Mine are either in-use and open, or in a bag and closed. (I use the desktop).

A solution for you may be to make (or buy) a dust cover to put over the laptop when not in use. Lint-free cloth, flexible paper, etc. You shouldn’t cover it when it’s on, b/c the cover would hamper air circulation and possible cause heat problems. But it might help when it’s off.

I always keep my laptop’s lid closed, when not in use.
(Helps to prevent cat typing too, as well as dust etc… unless of course, you have some sort of protection, like this ancient option.) 😉

Oh, definitely, shut when not in use. When open a laptop takes up twice the space and then again supposing you want to use an aerosol…………………………………..?

Mine (I have two and 1/2 — the ‘1/2’ from NASA) also always closed when not in use. Dust gets into the keyboard, and then one gets real sticky keys; usually the ones most inconvenient to loose are those to go first.

I always open the lid from the reinforced middle at the top, neglecting to do this is a common cause of screen breakage. For 280Park, however, this could not be the reason, so it looks like just a case of sheer bad luck.

My laptop sits on my desk most of the time, on and ready to use. I always leave the lid open, for convenience reasons – so that it is always ready to use.

The downside of this is that dust will get into the keyboard, slowly over time. The upside is that I don’t wear out the hinges and perhaps cause other damage from constantly closing and opening the lid.

How can you solve this dilemma? The easy way is to get a monitor, mouse, and keyboard, and connect them to the laptop. Once you have done this, you can operate your laptop with the lid closed.

A side benefit of using a mouse and keyboard is that you don’t wear out the built-in mouse and keyboard. A side benefit of using a monitor is that you will likely have a bigger and better monitor than the one that is built in. The only negative I can see in using a monitor is that if your built-in monitor is touch-screen, you will need to spend extra to get touch screen functionality on your external monitor. But again, you will have the benefit of wearing out the external monitor rather than the built-in monitor.

I did a post on this somewhere (maybe not here) about hinge cracks. From what I recall the main reason for this happening was not closing the lid from the center or by not holding both top edges as it is closed.

The result was always one hinge developed cracks, depending on which side the lid is closed with.

Fragile things those hinges are and you torque the hinge closing by either single top edge.

I have suffered this issue (all HP 17″) and now close the lid from the center. A small pillowcase works well if you just want to leave it open, I do most times. (sans felines)

I always close mine – it is set to hibernate when the lid is closed.

cheers, Paul

I never close mine as my laptop is on 24/365. The screen and laptop goes in to sleep after 10 minutes while applications work in the background.

I keep my laptop lid closed at all times, and its docked.  I’ve changed the settings on what happens when the lid is closed so that my laptop stays on unless I purposefully put it in hibernation or shut it down.  I use Remote Desktop to use it  Docking isn’t necessary, the same thing can be accomplished just by plugging in its charger and using an Ethernet connection.

Remote Desktop isn’t necessary, either.  An external monitor, keyboard and mouse can be used while keeping the lid closed if the settings are correct.

I keep mine open most of the time when we’re talking about one of my “main” PCs, currently consisting of my desktop, my Acer Swift, and my Dell G3.  The G3 is on my desk next to my desktop’s monitor, and the Swift is on top of my Canon printer/scanner, which is on an end table just to my left, so it’s easily accessible just by turning left (and I’m using in that mode to type this now).

The Swift is the most likely to be used somewhere else, as it is my out-and-about machine, and when I do, I close it, naturally.  The G3 is more of a desktop replacement for when I have a place other than home where I can set up camp, so to speak… it’s too heavy and large to want to carry it around much, but that’s why I have the Swift.

From day to day, though, the laptops are open, specifically to prevent wear and tear on the hinges.  My first laptop, a Compaq Presario (before HP acquired Compaq), had its hinges wear out and become floppy, and I would have replaced them had it not also been obsolete.  I haven’t had it happen since, as I am quite careful to avoid unnecessary open-close lid cycles.  I put them in standby/sleep when I am not using them by pressing the power button, which I have configured for that purpose.  If they’re on battery, they also sleep when the lid is closed (on AC it just turns the backlight off).

When it does happen maybe a bit of super glue to halt the crack??

If you use superglue make sure you leave the laptop open a day or so for off-gas to expel. I was in a rush one time and only waited a couple hours and closed the lid. Now the screen has a permanent bad spot. Still usable but wish I wouldn’t have rushed.

Depending on the model, closing the lid may cause contact between parts of the screen and the keyboard or case. Some hinges are made just loose enough to allow a thin piece of Tyvek or padding to be inserted. I have done this when closing the lids of several laptops, and they close (generally) quite well, while protecting the screens and the hinges.

I close by holding only the center of the screen (top) part, and making sure either the bottom (keyboard) part is on a hard, secure surface, or holding the middle of that part as well. Never close the lid forcefully or rapidly!

I don’t like hibernate for several reasons, so I usually set the Lid Closed to Turn Off. I’d rather restart than find my system destabilized, possibly with unsaved data. If I’m in the middle of a project with several applications open, I’ll use Standby after saving everything.  Then the lid stays open for awhile.

When buying mobile PCs I look for reports about how the hinges behave. Most professional reviews include something about this.

I look after about 120 systems. About half of them are desktop designs. I have been doing this for about 18 years now.

In most cases, people with portable (laptop) computers rarely if ever move them. They stay in the same place and plugged in continuously. Battery condition is unknown and inconsequential.
Laptops life-expectancy is about 5 years. Desktops life expectancy is closer to 10 years
Repairing laptops is difficult, challenging, risky and expensive, parts are proprietary
Repairing desktops is far easier and cheaper because everything is easily accessible and parts are commonplace and standard
The desk space required for a desktop is not different. The computer itself can sit under the desk. A screen, keyboard and mouse take little more desktop space than a laptop
Desktops are less expensive
Keyboards can be replaced in 5 seconds and cost $20. Much better for the hands
Screens are twice the size, and can be replaced for about $120, but last a very long time.
The DVD drive in a desktop costs $20 and is replaceable in 5 minutes. A laptop closer to $100
Common problem in laptops is the AC power port breaking, as well as hinge breakage
Replacing a laptop screen in most cases requires complete disassembly. Very expensive

The main computer that I use is a 17″ HP laptop. Very good except it no longer boots easily. A friend helped me figure out that there was something wrong about the connection between the lid and the rest of the machine. (HP wanted “new” lap top money to fix the problem.) The laptop would usually easily boot if the lid were all the way pushed back from the keyboard half. I needed a wide open clam shell. So now I only close the lid when I have to. This usually happens after I have had to lower the lid to bring my face into the center of the camera field of view during a Skype session. A dust cover helps a bit and the cat has yet to visit the keyboard.

I had 2 ThinkPads that developed fatal hinge failures after 5-7 years of routine use.  Not sure if opening/closing fro the center would have helped – no idea…  I suspect whatever hinge lubrication is used dried out over time, along with the plastic becoming more brittle with age.

The real reason Apple is warning users about MacBook camera covers | ZDNet    You can use a cover but just don’t close it.