Student-Contributed Wiki
An awesome team of students from our education program made this wiki.
The laptop is not responding or holding a charge.
Ensure the power adapter is plugged in and see if the charge light on the laptop comes on. If possible test device with a different power adapter. If the light turns on, the initial power adapter is faulty. Consider purchasing a replacement adapter.
The charging light is on and the adapter is connected to the laptop. If the laptop only powers up when the adapter is plugged in, even when the laptop indicates a charge, then the battery is faulty. Consider replacing the Battery. For a guide to walk you through how to replace the battery, click here.
The laptop fans are loud.
The noise may be coming from dust and/or debris being stuck in the fan. Open the case and try blowing dust out of the fans and vents.
The noise may be coming from the fans rubbing against the laptop case. Open the case and ensure that the physical components of the fans are aligned in their proper compartment. For a guide to walk you through how to replace/realign the fans, click here.
The laptop does not have space for updates, programs, or additional files.
Go through files and applications and delete unnecessary/old files to free up space. Old files such as pictures or videos can be transferred to an external drive or a USB thumb drive. After removing these files, run a disk cleanup to get rid of bloatware.
Even if your laptop already has an SSD, you may be able to upgrade it with a larger, faster SSD model. Research which SSD models are compatible with your laptop. Open the case and perform the SSD replacement. For a guide to walk you through replacing the SSD, click here.
The laptop speakers are not producing audio properly. For a guide on how to replace the laptop speakers, click here.
Open the settings and check to see if the sound settings have been changed. If so, reset the settings to the default or change them to your preferences.
Open the settings and go to the Device Manager. Choose to reboot the sound driver from the Device Manager options.
The laptop randomly shuts off without notification during normal usage.
Excessive dust and other materials may be stuck in the vents or fans. Use a compressed air duster to carefully blow the dust off the vents and fan. In order to get debris out of the fans/vent, open the case and carefully inspect fan compartment and vents.
The laptop may not have an adequate contact between the heat sink and processor. This is usually caused by a lack of thermal paste or by air in between the two components. To fix this, completely clean off any old thermal paste, then apply a bead of new thermal paste directly in the center of the processor. Gently push the heat sink back in place and tighten screws to lock down the heat sink.
