Laptops Arena

There are too many articles that focus on different laptop model reviews when they should also focus on the laptop parts, on what’s inside the laptop. If you know how different laptop components interact, you could be able to fix a possible hardware problem without having to take your laptop to a service and waiting for days until it’s repaired at a booming price.
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
It’s important to know about laptop parts and how they work because you will find out different way of protecting your laptop. Take the processor for instance. The processor is also called a CPU, which is short for central processing unit. This processor is actually a chip that controls movement and processing of data. It’s like the heart of the computer. It is attaches to the motherboard of the laptop, which can also be considered the brain. Every other components and programs has to pass though the processor in order to carry out their functions.

Every bit and piece of data that is pulled either from the RAM or from any other hardware part has to be processed. There is a special socket that helps the processor to stay connected to the motherboard. There are instructions related to every task, instructions that the CPU reads before sending it back to the RAM. These instructions that the processor receives are related to data transportation and calculations. There is a trail that all the pieces of data have to follow before they are executed and this trail is called the system bus. The processor is the one that makes sure the data is transferred though this system bus. The processor can read two types of data and handle them as well. First comes the data that has to be processed. Second in line is the programming code, represented by a list of instructions referring to the way in which the data needs to be processed. The CPU is the only part that can interpret the language. The same programming code is the one that gives out information to the CPU about the route that the data has to follow within the system bus. The processor can handle these 2 different types of data until the information is no longer needed (when you close a certain program).



Laptop batteries come in all shapes and sizes but you may be surprised to know that this is a laptop part that your laptop can do without! You don’t need a battery for your laptop to function because you have a power adapter which, connected to a power outlet, will provide enough electricity for your laptop to properly function. Actually, it is recommended that you take out the battery from your laptop when it’s connected to the power outlet for 2 main reasons. The first one is because when the laptop battery is charging, it produces a significant amount of heat. This heat output, combined with the heat that other parts of your laptop produce, can add up a total temperature which is critical and can damage your laptop parts. The other reason is that battery will have a god life for months to come if you don’t keep it in the laptop while the unit is connected to a power source. If the battery gets used to being charged constantly, it will only last for a short while when you remove the power jack from the unit. If you are ever in need of replacing the battery if your laptop made sure you buy the right one because they are specific for every laptop model. When your laptop runs on battery power, the life of the battery depends on a variety of factors.



These factor are numerous, like the level of brightness set on the display, or the number and intensity of the applications you are running, or the exterior temperature in the working environment, or if the wireless card is turned on or off. This is why different laptop models and even different versions of the operating system have several power management profiles. For example, if the power management profile is “high performance” this means that your laptop will use the processor and other hardware components at their maximum capacity but this is shorten the battery life. If you have chosen the “power saver” profile, your laptop will run slower but the battery life will improve considerably. Tell me the truth, how many of you knew these tricks?



The sound board, or audio board, is connected to the motherboard in most laptop models. When different laptop parts are connected to the motherboard, they are more difficult to remove and replace because they need to be re-soldered.  Just like any other laptop components, audio boards can also fail. The most common symptom of audio board failure is the lack of sound from the headphones or the internal speakers.  The first thing you should do is to check if the volume level is not set to the lowest point or even muted. If this was not the problem, you could try and reinstall the sound driver. Laptop drivers can be found on the internet for every laptop model and they are usually available directly on the manufacturer’s website. Sometimes, you have to reinstall the whole operating system in order to get the speakers to work. If all these methods do not generate any kind of positive result, this could be a sign that it’s time to replace the sound board with a new one.



As you can see, in some cases you don’t need to take your laptop to the “doctor” to figure out what’s wrong with it. We don’t recommend you start opening up your laptop if it’s still in the warranty period as you may void the warranty. But the first thing you should do when you notice that a certain piece of hardware in your laptop has stopped working is to check the drivers of that component. Sometimes, reinstalling the driver can do the trick and save you a lot of headache, time and money.

