A huge chunk of the corporate world is mobile, and they need computing power that can accommodate that. Over the years laptops have gone from bulky and heavy to slim and lightweight. But, even with all the upgrades in power, size, capacity and memory, laptop problems still arise pretty regularly. Here is a quick list of five of the most common problems we hear about and how you can address them on your own.
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- Problem: Loud fan or heating up followed by shut down. Laptops get moved around a lot. This can lead to limiting air intake to the fan. It also gives them plenty of opportunities to drag dust and foreign particles into their cooling system via their fan portal.
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- Solution: Use your laptop on hard, flat surfaces; Avoid putting it on soft surfaces that may block air passage. Clean out your fan with compressed air. Limit how many programs you run at once as well because the more you have running, the harder it has to work.
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- Problem: Laptop running slowly. This happens quite often and could be related to hard drive space, malware or the first signs of equipment failure.
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- Solution: There are lots of ways to try to tackle speed issues, but check out our blog post dedicated to just this topic for 10 tips on speeding up your machine.
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- Problem: Battery doesn’t last. One of the best features of a laptop is that it’s wireless. But, we live in constant fear of draining our battery and running out of juice, so we are constantly hard on our battery.
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- Solution: First, check all of your charger cable connections to be sure they are snug. Next, drain your battery completely and recharge it by leaving your laptop on until it dies. One of the greatest fixes of all technology is simply to fully drain the energy from it and try again, the computer equivalent of a good night’s sleep. If it still fails far sooner than it should, you may need to replace the battery itself.
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- Problem: No internet. Laptops are notorious for losing connection to the internet, which can be a major hassle. Before assuming some sort of equipment failure, try some basic steps.
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- Solution: On most laptops, there is an actual wireless button or switch to activate the connection, find it and make sure it’s in the ON position. Then re-boot your router, again using the drain the power tactic; unplug your router, let all the juice drain out for 10-20 seconds, then plug it back in. If you’re still having trouble, troubleshoot your network connections in your control panel. Finally, re-build your network from the beginning to make sure all your connections are set up properly.
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- Black Screen. You open up your laptop, power it on, hear it running, but the screen is black.
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- Solution: Unplug the power, remove the battery and then hold the power button for 30 to 60 seconds. Reattach the power cord and re-boot. Then shut down again, put in the battery and re-boot.
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- Problem: Loud fan or heating up followed by shut down. Laptops get moved around a lot. This can lead to limiting air intake to the fan. It also gives them plenty of opportunities to drag dust and foreign particles into their cooling system via their fan portal.
If you try any of these do-it-yourself fixes and are still experiencing the same problem, it’s time to bring in a laptop repair professional. The engineers at Great Lakes Computer are experts in computer, printer, server, and point-of-sale repair and maintenance. We offer several levels of service as well, from hourly to contract maintenance. Contact us today to get your computer problems fixed and your laptop back on its feet.
