts down during the stress test, it means that it is overheating at a critical temperature. Here are some stress test tools to try…most of them are free.

Similar article:

3 How-Tos To Rejuvenate Your Old PC

What To Look Out For When Buying A Computer