Let’s talk about Compaq laptop repair. Why Compaq? Well, before it was taken over by HP, the Compaq laptop models were really problematic machines. This company has made some pretty unhappy customers. Now, their products have improved ever since HP took over the company but there still are some problems that may come up, just like in the case of any laptop in this world.
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
When we refer to Compaq laptop repair, we are thinking of all kinds of problems that may come up with these laptops. We cannot write an article that explains how to repair any damaged part in just any Compaq laptop so we’ve made some research and we are going to show common problems on some Compaq laptop and how they can be fixed. For instance, it is possible to replace one single key on you Compaq Presario 2500 keyboard (you can do this on many other laptop models as well). The shape of the white hinge which is right under the key is very important and it may be different from one model to another. In our case, the white hinge has a centered round hole in it and 2 other holes, one is bigger and is shaped like a square and the other is smaller and it has a rectangular shape. Place the hinge so that the squared shape is on your right side. The left side of the hinge (the smaller one) needs to go over a metal hook which is located at the base of the keyboard, where the missing key is.  You can place it there from a 45 degrees angle. Next, the hinge has to be stretched so you can connect to the right metal hinge at the base of the keyboard. When this white hinge has been connected to these two metal hooks, it is now in the right place and you can start placing the missing key. Align that key and press firmly as all four corners will produce a clicking sound. There you have it; you’ve replaced a key on your Compaq Presario 2500 keyboard.

If you have ever had any kind of motherboard problems and need to substitute this component with a new one, here is some information that can guide you through this process. We have read that this method can work for the following laptop models: HP G50, HP G60, HP G70, Compaq CQ50, Compaq CQ60 and Compaq CQ70.  The first step to dissembling your laptop is by removing the battery. Also make sure that your laptop does not have the power adapter plugged in so no electrical power is running though the machine. We don’t want any unfortunate accidents. You then have 3 main covers that you want to remove: the wireless cover, the memory cover and the hard drive cover. Now we have 3 screws which are keeping hard drive attached to the laptop. Remove them. This will disconnect the hard drive from the motherboard. To “get rid” of the memory you need to remove both of the memory modules. When you get to the wireless card, you will notice that there are two antenna cables which need to be removed first. After disconnecting those 2 cables, you have 2 screws that you need to unscrew so you can remove the wireless card from the laptop.



The DVD optical drive is connected to the laptop with the help of only one screw. After you have removed that screw, you can gently pull the optical drive away from the laptop. Next you have to remove all the screw on the bottom of the laptop (I counted a total of 15 screws left but this number may vary according to your laptop model). Next, you have to disconnect the CMOS battery cable to detach it from the motherboard. Next step is to lift the keyboard. This can be done easily but you have to be cautious not to cause any damage or cracks into the keyboard. You can start from the top and the keyboard can then easily be detached from the bottom by lifting it up. Underneath the keyboard there is a cable connector (right above the touchpad). This connector needs to be unlocked or else you cannot remove the keyboard. There is a white locking clip which needs to be moved towards the display about 3 millimeters in order to unlock the cable. Pay attention because the locking clip has to remain attached to the connector base. Then you can release that cable which now allows you to completely remove the keyboard.



The power button connector cable will be revealed after removing the keyboard. The cable that needs to be removed is blue. Next you can remove the plastic cover that surrounded the keyboard. On your left side, where the keyboard used to be, you will see the black video cable and the webcam cable. Disconnect both of them. On the upper right corner, you can see the wireless antenna cables. Pull them carefully though the opening located in the top cover. Now you must remove the 4 screws that are securing the display hinges so you can remove the LCD from the laptop. Above the touchpad, there is a small blue cable. That is the touchpad cable which also needs to be disconnected. Next, you should have about 4 screws that are keeping the top cover assembly into place. You guessed it! Those go off as well. The top cover assembly needs to be gently separated from the base of the laptop. Be careful with cracks. You can use something like a credit card to split those 2 apart but be careful with sharp object or you may end up scratching the laptop.



The left speaker is secured by one screw which needs to be removed as well. The motherboard is now revealed (and you’d better have but all those screws and cable in a container because losing them is not indicated – you do have to put this laptop back together again). There are 4 screws that need to be removed from the motherboard, as well as 4 cables that need to be carefully disconnected. Now you can remove the motherboard from the notebook’s base. The cooling fan cable needs to be disconnected from the motherboard. Here, we have another 4 screws that are keeping the cooling assembly attached to the motherboard. Remove them as well. After you have removed the cooler, it is time for the final step. The power jack may not be soldered to the motherboard and this saves up some time for you. The power jack cable can be easily unplugged from the motherboard and you can substitute it for a new one. Now you can use a new motherboard and to out everything back together, just read this article from bottom to top.

