Laptop Basic Troubleshoot

Laptop Trouble Shooting

Before getting in touch with us, you may want to try to solve the problem yourself. This page lists some common problems and their possible solutions. We can't anticipate every problem, but you should check here before you panic.

First things first! make a note of everything that happened and in what order, have you installed new software, did it give an error message. Making a note of everything is good for you to remember waht happened and good for us if we need to look at it for you. Sometimes a simple reboot will fix the problem.

Basic Hints & Tips

Many of the following may seem like the obvious,  but they are often the solution to a problem when your computer appears not to be working.

Power - Is the computer actually plugged into a working electrical outlet? If plugged into a power strip, make sure it is actually working. Check the LED Power Indicators to see the computer's power status.

Connections - Check all the cables to make sure that there are no loose connections anywhere.

Brightness - Check the brightness of the screen by adjusting the brightness

Power Savings - Make sure that the system is not in Hibernate or Standby mode by pressing the key combination for your laptop or by pressing the power button, to wake-up the system.

Display Choice - make sure the system is not set to "external only" display

Boot Drive - Make sure there are no CD's or DVD's in the drive when you start up your machine (this is a common cause of the message "Invalid system disk - Replace the disk, and then press any key").

Laptop won't boot up properly. - There are many things that can go wrong with the operating system and other software on laptops. Many laptops have customised software installed according to a persons needs.

One easy trick is to try to go into Safemode by pressing the F8 key on your keyboard during startup and try to clean up your laptop using antivirus. If the need arises to reformat the laptop, reinstall the operating system from the CDs that were supplied with the laptop. You will need all the drivers CD's at the time of installation.

One of my Drives is missing? - If you turn on your computer and cannot see the CD-ROM or any other removable drives like DVD-ROM drive in the Computer window. This problem is common for laptop and notebook computers and it may be caused by a failed drive or by corrupted software. If its a removable drive try taking it out and plugging it in again.

Failing that you may need to reinstall the drivers. A quick search on the internet and you should be able to find the latest ones.

Dropped Laptop! - Unfortunately dropping a laptop can cause numerous problems, from cracking the case to smashing the screen. Many older laptops have modular parts that can be replaced, but now the newer and smaller laptops have almost everything integrated on the motherboard itself, and that makes them very expensive to repair. In some cases, depending on the damage done and age of laptop, it can be cheaper to replace the whole laptop than have it repaired.

Power Problems

You turned on the power but it doesn't work. - Battery missing / incorrectly installed. Check the battery bay, make sure the battery is present and seated properly (the design of the battery only allows it to go in one way). Make sure there's nothing interfering with the battery contacts. Remove the power adapter, remove the battery, press the power button and wait 5 seconds. Replace the battery and plug in the power then try and power up the laptop.

The Battery LED power indicator is blinking. - Low Battery. Plug in the AC power source. If the computer doesn't start up immediately turn it off then on again.

You are losing battery power too quickly. - The system is using too much power. If your OS has a Power Options scheme check its settings You may also be using a PC Card device that is drawing a lot of power.

The battery pack will not charge. - The battery pack is exposed to an excessively hot or cold environment. Place the battery in a suitable environment and after it returns to normal temperature try again. The battery maybe bad and may need to be replaced.

The notebook feels too hot. - Make sure the notebook is properly ventilated and the fan port is not blocked. If this doesn't cool it down, put the system into Hibernate mode or turn it off for an hour. Make sure the vents aren't blocked and the computer isn't sitting on a thermal surface Make sure you're using the correct adapter.

Battery time is shorter than expected. - The battery has not been fully discharged before being recharged. Power options have been disabled or a peripheral device is using too much power.

Speed Problems - Are you running a Desktop antivirus system such as McAfee or Symantec Antivirus? These use a lot of system resources.

We recommend that ANY laptop has at least 1GB of system memory as a bare minimum.Most current Operating systems require at least this amount to run effectively.If you are running anything less we recommend a Memory upgrade.