This page may be helpful in understanding what is going on with your laptop. If you don't understand or would like to contact me, I'll do what I can to help.
| connectors | HEAT | Liquid | DISPLAY | KEYBOARDS | SOFTWARE | SPEED IT UP |
Legal Stuff: All registered Trademarks belong to their respective companies. My findings & statements are my personal opinion that are generated from my research. All support data offered on this website is supplied on a use at your own risk basis. Some offered repairs may require advanced skills and incorrect usage of the parts and repair information may result in a damaged laptop. Proper safety precautions to prevent electrical shock is your responsibility
Note: Every laptop is different and the advice given is only a general example. All advice given is not meant to suggest any good outcome. Anything you attempt on your laptop computer is "at your own risk"
Find out more (About me)
1)DON'T FLASH THE BIOS! Take it to a qualified computer technician so you'll have someone to blame when it goes wrong.
2)
HP, Compaq, Toshiba and some others have
problems with their AC adapter connectors on the motherboard. This is because
they are not secured to the motherboard very well. They are just soldered to the
board by the adapter leads. This puts stress on the leads whenever the plug is
bumped or from plugging and unplugging the adapter. The adapter connector will,
over time, become loose. The adapter will then not charge the battery, and when
the battery becomes weak, the system will not power on. Some times, the unit
will power on, but will shut off if the adapter plug is wiggled. If you continue
to operate your system in this state, heat will build up from arcing at the ac
connector and will burn the motherboard. If not repaired, the system board and
CPU could be damaged beyond repair. Replacing the motherboard is then the only
option This could cost $350
and up. So the word is GET IT REPAIRED EARLY!
contact
me |Back to Top of page
3) In some laptops,
the CPU is cooled by a small fan and heat sync. If the unit is on for a long
time, the fan is suppose to run at high speed to remove the heat from the CPU.
This normally works fine. However, after some time, the vents of the heat
exchanger will clog. The air intake of some laptops is on the bottom of the
unit. If you place the laptop on a soft surface, such as a towel, or even on a bare leg, the unit can
be starved for air, and damage the CPU from heat. HEAT IS A CPU KILLER!
Compressed air blown into the intake once each month, will help dislodge most anything in the
vents. This will improve cooling of the unit. A can of compressed air is less
expensive than replacing a CPU at $100 plus labor.
contact me |Back to Top of page
4) Liquid is a laptop killer of the first order.
Never ever, ever allow any water, soda, coffee, tea or any other liquid near
your laptop. If you should forget this, be ready to shell out big bucks for a
new system. O.K., suppose you get a splash.
The first thing to do is disconnect the AC adapter
and REMOVE THE BATTERY!
DO NOT TRY TO POWER IT ON TO SEE IF IT
WORKS! Place the laptop on the side
where the battery came from and allow it to drain. It should dry in about a
week. O. K., in a couple of days. I would strongly suggest that you seek a
qualified repair person to check it out BEFORE
you try to power it on. This is because although the liquid may be dried, the
residue from liquid can
corrode and damage the leads
of the components. Given time it will eat the leads off of the IC's and even the
runs off of the mother board. Most times, if handled early, this will only cost the labor.
But if not handled properly, the keyboard, motherboard, video card, LCD and/or
just about everything else could be damaged. Note every laptop is different and
the advice given is only a general example. All advice given is not meant to
suggest any outcome. Anything you attempt after you spill liquid on your laptop
is "at your own risk"
contact me |
Back to Top of page
5)
LCD hinges
are to hold the display open while you do your work. It is NOT so you can lift
the laptop. If you lift the unit by the LCD, the weight of the lower unit
can flop open and damage the hinges and/or crack the LCD. This could also damage the LCD
cable which will cost much money. So don't do it. If you're having trouble with
a dark Display, look really close at the LCD. If you can see an image, the
backlight or the LCD inverter has gone bad. You may be able to connect to an
external monitor to complete what you're doing. If there is no image, the LCD
may be bad or the video card could be bad. Some, in fact most, modern laptops
only have one board. The motherboard. This means that the mother board must be
replaced. Sorry. I didn't design it. The good news is that replacing the mother
board is usually cheaper than buying a new laptop.
contact me | Back to Top of page
6) All keyboards
are not the same. The keys on the keyboard are also different. If keys are
broken off, or the letters rub off, the keys must be replaced with a like key.
Most manufactures will have you replace the keyboard. This is a good idea
because the keys ware, and may fail even though the keys are replaced. The
keyboards are really not that costly and are usually easily replaced.
contact me |
Back to Top of page
7) Software issues are usually handled as you would with a desktop. Be sure your antivirus is up to date as well as ALL your protecting software. Also be sure that your operating system is set to portable/laptop. This will allow the system to use the laptop features such as CPU stepping, which allows the CPU to change speeds as necessary which allows the CPU to run cooler. It will also change slower speed when operating on battery to extend the battery life and reduce heat. You'll be glad for this feature if you have a report to finish on the way to the office. If you haven't heard it before, BACK IT UP! You should back up everything that you want to keep. There is nothing more madding than to spend weeks on a report for English or a presentation and have the Hard drive fail or the CPU burn up. You have been warned!
If your laptop is running
slower these days. Internet
temporary files may be the problem. WHAT
TO DO: Open your Microsoft internet
explorer Web browser then click on Tools at the top of the display. Scroll down
to Internet Options and select General Tab in the menu. Under Temporary Internet
Files you will find a Delete Files button. If you delete them all, your system
will run faster, but you may notice that the Web may seem to run slower because
the temporary files must reload to make the page work properly. This will
correct it's self in short order however. I suggest running this at least once
per month to get the best speed from your system and the Web. Another way to speed things up
is to run Windows hard drive defrag utility about once per month. This
program rearranges files so that they are grouped together. The Hard Drive then
doesn't have to go to several different places on the Hard Drive to load a
program or file. Sometimes the program will tell you that your drive doesn't
need to be defragged. Run it any way if there are any reds line in the analyst
display line. Unless you are an expert in software, I don't suggest doing
anything else. Some people suggest using a msconfig program to select what is
loaded at startup. This could prevent some system files from loading and prevent
your laptop from working properly. So don't do it.
I HAVE RECENTLY BEGUN PROMOTING A PROGRAM I USE. iT WORKS GREAT AND IS moderately PRICED.
contact me |
Back to Top of page
Didn't find your problem,
contact me | Back to Top of page
01/01/20012 ©12/07/06 laptopwillie.com