The skins you have on your laptop is not only a way to protect you lid from scratches, but it’s kind of a personal item that tell a little bit about who you are. If you have a skin with hearts, you are most certainly a romantic person. A person that is passionate about cars, will certain pick a skin with a beautiful sports car. Me? I like laptop skins with animals. I’m crazy about animals and if I had a big house with a big yard I’d probably make a zoo out here. In the mean time, I have to settle for one of these awesome laptop skins with animals that we are going to show and describe in this article.
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
On www.lapjacks.com we found some of the nicest animal laptop skins that you could feast your eyes upon. The big category is named “Animals and Nature” and it has 5 subcategories: Wet and Wild, Big and Powerful, Cute and Cuddly, Plants and Flowers and Small and Deadly. The Wet and Wild subcategory has amazing pictures with aquatic animals like dolphins, sharks, turtles, fish, jellyfish and so forth. The pictures are incredible because a shark is definitely not something you see every day and if you come across one while scuba diving the first things that comes to your mind will surely not be “oh, let me take a picture of those huge jaws”. If you have seen the movie “Finding Nemo” you are going to love the laptop skin with fish that look exactly like our fishy hero: small, orange and with huge white stripes. There are also some snap shots of star fish and some amazing under water images which are bound to look beautiful on the lid of your laptop.

The name of the Big and Powerful subcategory said it all: just imagine which the biggest and most powerful animals are. Here we have the majestic lion, leopards, elephants, zebras, orangutans, polar bears, and the whole African deal of wild animals which inspire fear and a bit of admiration. One thing that does not fit here is that brown cow. Well, it is a big animal but it’s not that powerful. Let’s face it, the poor cow would never stand a chance in front of a lion or a leopard. Here comes the old time favorite: the Cute and Cuddly. I expected this category to be filled with puppies, kittens, bunnies and chicks (as in the hen’s baby, not girl chicks) but we do have some unusual guests like tiger cubs, baby elephants, lion cubs and penguin families. Nevertheless, they are all adorable and make a nice sight for those that love animals. The Plants and Flowers subcategory provided only pictures of static nature and landscapes, so we are leaving it for discussion in another article. The Small and Deadly subcategory contains… small and deadly animals. In fact, they are all insects and reptiles (and a fish). Here you will find laptop skins which are less pleasant but still provide interest for some people: we have a rattlesnake, a tarantula, a pit viper all curled up on a pencil, a piranha and even an underwater alien (some people sure do have a wild imagination).

Another website that has some nice laptop skins with animals is www.laptopboom.com. Even if we could only find 25 skins in the Animal category, each and every one of these skins is beautiful and impressive and somewhat cute.  If you have a cat at home, you are going to love the first skin which represents two white Persian kittens in a basket. They are absolutely adorable and one of them was even looking at the camera when the photo was taken so it’s as if he was looking straight into my eyes. One of these skins also shows a beautiful giant white lion while he’s… yawning? Who cares, that beautiful white fur may have the ladies thinking it’s time to buy a new furry winter coat. One laptop skin shows two very cute SharPei puppies, one of them is yawning and the other one is sleepy. By the way, did you ever notice how these puppies look like bath towel? Amazing! Another laptop skins shows 3 tiger cubs which are so cute they almost look like kittens. And to think that when they grow up they become dangerous predators… one could never tell from their innocent figure.



Our last choice for this article is www.laptopskins.org.uk. I’m guessing that this site has been recently released because even the total number of the laptop skins available here is way too small. We browsed the animal category but we could only find 4 laptop skins. However, all 4 of them would look really nice on our laptops. The first one was the chimp laptop skin. Personally, I’m not a fan of monkeys, but these critters look awfully nice. The cheetah cubs laptop skin definitely caught my attention. I am a fan of everything that has to do with these big cats like tigers, cougars, pumas or cheetahs.  They have these cute faces that look like sleeping pussycats. If you are a true animal lover, there is no way you won’t love this skin as well. Go ahead and buy one now because from what I hear they are selling out like hot pancakes. The sleepy dog laptop skin is a classic and it’s available on many other laptop skin websites. However, true animal lovers still go “OOOOHHHHH!!!” whenever they take a look at this cute puppy which is taking a nap. This type of skin in a best seller no matter if the laptop owner is young or old. In the end, we all love animals.



