Student-Contributed Wiki

An awesome team of students from our education program made this wiki.

When you open the computer screen with your hands, it is hard to lift

If the computer hinges have dirt or sand in them, the screen may not lift smoothly. Try cleaning the computer hinges by dissembling the laptop. Once you can see the hinges, use a prying tool to open up the casing and compressed air to remove accumulated dust and dirt.

If the laptop screen will not stay lifted or is wiggly, disassemble the laptop starting from the battery and working inwards. Have screwdrivers and prying instruments on hand. Use the J00 Philips head bit screwdrivers to screw back any loose screw in the support of the hinges back to the laptop base or use hot glue (hot glue gun) to secure the hinge base to the laptop base. Allow hot glue to properly cool off and reassemble parts.

The click pad will not respond to touch or is malfunctioning.

If the click pad is completely unresponsive, it might be turned off. Try restarting the click pad by double tapping the top left corner.

If the click pad is unresponsive after restarting it (refer to “Software Glitch” above), there is likely a driver glitch. The driver often gets bogged down with an information overload. Try preforming a hard reset. This will clear and resend any instructions given to the driver.

When the computer keys are pressed on, they do not print letters on screen.

Some keys may not be responsive if dirt or dust is stuck under the key. Shut down the laptop and use compressed air attached to a thin straw to remove dust/dirt.

If food or liquids are poured on the keyboard, this can affect it. Shut down the laptop and remove the battery. Using screwdrivers and prying tools, disassemble the laptop until you see the keyboard. Lift the keyboard up, without damaging the data connector under ( a thick clear plastic with gold lines used to connect the keyboard to the laptop). Attach the new keyboard to the data connector and reassemble the laptop. Refer to the [invalid guide link].

When you press the eject button to retract a CD it does not open.

If the CD drive is unresponsive when you press the eject button on the side, the software likely has lost power or the drive has failed. Restart the computer, click start, go to file explorer, and then click eject. Remove the disc.

If the CD is inserted improperly into the CD compartment and then closed shut, this can prevent it from opening normally. Shut down the laptop and look for a small hole near the eject button, this is the manual release hole. Using a straightened paperclip, insert it into the manual release hole. Press gently until the CD compartment opens slightly. Remove the paperclip and pull out the drawer as far as needed to retract the CD. Remove the CD.

If the CD compartment is still unresponsive after attempting to retract the CD manually (refer to “CD Inserted Improperly” above), you will likely need to replace the CD compartment. Refer to the [invalid guide link].

Computer will not turn on or charge when plugged in or dies quickly after being charged.

If your computer is plugged in and the AC connector is in good shape, but the computer is not charging, the drive has likely failed. Shut down the computer to begin a hard reset. Disconnect the AC power cord from the computer and remove the battery. Press and hold the power button down for 15 seconds and then start up the computer as normal. This will clear all the information from the laptop excluding personal data. Try preforming a hard reset.

If your computer is plugged in and you have attempted a hard reset but the laptop is still not charging or powering on, you likely have a bad battery. Shut down the computer and remove the battery. Connect the AC adaptor into the computer and directly into an outlet. If the LED light is lit while plugged into the outlet, you have a bad battery and need a [invalid guide link].

If your computer dies shortly after charging or while it is charging, you may have a broken fan. Try charging the computer; when it dies, carefully check the temperature of the bottom with your hand. If it is very hot, you most likely have a broken fan. You will need to [invalid guide link].

" Devices such as phones or flash drives will not connect to the computer when plugged into the USB ports or cannot be physically plugged in. "

If a external device will not fit all the way into the USB port, it is likely that the USB port has debris in it. Try blowing into the USB port with an air can. If you can see debris in the USB port, take a paper clip and gently remove any debris.

If a external device will not fit at all into the USB port, it could be bent. First try removing debris (refer to guide above). If that does not fix it, try plugging in multiple devices into the “bent” USB port. If none of them fit, and you most likely have a bent USB port. You will need to [invalid guide link].

If liquid food or drink is spilled on or near the USB port, it could short circuit the motherboard, causing the USB ports not to function. First try connecting multiple external devices the computer and then to a different computer and see if they work. If they work on the different computer, but not on your problematic computer, your motherboard has short circuited. You will need to [invalid guide link]