1. CHAPTER 4 Notebooks, Tablet PCs and PDA Suraya Alias

2. Tips for buying notebook ◦A notebook or laptop computer is a computer designed to be portable  The main advantage of notebook is portability. The cost is higher that pc, so if the computer is to remain at one place, buy a desktop  Notebook cannot be easily upgraded compared to desktop, so buy it without expecting to upgrade internal component  Don’t buy extra features if not needed  Go for extended warranty since the parts is not easily replaced  Go for the brand ◦ Buy the fastest processor, select active matrix LCD rather than dual scan ◦ Buy the highest memory that you plan to used because upgrading later might be expensive. Lithium battery is the best. ◦ Consider also the weight and size of the notebook

3. Caring for your notebooks Don’t connect to a phone line in a storm Run Antivirus software Don’t pick it up by the display panel Use Admin password to secure Keep the notebook in normal temperature Use a quality suitcase Securing notebook and its data ◦Security devices - use cable lock ◦Power on and hard drive password ◦Data backups

4. Notebook - Overview

5. Replacing a hard drive A notebook hard drive is smaller (2.5 inches), desktop is 3.5 inches Most notebook hard drive uses universal 40-pin connector for an IDE notebooks For IDE drives, some notebooks use an adapter to interface between a proprietary connectors on their hard drives and the 40 pin connectors on the notebook motherboard. If the old drive has crashed, you’ll need the recovery CD and notebook drivers CD to reinstall If you are upgrading, you need to consider how to transfer data from old to new one. One way is to use USB IDE converter so that both drives can be up and working on the notebook at the same time you can copy files

6. Replacing a hard drive Remove the hdd screw, then take out the hard drive case out. Remove the attached screws Remove the hard drive from case The hard drive is connected with ribbon cable, remove it.

7. Replacing the LCD Panel 1. Remove the battery pack 2. Remove the keyboard in order to remove the LCD Top cover. To remove the keyboard, remove the screw first 3. Remove screws in the back of the notebook to release the hinge assembly 4. Remove hinge covers carefully 5. Lift the cover off the notebook case 6. Disconnect the cables that connect the hinges assembly 7. Remove screws that hold the top cover and LCD panel together 8. If the notebook has USB connection on the top cover, carefully remove all the connection

8. Replacing the LCD Panel LCD Front BazelHinges LCD Panel Inverter card LCD Rear Cover LCD Interface cable

9. Replacing a mini PCI card There are two color antenna wires connected to the wireless card. White wire is for main connector on the card. Black wire is for the auxiliary connector on the card. To disconnect the antenna wire grasp with finger and unsnap it from the card. Now spread latches as shown with red arrow on both sides of the wireless card slot to release the card. The wireless card will comes up at 30 degrees angle Now as shown with red arrows. Pull the wireless card from the slot

10. Others field replaceable units for notebook Besides memory, hard drive, there are other Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) for notebooks such as the motherboard, CPU and keyboards. All these parts must be approved by the notebook manufacturer before using it to your notebook A DC (direct current) controller is a card inside the notebook that converts voltage to CPU core voltage. It also support battery mode, AC Adapter mode and others

11. Troubleshooting problems with the power system Check the power light, if it blinks indicates the notebook has power and in standby mode. If its steady, it has power, if the lights is off, press power on. The battery charge might be depleted. Connect the AC Adapter. The AC Adapter might be loose at any ends. Eliminate power strips or other devices that might cause problem. Connect direct to electrical outlet The memory modules might be defective or loose To many device is connected, try to unplug unnecessary device Use a multimeter to measure voltage in the 1 to 10 V DC The voltage range should be +- 5% of the accepted voltage. For example if the notebook is designed to use 16V, the voltage should measure about 15.2 and 16.8 V DC If you boot and the CMOS settings such as datetime is wrong, maybe the battery needs replacement

12. Troubleshooting problems with video ProblemsWhat to do Display is blank maybe lack of power Check the lcd switch (maybe it is off) display settings has been set very low loose connection The panel or inverter is broken (try desktop monitor) Try adjusting the brightness and contrast level Display is hard to read check if any device interference such as speaker, stereo system Try to eliminate glare Bright dots, dark dots, bubbles on lcd, discoloration dent Damaged LCD panel Screen Flicker Display setting need adjusting LCD Contrast and brightness cannot be adjusted Try reseating the LCD Connector inside the notebook Replace the LCD assembly LCD Panel is unreadable, characters missing or incorrect characters appears Try reseating the LCD Connector inside the notebook Replace the LCD assembly