Last but not least, we have the jaguar skin. This is an animal imprint and it does not actually show the jaguar. It only shows the skin with all the brown and black dots. Come to think of it, I’ve seen a lot of ladies that wear clothes with jaguar imprints so this laptop skins could match their outfits. Don’t you just love animals?

When it comes to laptop repairs most of us think we are specialists and go “Heeey, I don’t have to take this to a technician. I know exactly what’s wrong. I can fix this myself.” This is the attitude than can damage your laptop even more. Ok, I may have over reacted, in some cases where the problems are minor; you can fix the laptop yourself as all you need are screwdrivers and a couple of other materials that you probably have lying around the house.
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
If you ever attempt to fix a problem that your laptop has you need to be a patient person because you may be dealing with fragile components that can easily be damaged if they are handled improperly. Let’s see some examples of laptop repairs that you could handle on your own at home. Let’s assume you have a laptop. For the sake of this article, let’s also assume it’s damaged. Imagine that you turn on your laptop and after a few seconds, before logging into Windows, the computer shuts down. This could be cause by a number of problems. Maybe the power adapter is no longer working and the laptop does not receive the necessary electricity flow therefore it can only stay turned on for a couple of seconds due to the battery which is dead. It could also be an overheating problem. Laptop also shut down when the temperature gets too high in order to prevent severe damaged. But one thing that you may not think of is that the laptop has a hard drive problem.

Normally, when a laptop has a hard drive failure, this failure manifests itself in different manners and definitely not by shutting down the laptop. In the article that we have read, our “repairman” started off by removing certain parts from the laptop and when he ended up by removing the hard disk and turned the laptop on, the operating system finally started (please note that he has a Linux CD in the drive or else it was impossible to log into the operating system with no hard drive inside the unit). When he put the hard drive back into the unit and tried to boot the system again, he got the same problem as before. In conclusion: there was a hard disk failure. After installing a new hard drive, the problem was solved.



Let’s see if you can fix your laptop if there is a problem with a power cord. We found one user whose laptop kept shutting down when he touched the power cord. The LED that indicates the battery is charging also kept going on and off. Here there could be a problem either with the power jack or with the power adapter. If you want to fix this problem at home you are going to need a multimeter. This will help you test the intensity of the power that runs though the power adapter. If the power is constant and there are no interruptions, this means the problem is somewhere inside the laptop, probably with the power socket. The next step if obvious, you must test the power socket inside the laptop.

To do this, you have to dissemble the laptop. There should be no problem, especially if you have the manual and if you don’t, all known manufacturers like Dell, Toshiba, HP and so forth have online manuals available for most of their models. You have to remove the DC-IN harness from its location the motherboard and after that you must plug in the power adapter. Now, test it with the multimeter just like you did in the previous step. Wiggle the power cord and if you notice any fluctuation or interruption in the power voltage shown on the multimeter, you have found the source of your problem. You could replace the old and damaged harness with a new one and then test it again. In some cases, this power socket is soldered directly to the motherboard and if you remove, you have to solder the new one back where the old one was located. There are articles on the internet that can guide you through this process.



What do you do in case your computer is running to slow? It’s simple: defragment the hard drive. When the information stored on your hard drive is spread and disorganized, it can slow down the speed of the hard disk. Windows has a tool which is called Disk Defragmenter and which can take up to several hours to complete the re-organizing process.

But what should you do if you have stuck pixels? Although it may sound funny, you can massage the stuck pixels away. A stuck pixel will usually remain green or red. You can use any type of soft material and start rubbing the area around the damaged pixel in a circular motion. Surprisingly, this could fix the pixel and bring it back to its initial form. Pressure can illuminate the pixel and fix the problem.



When you downloads appear to be slowing down and the pop ups just… pop up in an excessive manner, you could be experiencing spyware infestation and even a virus. The solution is very simple: use antispyware and antivirus programs. In some cases, antivirus cannot handle keeping the files protected because the virus already managed to spread into your laptop and it has infected most of your files. Computer viruses are just like a disease: the sooner you discover them, the less damage they can produce. In this case, it is recommended you delete all the files by formatting your laptop and reinstall your operating system. In the more fortunate cases, Norton Antivirus manages to keep your laptop protected. The thing I don’t like about this application is that it eats up a lot of RAM but I guess it’s a small price to pay to keep my laptop protected. Norton 360 is easy to use because the interface is user friendly. The Norton suite includes a firewall option so you can create a barrier between your laptop and nasty internet threats.  There are also software programs which are available for free but they do have their weaknesses (see Ad-Aware and Spybot).

