Upgrading & Fixing Laptops DUMmIES

The AC adapter isn’t providing power ............................................

Begin with this: Is it plugged in to a working wall outlet? Some outlets are

turned on or off by a switch, and some outlets may be disabled by a blown

circuit breaker. Test the outlet by plugging a radio or desk lamp into it.

If you are sure the wall outlet is delivering electricity, move on to examine the

adapter. Look for obvious signs of damage: Burn marks are a bad sign, as are

any cuts in the AC cable coming in or the DC cable going out. If you see this

sort of problem, I suggest you retire the adapter and purchase a replacement

unit from the original manufacturer or from a third-party parts supplier.

Now check that the adapter is properly connected. In most designs, the

adapter is a rectangular box that sits between two cables. The plug at the

end of one cable must be connected to a wall outlet and the other end to the

adapter. (This cable can usually be disconnected from the adapter to allow

use of cables with different types of plugs — a polarized two-prong plug like

those used in the United States, Canada, Japan, and many other parts of the

world, a two- or three-prong round pin connector like those used in some

parts of Europe, or a three-spade angled connector used in other areas.)

On some adapters, the connector that runs from the adapter to the laptop is

also detachable. This is of no benefit to the user, but it does allow the manufac-

turer to use a single adapter with a number of different laptops. Make certain

that both cables are properly connected to the adapter, that the AC end is

plugged in to a working wall outlet, and that the DC end is connected prop-

erly to the power input on the laptop.

If the machine works properly with the AC adapter in place but the battery

will not accept and hold a charge, the most likely source of the problem is the

battery. That can easily be fixed by purchasing a replacement from the manu-

facturer or from a third-party source such as http://www.igo.com.

Your Hard Drive Imitates a Pancake ..........................................................

If the computer comes to life (you see LEDs flash and hear the hard drive

spin) but Windows does not load, try shutting off the machine and restarting

it. Sometimes I even throw in a gentle wake-up call: With the laptop sitting on

a sturdy surface, lift the front or back of the machine and let it come back to

the tabletop in a controlled fall — about the way you might casually let a pen

drop onto the surface of your desk.

Why would I do that? Because hard drives, optical drives, and fans are the

principal mechanicalparts of an electronic computer. Like a creaky screen

308 Part VI: The Part of Tens