13. Troubleshooting problems: When the notebook gets wet ◦Turn off the AC Adapter, disconnect the n/book ◦Turn off any attached device ◦Ground yourself by touching the parallel port ◦Remove any PC cards or removable drivers ◦Remove the battery pack ◦Remove the hard drive and memory modules ◦Open the notebook up and set it across two books to circulate the air ◦Allow it to dry 24 hours at room temperature, don’t use hair dryer

14. Troubleshooting problems: When the notebook is dropped ◦If the system is still running, save your work and close any open files and applications, shut down the computer ◦Disconnect the AC Adapter from the notebook and from the electrical outlet ◦Turn off and disconnect any external devices such as printer and remove the battery pack ◦Reinstall the battery pack or the AC adapter and turn on the notebook ◦If the notebook does not work, begin troubleshooting

15. Protecting and retrieving data Obtain a notebook IDE adapter kit such as the one purchased from PC Cables used to install a notebook hard drive in a desktop system Remove the notebook hard drive from the notebook and connect the adapter to the drive Copy the data onto a hard drive in the desktop system If appropriate, you can then put the notebook hard drive back to troubleshoot

16. Errors and how to solve it Error MessageWhat to do Operating System not found Remove any bootable devices, such as floppy or CD Suspect damaged system files on the hard drive. For windows XP try booting to the advanced options menu by pressing F8. Try booting from support CD or rescue disk Go to CMOS setup and verify that the hard drive is correctly identified Reseat the hard drive Troubleshoot the OS installed on the hard drive Flash BIOS and the install the OS Replace the motherboard Error reading PC Card Try reseating the card and rebooting Reinstall the drivers for the PC Card Keyboard controller error Try reseating the card and rebooting Try an external keyboard, disable internal keyboard Replace the keyboard Certain keys on keyboard don’t work Is the NumLock key set correctly An application might not be configured correctly, try different application

17. Errors and how to solve it Wireless connectivity is not working or weak Move the notebook to better hot spot Is the wireless switch turned on The internal antenna might be loose One beep and the LCD panel is blank Reseat the LCD connector Replace the LCD panel Replace the motherboard Touchpad or touch screen does not work Check the digital pen type, reboot Check device manager for errors Try updating device drivers and flashing bios Intermittent problems Run diagnostic software, then test the hardware component Watch for problem pattern The system does not detect PC card or Express card Reinstall PCMIA driver, try different card Consider using USB Replace motherboard or PCMIA assembly

18. Surveying Table PC Is a type of notebook computer with a pad and pencil Price is higher, size is smaller, more portables and it has the features of a LCD touch screen, digital pen to write text on the screen Uses Windows XP Tablet PC edition Operating System – extension from Win XP Pro Example of application written specially for tablet PC is OmniForm Filler Solution by Scansoft

19. Surveying PDA PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), sometimes called personal PC or handheld PC Example Palm Pilot, Pocket PC, BlackBerry Connects to your desktop using wireless Bluetooth, USB or serial port and powered by AC adapter or battery PDA + cell phone = smart phone PDA uses grayscale or color LCD panel, sometimes uses stylus (writing utensil) to operates

20. Surveying PDA Battery life on PDA varies by model, a good habit is to set the PDA on its cradle when its not in use PDA can serve as an address book, access the internet, find directions using GPS and exchange information with desktop computer To connect a PDA to PC ◦Read the documentation, install the PC synchronization s/ware ◦Connect the PDA to PC using USB or serial port (cable connection) ◦IF using wireless connection, verify the standard (using bluetooth or WiFi) and encryption methods ◦The PDA and PC should synchronized immediately If unsuccessful ◦Check for USB and cable plugged and device manager ◦Check the wireless connection ◦Install/uninstall the PDA software ◦Check documentation

21. PDA Manufacturer and OS Operating SystemManufacturer Windows MobileMicrosoft BlackBerryResearch in Motion Palm OSAccess Co Symbian OSSymbian