H A N D O U T : T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G L A P T O P S

Transcription

1 H A N D O U T : T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G L A P T O P S Revision Date: 5/9/2013 Time 1.0 Hour K EY POIN T S Connecting an external monitor to your laptop may require pressing a sequence of keys in order to switch from the laptop to the external display. Some types of modern laptops have internal wireless cards that connect using a mini-pci slot on the laptop s motherboard. Many laptops have a physical switch on the laptop case to enable/disable the wireless card or by using a special function (Fn) key combination. Which would you choose for laptop that loses its wireless connection every 30 minutes? Adjust power settings When installing a new mini-pci wireless network adapter the antenna must attached correctly to ensure the optimal reception. One of the first things to check when a user reports problems connecting to the wireless network is that the radio switch on laptop is disabled. No display Dim display 1. Check that monitor is on. Some monitors have multiple on/off buttons 2. Make sure the brightness settings are not set to low (see Dim display below) 3. Try connecting another monitor 1. Look for the key that controls brightness (looks like a sun). Press the FN and this key it to see if the brightness increases. 2. Check if laptop is running on battery power if yes plug into outlet and see if the screen gets brigher 3. Go to Power Options in Control Panel 4. You can adjust the Screen brightness on the bottom of the screen or select a power plan Cyanna Education Services, 2013 Page 1

2 5. If the Dim the display options are what is causing the problem, you can reset them here. 6. Make sure video drivers are updated 7. Can you see a faint image? If yes, The Laptop's LCD lid close switch could be stuck in the closed position. In this mode the backlight stays off, even with the LCD lid open. This switch is a small switch or button located on the back of the LCD screen, usually close to the display hinges. Try tapping the lid switch a few times to see if you can turn on the screen backlight. If that does not help, replace the FL inverter board. Cyanna Education Services, 2013 Page 2

3 Flickering display 1. Go to Display in Control Panel 2. Click the Adjust resolution link 3. Replace the backlight Sticking keys Did you spill something on your keyboard? 1. Take a screwdriver and carefully pop off the sticking keys off the keyboard. You may need to make a map of they keys. 2. Clean the keys thouroughly with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol unless extremely dirty then you can soak them. 3. Clean under the key with slightly dampened cotton swab 4. Dry thouroughly and and replace the keys carefully. 5. If this doen t fix the problem, replace the keyboard. Cyanna Education Services, 2013 Page 3

4 Intermittent wireless / No wireless connectivity Battery not charging even when plugged in. 1. Make sure radio switch on laptop is not disabled 2. Make sure the wireless antenae is attached to the network card 3. Click the wireless network icon in the notification area. 4. Check the signal strength, if it is low you need to either move to an area where the strength is stonger or repostion or boost your wifi router. 5. Right click the wireless network icon and choose Troubleshoot Problems 6. Open Network and Sharing Center, click Change Adapter Settings 7. Click the connection you are trying to access. This will add options to the top of the screen. 8. Enable the device if it is disabled or Diagnose this connection 9. Right click on the network connection you are trying to use and look at the properties and status 10. Open the Device Manager in Control Panel and open the Network Adapters 11. Right click the adapter and check the Properties. Update Drivers or Enable if disabled. 12. Reset the modem 13. Update your router and adapter firmware 1. Start simple, is the power connected correctly? You should see power on indicator. 2. If not, check connections and look for battery charging or power on indicator 3. If you have power indicator, but no battery charging indicator. Go to Device Manager and check that all the drivers are working and updated for the battery. 4. Still nothing. Do the following: a. Disconnect AC b. Shutdown c. Remove battery d. Connect AC e. Startup f. In Device Manager click arrow button to open Batteries category, right-click all of the Microsoft ACPI Compliant Control Method Battery listings, and select Uninstall (it s ok if you only have 1). g. Shutdown h. Disconnect AC i. Insert battery Cyanna Education Services, 2013 Page 4

5 Ghost cursor when you are typing and hit the touchpad, the cursor can fly to another part of the document. j. Connect AC k. Startup 5. If this doesn t work replace the battery most laptop batteries after months of constant use. 1. You can first try to disable the touchpad through the Control Panel. 2. If the Disable button is greyed out, you are going to have to: Check If the Driver needs updated more than likely that is not the proble. Touchpads are controlled by the PC maker, not usually the Windows Operating System. 3. Go to your Pc maker s support site and research how to disable the touchpad 4. For a Dell computer, there should be an executable in the C:\Program Files\ folder called DellTPad.exe. 5. Double-click DellTPad.exe and the Dell TouchPad settings window will appear. Cyanna Education Services, 2013 Page 5

6 6. From here you can change the touchpad settings. Click the Disable Touchpad / Pointing Stick when external USB mouse is present check box. This will toggle the touchpad on and off depending on if you have an external mouse plugged in. 7. Now go back to Mouse in the Control Panel and notice a new tab has been added called Dell Touchpad. Cyanna Education Services, 2013 Page 6

7 8. You can now bring up the Dell Touchpad menu by clicking the Click to change Dell Touchpad settings link. 9. This will eliminate the cursor flying all over the screen. No power No Bluetooth connectivity 1. Make sure power is actually getting to computer. 2. Check that power strip/surge protector is on 3. Check that power cables are fully inserted 4. Test your PSU and replace if necessary 1. If Bluetooth capability is integrated into your computer, make sure the Bluetooth radio transmitter is turned on 2. In the Search programs and files menu bar type Bluetooth 3. Choose Change Bluetooth Settings 4. Check the Allow Bluetooth devices to find this computer Cyanna Education Services, 2013 Page 7

8 5. Make sure the device is discoverable. When a Bluetooth device is set to be discoverable, it sends out radio signals to advertise its location to other devices and computers. 6. Some Wi-Fi devices need to be put into a discovery mode known as Wireless Protected Setup (WPS) before they can be detected. 7. Make sure the device is within wireless range of your computer, typically within six to nine feet for most Bluetooth devices, or within 100 feet for a Wi-Fi device. Cannot display to external monitor 1. Check the connector type on the laptop. There should be a standard 15 pin VGA connector. 2. To add a second monitor use the new hotkey Win+P. This is convenient when you need to change the display settings during your presentations with a projector connected to your laptop. Cyanna Education Services, 2013 Page 8

9 3. Right-click any empty area of your desktop, and then click Screen resolution. 4. Click the Multiple displays drop-down list, and then select Extend these displays, or Duplicate these displays. Note If you cannot see the additional monitor(s) listed, click Detect. If does not work, try restarting your computer and do step 1 to 2 again. Cyanna Education Services, 2013 Page 9