Chapter 3
Things That Go Bump in
the Night (or Day)
In This Chapter
Classifying laptop problems
Dealing with a spill
Understanding CD and DVD drive failures
Dealing with hard drives
Resuscitating a sick operating system
Listening for solutions to sound problems
Determining the reasons for a dark, dim, or dead display
A
laptop computer is a highly complex piece of electronics, more capable
than any machine ever dreamed of when you were young. In fact, if it’s
a brand new model right out of the box, it’s probably more capable than any
machine you imagined a few weeks ago. But as complex as it is, unlike living,
breathing, and conspiring humans, a laptop computer can fail only a few ways.In this chapter I go over some of the ways a laptop can fail and explore emer-
gency triage for treatable injuries. The good news is that relatively few paths
lead to destruction or distraction; the bad news is that while some can be
fixed and others worked around, the worst problems may not be worth fixing.Big Troubles in Little Places .........................................................................
Laptops are not immune from the laws of gravity and physics. Someday a sci-
entist may perfect an antigravity adapter. Until then, you’ve got to be careful
to avoid dropping your laptop. And for those of us who don’t have a $20,000
military-spec machine that is completely sealed from water — and especially
soda or coffee spills — which are obvious and common causes of sticky keys
and short circuits, I give you some suggestions on what to do when spills
happen in the “Recovering from a Spill” section. Here are some of the ways a