Handout Troubleshoot Laptops

HANDOUT: TROUBLESHOOTING LAPTOPS
Revision Date: 5/9/2013

Time 1.0 Hour
K E Y P O IN 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 laptops
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.
T ROUBL ES HOOTI NG L APTOP S

C OMMON S Y MP T OMS
No display
T R OU B L E SH OOT IN G S T EP S
T OOL S
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)
Try connecting another monitor
3.
Dim display
OR
1.
2.
Look for the key that controls brightness (looks like a sun). Press
the FN and this key it to see if the brightness increases.
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.
Cyanna Education Services, 2013
You can adjust the Screen brightness on the bottom of the

screen or select a power plan
Page 1
HANDOUT: TROUBLESHOOT LAPTOPS

OR
T OOL S
5.
If the Dim the display options are what is causing the problem,
you can reset them here.
6.
7.
Make sure video drivers are updated

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.
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Flickering display
Sticking keys
1.
Go to Display in Control Panel
2.
Click the Adjust resolution link
3.
Replace the backlight
OR
T OOL S
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.
4.
Clean under the key with slightly dampened cotton swab

Dry thouroughly and and replace the keys carefully.
5.
If this doent fix the problem, replace the keyboard.
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Intermittent wireless / No wireless
connectivity
OR
T OOL S
1.
Make sure radio switch on laptop is not disabled
2.
Make sure the wireless antenae is attached to the network card
3.
4.
Click the wireless network icon in the notification area.

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.
Right click the wireless network icon and choose Troubleshoot
Problems
5.
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.
Enable the device if it is disabled or Diagnose this connection
8.
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
Battery not charging even when plugged
in.
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.
Still nothing. Do the following:
a. Disconnect AC
4.
b.
Shutdown
c.
Remove battery
d.
e.
f.
g.
Connect AC
Startup
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
(its ok if you only have 1).
Shutdown
h.
i.
Disconnect AC
Insert battery
Page 4

j.
5.
Ghost cursor when you are typing and

hit the touchpad, the cursor can fly to
another part of the document.
1.
2.
OR
T OOL S
Connect AC
k. Startup
If this doesnt work replace the battery most laptop batteries
after 18-24 months of constant use.
You can first try to disable the touchpad through the Control
Panel.
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 makers 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.
Page 5

6.
7.
OR
T OOL S
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.
Now go back to Mouse in the Control Panel and notice a new tab
has been added called Dell Touchpad.
Page 6

No power
No Bluetooth connectivity
OR
T OOL S
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.
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
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5.
OR
T OOL S
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.
Page 8

OR
T OOL S
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.
Page 9

Handout Troubleshoot Laptops

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HANDOUT: TROUBLESHOOTING LAPTOPS

Revision Date: 5/9/2013

T ROUBL ES HOOTI NG L APTOP S

Check that monitor is on. Some monitors have multiple on/off

Cyanna Education Services, 2013

You can adjust the Screen brightness on the bottom of the