Laptops - Hardware and Troubleshooting

Question 1

Craig works in the IT department and needs to replace a bad battery on a laptop. What is the first step Craig will take?

Answer 1

Find out where the battery is - external or internal.

Before replacing a battery, Craig needs to find out if it is internal or external. If the battery is external, he will take out the old battery pack and insert a new one. For an internal battery, the procedure will involve removing the bottom cover, finding the battery, disconnecting it from the motherboard, and taking out any screws holding it in place, then pulling out the old battery and replacing it with a new one. Finally, the screws and back cover must be reattached.

Question 2

While replacing the SODIMM in a laptop, you must first find out what bit configuration the SODIMM needs to be. What are the two possible SODIMM bit configurations?

Answer 2

64 and 32 bit.

SODIMM can come in multiple configurations, including 200, 204, 260, or 292-pin, as well as 32 and 64-bit configurations.

Question 3

docking station

Answer 3

all of the cables and cords connect into one central device, and your laptop just slides on and off. Very handy for people going back and forth from the office to home and that work through both places.

Question 4

What prevents someone from ACCESSING information on a stolen device, like a laptop with sensitive content?

Answer 4

biometric authentication

Biometrics are used to increase the security of a device and may include facial recognition or fingerprint scanners.

Question 5

While researching a laptop’s capabilities, Leslie discovers that the laptop is IEEE 802.11 enabled. What functionality does this mean the laptop is equipped with?

Answer 5

Wi-Fi
Explanation:

IEEE 802.11 is a set of protocols within the IEEE 802 WLAN standards that specifies wireless protocols. This wireless functionality (802.11) is included in almost all laptops today.

Question 6

Crissy from sales has a peripheral device that has a C-type form factor. What type of connection does she have?

Answer 6

USB.

USB comes in multiple form factors, such as micro, USB-C, or mini, and is the most common connection type.

Question 7

Gavin needs to be able to freeform write on his tablet with precision. What device would be best suited for this?

Answer 7

A stylus, also known as a touch pen, is a writing or pointing accessory that can be used for freeform writing or drawing.

Question 8

Which mobile communications protocol allows two portable devices to communicate wirelessly at a range of about 2 inches, supports encryption, and is a very popular mode of sending payments using a smartphone?

Answer 8

Near Field Communication (NFC) is the technology behind some of the most popular mobile payment systems in use, including Apple Pay and Android Pay. This is a short-range technology that only works over a limited area, such as holding up your phone to a checkout terminal at a retail store.

Question 9

Sasha is in a coffee shop and needs to connect her laptop to the internet. What type of connection will she most most likely use?

Answer 9

Hotspot.

A hotspot is typically used as a public wireless access point for internet connection.

Question 10

Robert has multiple peripheral devices he needs to connect to his laptop, but his laptop is out of open ports. What type of peripheral device could he use to plug in additional devices, such as a mouse or keyboard, to a laptop?

Answer 10

A port replicator.

Question 11

A user is having issues with a frozen program and would like to kill the task. Where can the user go to perform this action?

Answer 11

If an application freezes or will not close, ending the task from Task Manager is often a quick way to resolve these issues. To end a task, launch Task Manager and locate the application in question. When the application is located, click “End Task”.

Question 12

A technician is assisting a user in booting their PC into safe mode. The PC is running an older version of the Windows operating system. What button should the user press repeatedly during the initial boot to enter safe mode?

Answer 12

f8

Booting a Windows computer into Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking will boot the computer with only the necessary configuration. Safe Mode boots the system with only drivers absolutely necessary to do so. If you suspect problems with drivers, or need to modify system settings that are otherwise unavailable due to booting issues, Safe Mode can help. To enter Safe Mode, repeatedly press F8 during initial boot.

Question 13

What are the steps to replacing a battery?

Answer 13

1. Find out if the battery is internal or external.
2. If the battery is external, he will take out the old battery pack and insert a new one.
3. For an internal battery, the procedure will involve removing the bottom cover, finding the battery, disconnecting it from the motherboard, and taking out any screws holding it in place, then pulling out the old battery and replacing it with a new one.
4. Finally, the screws and back cover must be reattached.

Question 14

If you need to replace mass storage, battery, SODIMM RAM, or wireless adapter in a laptop, where do you go to access these components?

Answer 14

From the bottom of the laptop.

Sometimes accessing the mass storage (like SSDs - solid state drives) require disassembly of the computer.

Question 15

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) / Solid State Drive (SSD) Migration

Answer 15

Data stored on an old drive needs to be migrated to a new drive.

• Migration can be done manually or through migration software. Manual is preferred when only user data is being moved over, and it doesn’t move user settings or configurations.
• Before replacement - move all data to a separate location, like an external device or the cloud, and copy the data to the new drive.
• Both drives need to be accessible for migration software to work.