Continuing our saga of important laptop parts, we are going to speak about laptop coolers and laptop cooling pads. As you already know, overheating has been a problem with some laptops in the best as it is still a problem with certain models. This is one reason why netbooks have weak components inside, to prevent overheating. Because netbooks are smaller, their units are also smaller. Powerful components like top of the line processors and graphic card generate a lot of heat and high temperatures inside a small laptop could severely damage the internal parts.
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
When you have a powerful laptop, they are exposed to serious heat problems. This means that you can’t use the laptop on your lap because of the high temperature and it also shortens the life of your notebook. You may have noticed that the longer you keep your laptop up and use it, the more its temperature it’s going to rise. This is because the interior fans of laptop cannot handle the heat output generated by the laptop’s parts. Fans need cleaning because dust often gets though the air vents and the more dust is accumulated, the slower your fan is going to be. You must take laptop heating very seriously if you want a laptop which you can actually use for the next year.

Try not to put your laptop next to other things that generate heat. The first think that came to my mind was our very own bodies. They generate heat and when the laptop is not on a flat surface, the air vents could be blocked therefore preventing the circulation of the cool air. One thing which is important for you to know is that when the laptop battery is charging, it’s also producing heat. This is why I recommend you take out the battery from the laptop whenever you keep your laptop connected to a power outlet. Most people don’t pay attention to the stuff that lies on the desk to close to the laptop and they usually block the air vents. This means that hot air is retained within the unit and this leads to serious heating of the laptop. Make sure that there is nothing blocking the vent so that air can come out.



A great new solution for cooling your portable friends is the laptop cooling pad. The cooler pad is also known as a chill mat and it is considered to be an accessory for laptops. I say it should be a MUST! The cooling pads reduce the overall temperature of the laptop especially in cases where the fans can’t handle the pressure. Just like a mouse pad, you place the cooling pad underneath the laptop because the bottom is always the part that heats up first and then spreads the heat in the rest of the laptop. There are 2 types of cooling methods: active and passive. Passive cooling usually uses some cooling crystals that eventually turn into gel in time. If the laptop does not generate any heat, the gel turned back into a solid material. In the mean time, active coolers use air and liquid to redirect the heat away from your laptop. There are cooling pads that use a power adapter but we prefer those that use the laptop’s power to run and they are connected to the unit using one of the USB ports. It’s better this way because you may not have an extra power outlet in handy to plug the cooling pad in and you may not have a power outlet at all around you.



Laptop cooling pads work in different manners. Some of them can draw the heat from your laptop while others can blow cool air into the notebook. Depending on the model of the cooling pad, you can adjust the speed of the fan or it can stay the same as there may be only one standard speed. You should know that those coolers that are connected to the USB ports have one big disadvantage. An USB port can only supply the cooling pad with 2.5 watts of power and the consequences are obvious.



You have to be really attentive and weigh the pros and the cons of the cooler you want to buy. Don’t joke around with laptop heat because it damaged the internal parts of the laptop. You could be attracted to certain cooling pads are pretty and colorful and they match your laptop’s looks. Pay more attention to their functionality rather than their appearance. Think about where you use this laptop. Do you carry your laptop around a lot? Could you carry the cooling pad along with the unit? Can you use the cooling fan when you place the laptop on your lap? Will it be comfortable? Is it too heavy? You must answer these questions before “Is it going to look good under my pink Dell?”

Customer reviews are always a good way of researching a certain products. Which is best to tell you if a product is good: the salesman that has to bring profit to the company or the customer that has already used the product and it can tell you how it works? Look at all the functionalities that are available for the cooling pad you want to buy. Just like I said, some can be connected to one USB port and you can even attach other peripherals with the help of the cooling pad. Some pads have on and off switches so you can turn them off when the laptop is turned off as well. Other laptop cooling pads will stay on for as long as you keep them plugged into the power outlet.



This covers about all the important things you should know about laptop cooling pads. They are especially indicated if you have a monster laptop, bigger than 16 inches because big laptops have powerful components and therefore generate a lot of heat. Remember that a cool laptop is a laptop that is going to be functional for years to come.