Top 5 Methods For Troubleshooting A Laptop

Laptops are so convenient, you can carry them anywhere, you can work with them almost anywhere and with wireless technology you can surf, email and do just about anything with out having to plug it in. But sometimes using a laptop can be daunting, especially when something goes wrong with it and you have to do some laptop troubleshooting all by your lonesome, un-technical self.

Because a laptop is more expensive than its equivalent desktop, there is a tendency to be afraid to check it out by yourself when a problem occurs. The fear that you might do more damage than good is always present. More often than not, you immediately decide to go straight to the official technical support and ask them to fix the laptop or even bring it back to the seller.

More often than not, lack of knowledge of laptop repair can make you go overboard. You do not have to be afraid of your laptops when things go wrong. In most cases, laptop problems are quite simple and easy to fix without any need for a technician’s help. Here are some tips to laptop troubleshooting that will surely help you in case of trouble.

1. First, check that all connections are properly made. If your laptop has no power it could be a power cord connection problem and it has drained your battery already. Make sure power cord connections are secure. The same goes for wired LAN connection. If you cannot connect to the LAN via wired connection, check the connections of the wires first.

2. Same is true for other peripherals that you connect to your laptop. External disk drives, mouse, CD drives should be securely connected. Sometimes it is also best to turn off the laptop before you check the connections so that all connections shall be initialized upon start up and also to avoid the possibility of getting electrocuted.

3. Make sure that all peripherals are turned on. If you cannot see the external CD drive in “My Computer” or cannot connect to your LAN or Internet, this could be because the peripheral you are connecting to is off. Some external drives (diskette or CD) require an external power source. It also may be because the modem or router for your LAN and internet is unplugged or turned off. Sometimes you are so used to having these items always turned on that you take it for granted that it is on or connected and seldom bother to check.

4. If after checking the connections and some of your peripherals still do not work, such as a wired LAN connection, check if the connection is enabled or disabled. In Windows, this can usually be found in ”Network connections” under “View connections”. Under “Properties” you’ll see if it is enabled or not. If not, simply click on “enable” to solve the problem. Of you can simply right click on the icon, select properties and then enable.

5. If your disk dives is detected by your system but does not read a compact disc or floppy disk, then it may just be that the drive is dirty. When you get a message, “cannot read disk” or “disk may not be formatted” chances are the disk drive just needs cleaning. You can easily buy a diskette or CD cleaner to fix this problem. Just follow the instructions that come with your disk cleaner. Some low-tech options are at times the best laptop troubleshooting solutions. If after cleaning it still does not work then the disk drive may be broken and needs to be repaired.

Finally, but most important of all, if all else fails, check your laptop manual. Most have a laptop troubleshooting or repair guide portion that has a list of the most common laptop problems and the corresponding solutions. You may find the answers here.

Laptop Manual