Online Resource And Textbooks For Fixing Laptop And Personal Computer PC Hardware

I've been publishing computer repair texts online since 1995, some of which was based on hand-outs I used to write for technicians I trained to fix hardware problems. I write primarily about troubleshooting, because you can't fix anything unless you figure out what the problem is first. With both PC's and laptops, "fixing" usually means replacing parts. I'm not telling you to throw out your soldering iron or your multimeter, just that you won't need them that often. That said, there's nothing you can do at home to fix a microprocessor, though reseating a socketed microprocessor will occasionally fix a seemingly failed CPU, and reflowing the solder on a surface mount microprocessor using a heat gun or an alcohol candle may temporarily repair a bad solder joint. I say temporarily, because surface mount solder usually fails from overheating or stress, neither of which will be repaired by reflowing the solder on an old board. My approach to the troubleshooting process is to create flowcharts to take you through the most likely issues. The goal is to correctly diagnose 90% or the problems 90% of the time -there's no substitute for experience, but the approach should save you time and frustration.

Note that the basic procedures for fixing microcomputers is the similar for all of the basic brands. Acer, Toshiba, HP, Compaq, Asus, Sony, Lenovo, Apple, Gateway, eMachines, Fujitsu, all share some of the same components, and most are made by a handful of companies in the Far East, who make laptops for multiple manufacturers. These online resources are all copyrighted, so feel free to link, but please don't steal. At the core of these textbooks are twenty nine diagnostic flowcharts (12 in the laptop textbook, 17 in the personal computer textbook), and the sole purpose of the text is to expand upon them. The flowcharts themselves are necessarily written in short-hand form, to fit a meaningful number of decision points on a page. A linear text is simply not possible due to the decision tree structure of the flowcharts. The diamond shape for each decision point in the flowchart is repeated in the outer margin of the following pages. This marks the section of text that explains the action in more detail. Do not read beyond the designated section without returning to the flowchart to determine the next step. The charts are designed to push parts swapping to the end of the diagnostic procedures wherever possible, so readers without a stock of spare parts will have the best chance to repair the problem without spending money. You should always label any parts you remove from a machine as "suspicious," and if it becomes apparent that they are truly faulty, dispose of them.

Diagnosis is an art. There's no point in having the world's leading brain surgeon poking around in your skull if the problem is with your liver. This is exactly analogous to what happens when techs or hobbyists try fixing a PC or laptop without following some intelligent diagnostic procedure. The most experienced computer technicians are sometimes some of the worst diagnosticians, because they're overconfident in their troubleshooting abilities. If you work on a given brand of personal computers for a few months and you find that 90% of the problems encountered are due to a bad power supply, you start attributing all PC problems to power supplies. If you'd been working in a different shop on a particular notebook computer, you may have concluded that 90% of all notebook computer problems were due to bad RAM, etc. You should always approach each new problem with an open mind and look at the most basic possibilities before jumping to conclusions.

Since unplugging the PC or laptop removes the ground, this increases the risk of damaging components with a static electric discharge. In over 20 years of working on personal computers I've only zapped one component that I know of, a SCSI hard drive, and that was in a high static environment. Don't work in a dry area with a rug or rub Styrofoam all over your body before picking up a part. Don't work in an area where you frequently experience static electric shocks. It's good to form the habit of touching some exposed piece of metal, even if it's not grounded itself, before picking up static sensitive devices. If you don't have much experience working around computer parts and the static threat worries you, buy a static bracelet and tether at the local electronics store for a few dollars.

These books can't make you into a professional computer technician. They can help you troubleshoot your PC or laptop problem and take the most cost effective approach to fixing it, getting it fixed, or replacing it. But the troubleshooting process depends on your observations of the symptoms and your willingness to keep your mind open to solutions other than your first impression, or those suggested by friends who say they had "exactly the same problem." If the laptop or PC is still usable but acts up, pay close attention to when and where it acts up, whether the problem always occurs after the computer has been moved, or shut-down for the night, or running all day. Even the weather plays a part in troubleshooting some problems, so try to read through all of the general troubleshooting sections, just to get a feel for the things that go wrong with different components. If it doesn't make you into a microcomputer hypochondriac, it will make you a stronger diagnostician.