Troubleshooting a laptop problem is not as hard as most people think. You will more often than not identify where the problem lies within a very short time. You may not have to take it to a technician for repair.
The Troubleshooting Process
1. Virus
You need to first of all exclude any issues you think may be caused a virus. The first thing you should do when you realize your laptop is not functioning as it should, is to scan it using antivirus software. This way, you will know if there are any viruses or even spyware that are causing the problems. If you do not have anti-virus software installed already, you can always download one from one of the major online sites. It is best you look for anti-virus software that performs the checks before installation.
2. Power
Once you have dealt with the virus issue, you need to check and confirm that the battery is charging. This is because most power issues with laptops are caused by battery faults. Some batteries hold minimal charge. You can do so by using another battery with your laptop and connecting it to the charging system. If the new battery accepts charge, then the problem lies with your battery.
3. Hard Drive
Use diagnostics utility to test your laptop's hard drive. The hard drive should be the number one suspect if your laptop is old. You can get diagnostics utilities in windows as well as the system BIOS. You can use these utilities to test for various functionalities of the hard drive. You can start with Windows and proceed to the BIOS if you find nothing on Windows.
4. Keyboard or Track Pad
Use an external keyboard or mouse to look for track pad or keyboard problems. If any of these components has issues, the best way to ascertain this is to plug in external devices. You will immediately know where the problem lies.
5. Display
If you suspect the problem is with the display, you can connect a monitor to confirm your fears. This also applies when your laptop's screen shows warning signs with the color, resolutions and clarity. You can hook the external monitor via the HDMI or the VGA ports.
6. Operating System
There are times when the laptop has no issues, but rather the issues lie with the operating system. To determine this, you can go to the restore in-built function and restore the setting of your OS to the time before the problems began. Restoring your OS setting will repair any changes made to your OS's registry, and it will also repair corrupted files that may be causing your laptop to be slow.
Consulting an expert
If you troubleshoot your laptop but cannot solve the underlying problem, then it is only logical to contact a reliable laptop repair expert to sort out the issues. Ensure you consult experienced persons.
By troubleshooting, you save on time and money as you will only require the service man to repair it.
If you're looking for really awesome deals on Dell laptops and refurbished models, I would urge you to check out http://www.uklaptops.co.uk/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Noah_Zee