Question 16

To replace or add RAM in your laptop, what do you need to know?

Answer 16

• Most laptops in service use a 200-pin DDR2, 204 pin DDR3, 260 pin DDR4, or 262 pin DDR5 SODIMM RAM (small outline DIMM modules that are reduced size than standard DIMMs) with 32 or 64 bit configurations.
• Make sure the RAM you’re using is compatible with the motherboard.
• If you plan to add a stick of RAM, make sure it’s the same speed as the existing stick.
• If you plan to replace your RAM, buy a matching set of RAM sticks using the fastest speed supported by the system.
• Look at the CAS (Column Address Strobe) value. If you install RAM with different CAS values, the laptop could crash or become unstable.
• Use Crucial System Scanner to show what’s currently installed and what’s compatible (memory tools from 3rd party website)
• Look at vendor’s memory specifications for RAM.

Question 17

HDD vs. SDD for laptops - explain what they are and the differences

Answer 17

HDD (Hard Disk Drive) - magnetic disks that combine low cost with a large capacity, BUT slower than an SSD (solid state drive). With moving parts and magnetic disks, these can wear down and be more unreliable than SSDs.

SSD (solid state drive) - flash memory with no moving parts. Faster than HDD for booting, storing + retreiving data. More expensive. Not as much capacity, but that’s improving over the years.
* Many laptops now have a M.2 expansion port and can support a M.2 SSD directly mounted to the circuit board.

Question 18

To provide wireless network support on a laptop, what do they tend to use?

Answer 18

The wireless network interface card (NIC) allows for wireless communication between the laptop and wireless access points.

The wireless NIC is located in the bottom of the clamshell. Remove the bottom cover, remove the screw holding the wireless NIC in place, disconnect the two antenna wires, and pull straight out of the M.2 socket. Replace by reversing the procedure.

Question 19

What is biometrics used on a laptop?

Answer 19

Some laptops have fingerprinting, facial images, retina/iris scanning, and voice recognition for authentication, verification, and security reasons - based on physiological or behavioral characteristics.

Question 20

NFC (Near Field Communication)

Answer 20

• enables 2 electronic devices to establish communication by bringing devices within 4cm of each other
• can be used for payment services
• To transfer files, both devices must be NFC enabled and NFC file transfer utility enabled.
• You can use a smartphone or smartwatch to authenticate a user to a laptop.

Question 21

What are symptoms associated with keyboard failures?

Answer 21

• No characters appear onscreen when entered from the keyboard.
• Some keys work, whereas others do not work.
• A Keyboard Error—Keyboard Test Failure error appears.
• A KB/Interface Error—Keyboard Test Failure error appears.
• An error code of six short beeps is produced during bootup (BIOS dependent).
• The wrong characters are displayed.
• An IBM-compatible 301 error code appears.
• An Unplugged Keyboard error appears.
• A key is stuck.

Question 22

When replacing a keyboard on a laptop, what do you need to know?

Answer 22

The keyboard on a laptop is typically smaller than a traditional desktop keyboard. Laptop keyboards are located in the lower portion of the clamshell and can be either simple to remove in order to access the peripherals below or more involved and may entail removing numerous components to access the keyboard.

Question 23

Besides the display unit, mobile device components contained in the top part of the clamshell include what?

Answer 23

the backlight (for LCDs), the inverter (for LCDs), the screen (LCD or OLED), the digitizer (if applicable), the webcam, the microphone, and the Wi-Fi antenna.

Question 24

Wi-fi antenna connector/placement

Answer 24

Almost all laptops today include 802.11, or wireless, functionality. The Wi-Fi antenna is generally located in the top of the clamshell case so as to place the antenna higher up for better signal reception. The antenna will be connected to the motherboard by running the wire from the top of the clamshell, through the hinge, and into the bottom of the clamshell to the motherboard.

Question 25

laptop webcam

Answer 25

most common placement for a webcam or camera is in the center at the top of the clamshell above the display. Most laptops also include a built-in light next to the webcam to illuminate the user.

Question 26

microphone on a laptop

Answer 26

can be placed either next to the webcam and light in the top of the clamshell, or in the bottom of the clamshell, depending on the model of the laptop

Question 27

touch screen/digitizer

Answer 27

A digitizer is a device that takes analog input in the form of written or drawn content, such as by a finger or stylus, and converts it into digital images. The digitizer, commonly called a touchscreen, can be built into the display as the top glass sheet or as an overlay for the display screen.

Question 28

inverter

Answer 28

small circuit board located behind an LCD panel that turns DC current into the AC current which is needed by the backlight of the LCD display.

** Flickering screens and dimness are common signs of inverter malfunction.