A-Z On Laptop and Desktop Troubleshooting (hardware check)

[gurusmaker]

let the tutorial begin hope we are all gonna enjoy this class after this class you will become a tech support person yourself 'cos there is absolutely nothing hardware failure or malfunctioning you can not help a friend fix .

while this class is going on you can post any thing you aren't comfortable with (like over-heating etc) on/in your computer system 

FACTS ABOUT ELECTRICAL POWER AND SURGE SUPPRESSORS

The voltage you get from the wall socket is NOT always what you expect ...
There are periodic fluctuations in voltage from devices going on and off in your building, problems in the transmission line,
electrical storms, bad or faulty transformers, etc. Sometimes these fluctuations in voltage may exceed several thousand volts.
When this happens, bad things can happen to good computers (or any other kinds of electrical devices).
Surge Suppressor
A surge suppressor provides a way to deal with voltage spikes (but not loss of voltage). The surge suppressor has a metaloxide
varistor (MOV) that will shunt excess voltages to ground, thereby saving your PC.
When buying a surge suppressor, the most important thing to check for is the clamping voltage of the unit. The
clamping voltage is that point when excess voltage will be diverted to ground. A good suppressor will have a clamping voltage
of approximately 300 volts, and will have a Underwriter's Laboratory (UL) listing of UL 1449. This is sufficient to protect
your PC from harmful excess voltage.
Reliable surge suppressor are made by the following companies:
- APC - TrippLite - Curtis
As long as the suppressor has the UL 1449 rating and a 300 volt clamping voltage, it will serve you well. These should cost
you between $30 and $60 in the local stores.
Uninterruptible Power Supply
An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) will have this same technology, but it contains a battery in it as well. The battery in
the UPS will allow your PC to continue to operate if power has been cut off to your building. HOWEVER, it will only last for
a few minutes (5 - 30 minutes). An UPS allows you to shut off your PC in a normal fashion in the event of a power failure.
These will cost at least $100 for a low-end model, and high-performance versions can cost thousands of dollars.
If you have intermittent voltage failures in your area (i.e., the power frequently cuts off for only a second), consider getting a
low-end surge suppressor. It will save you immense amounts of grief when using your PC, since all the information stored in
RAM is wiped out when power is cut off.


HOW DO VIRUSES AFFECT YOUR COMPUTER
Viruses will affect your PC in 4 different ways . . .
1) The Boot Sector: The boot sector is where your operating system files reside on your floppy
or hard disk. A virus will go to that location on your disk and corrupt these
files (IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, and COMMAND.COM) so that your PC will
NOT boot up as expected.
EXAMPLE: the STONED virus.
2) The File Allocation Table: The File Allocation Table (FAT) is a list of all the files on your floppy or
hard disk, and where the files are physically located on the disk. A virus
will corrupt the FAT so that you cannot locate or access your files.
EXAMPLE: the CASCADE virus.
3) The Partition Table: The partition table on your HARD DISK tells MS-DOS how big your hard
disk is, and what percentage of it is used by MS-DOS. A virus can corrupt
your partition table, which wipes out ALL of your files in an instant.
EXAMPLE: the MICHELANGELO virus.
4) .COM and .EXE Files: Files with these extensions are EXECUTABLE files, which perform a
specific action. A virus can attach itself to one of these kinds of files and
corrupt the way it operates.
EXAMPLE: the 4096 virus

BASIC THINGS A GOOD VIRUS PROTECTION PROGRAM SHOULD DO

1) SCAN for viruses: A good program should be able to check your floppy and hard disks for
viruses, as well as the RAM of your computer, and detect the presence of a
virus in the 4 locations mentioned above.
2) CLEAN up the virus: A good program must be able to get rid of the virus it finds in any of the 4
places mentioned above; otherwise, it's useless.
3) PROTECT YOU from viruses: A good program must have the ability to load a piece of the program into memory
at boot-up time, to protect you from getting a virus in the first place. This type
of program is called a "Terminate-and-Stay-Resident" (TSR) program.

if I continue with this single thread there will be little room left from question & suggestion so I will create new threads and inter-link them with this

 

[gurusmaker]

this my long list of journal and jotting some were shared with me other i did as a technician.

Normally when your laptop notification bar displays something like "plugged in not charging" there are certain things you need to do confirm firstly that the problem is not coming from your end.

First you need remove the battery clean the metallic surface with  brush and insert it back then double check you AC adapter to make sure it's properly connected if luckily you have a friend /neighbor around with similar laptop with you can simply ask for five minutes permission from them to use check your ac and battery. If non of this helped then proceed to the popular solution below
   
    Disconnect AC
    Shutdown
    Remove battery
    Connect AC
    Startup
    Under the 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).
    Shutdown
    Disconnect AC
    Insert battery
    Connect AC
    Startup

If this do not still solve your problem you urgently need third party software / application for advanced analysis of your battery.    If you are using windows 7 there is no need looking for a third party program you can follow this little trick to check your battery info using cmd it doesn't matter if it's hp laptop, dell laptop, accer laptop or any other brand it works with all laptops  brand.

Using Windows 7 Inbuilt option to check your battery health demands you do this

Click Start button and type cmd in Search programs and files box
Right click on cmd.exe listed at the top of the Start menu and click Run as administrator
In the command prompt type cd %userprofile%/Desktop and press Enter
Next type powercfg -energy in the command prompt and press Enter 

powercfg will enable a trace for 60 seconds. If you want to use it for more information than just the battery details, make sure no other processes are running during that time

note this

cd %userprofile%/Desktop

and this

powercfg -energy

When finished, powercfg will generate a report (in html format) which shows errors, warnings etc. Since we directed the command prompt to your desktop, the report will be placed on your desktop as energy-report.html. Just open the report in your web browser & scroll down to the Battery Information section.

For other windows version user you can find many handy tools you can use to check you pc battery health like the one here http://download.cnet.com/Laptop-Battery-Tester/3000-2094_4-10468524.html?tag=mncol;8 To download third party battery checking tools for mac os use this link http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/ otherwise visit your laptop manufacturer website to download battery health checking tools.

From the report generated you should be able to know if the battery was actually the problem and if this doesn't solve the problem you will be left with only one last option => that is updating your bios version => you can actually do this by visiting your laptop manufacturer website and download the executable bios file => run it like a normal setup . I think this should solve the problem else invite the service of a technician who can replace the charging port or mb

 

[gurusmaker]

Troubleshooting Tips for your Laptop , Battery => A handy solution for Some

Lose the Battery
A simple way to check the integrity of the battery is to remove it entirely and try plugging in the laptop. If the laptop powers on properly, the problem was likely a bum battery.

Learn to Beat the Heat
A non-charging battery can sometimes be caused by an overheating laptop. As the temperature rises, the battery sensor misfires, telling the system that the battery is either fully charged or missing completely, causing the charging problems. This problem becomes far more likely when dealing with older laptops which don't have the quality of cooling technology used today, or when using the laptop on the couch or in bed, with a blanket or pillow covering the cooling vents. Let the system cool down and take the time to make sure that the air vents are clean and unobstructed.

Check for Breaks
Feel along the length of the power cord, bending and flexing as you go, to check for any kinks or breaks. Check the ends for any broken connections, such as plugs pulling loose or spots that may have gotten chewed by a pet or caught in a vacuum cleaner. Inspect the AC brick. Is it discolored? Are any parts warped or expanded? Give it a sniff?if it smells like burnt plastic, that's likely where the trouble lies.

Check the Connector
When you plug in the laptop's power connector, the connection should be fairly solid. If it's suddenly wobbly or loose, or if the receiving socket gives when it should stay firm, the power jack may have broken inside the chassis. Are there discolorations or any sort of burning smell? If there seems to be any damage to the power connector, repairs will be in order.

Swap Out Cord and Battery
These are the cheapest and easiest-to-swap parts on the laptop. A replacement power cable can often be had for under $10 on Amazon.com, and replacement batteries can be picked up for under $100. Replacement cables are most easily found by searching under the model name of the laptop, while batteries often have their own model numbers. Look for a replacement that matches the voltage specifications of the equipment your laptop came with, and be aware that cheap replacement parts from third-party manufacturers may not have the quality of the originals.

At this point we've eliminated the problems that can be caused by kinked cords or environmental causes. If you still find yourself powerless, the problem lies within the computer itself, caused by either a software issue or faulty hardware.

Have got more idea share with every one