How to fix a laptop: the 3 most common problems and how to fix them

Any breakdown of a laptop can be classified into one of two categories: software problems or hardware malfunctions. Most of the troubles with the software can be easily solved, as a last resort you can always reinstall the operating system. The exceptions are BIOS failures, and their elimination requires a good understanding of how the system works. In the event of hardware malfunctions, it is more difficult to understand how to repair a laptop, but an ordinary user can still cope with some tasks on his own. In this article, we will look at the 3 most common laptop hardware breakdowns that can actually be fixed at home.

You can learn how to repair laptops of any level of complexity by signing up for practical classes at the educational center “Bgacenter”.

Important! – all actions that you perform during diagnostics and subsequent repairs, you carry out under your responsibility.

How to repair a laptop

There are many reasons why a laptop may stop turning on. Some of them can be eliminated only with experience and a professional tool, others are quite amenable to self-repair. In any case, before contacting specialists, it makes sense to follow a series of simple instructions.

1. The first thing to check is the health of the power supply. To do this, you need to connect a known working power supply to the laptop. And make sure there is an indication. In service centers, a universal power supply is used for this.
   

   Battery holder

2. If the laptop has spilled with a small amount of liquid in the keyboard area, unplug the keyboard and try turning on the laptop with the keyboard disabled.
3. To exclude a malfunction of the RAM, it is necessary to remove, if there is such a possibility, the RAM and wipe its contacts on both sides with an eraser.
4. In the third step, try to determine if the laptop is showing any signs of life. These include spinning coolers, indicator or display backlights, and audible alarms. Based on this data, you can eliminate certain types of malfunctions, narrow your search and repair your laptop at a minimum cost.
5. When the laptop responds to power but the screen remains dark, the problem is most likely a malfunctioning matrix or graphics adapter. If there are system sounds and there is no picture, you need to connect the laptop to the TV via HDMI.
6. Try to enter the BIOS (this step is relevant only on a work screen). BIOS is the basic firmware that starts when the computer starts up. You can get into it when you start the laptop by holding down the or F2 key or Delete (on the HP Esc key) on the keyboard immediately after pressing the power button. If there is access to the BIOS, then there is a high probability that the boot problems are caused by a malfunction of the operating system, in this case it is worth using the standard system recovery tools or reinstalling it.

What to do if your laptop overheats

Overheating is a common problem for all laptops, regardless of brand or price. Modern processors, graphics chips, and hard drives generate a lot of heat that is difficult to dissipate efficiently in a small laptop case. At the same time, overheating, at best, will lead to the inability to use the laptop – the firmware responsible for temperature control will not allow this and will turn off the device, at worst – the central and graphic processors will be damaged.

Overheating reasons

There are two main reasons for laptop overheating. In the first case, the cooling system does not work properly; in the second, the device heats up to such an extent that the radiators and coolers cannot cope with the load. For the prevention and elimination of problems with the cooling system, the laptop will have to be disassembled. This will require the following tools and materials:

• thermal paste;
• screwdrivers;
• brush;
• napkin or microfiber
• compressed air.

Armed with everything you need, follow these steps:

1. Locate and clean the vents. If the laptop is used for more than a year, a lot of dust and lint has accumulated in it, which interferes with normal air circulation.
2. If the design of the device allows, remove, rinse and dry the heatsinks and clean the cooler, if not, clean them without disconnecting from the motherboard.
3. Use a tissue paper and remove the old thermal grease from the processor crystal, GPU.
4. Then apply a small layer of new thermal grease and reinstall all components.

A warning! – Be sure to turn off the power to the motherboard and remove the battery before cleaning.

Battery disconnected from motherboard connector

If the coolers are working properly and there are no dust problems in the case, overheating may be caused by improper operation or overclocking of the processor and video card. How to properly overclock a video card so that it does not overheat and work stably, you can learn in the course on assembling and setting up mining farms.

Recommendation – When using the laptop, do not block the ventilation holes, most often this happens when it is placed on a pillow, blanket, or any other soft and uneven surface.

How to replace laptop keyboard

Laptop keyboards are very fragile compared to desktop counterparts and are not designed for heavy use. As a result, a situation often arises in which the entire keyboard does not work as a whole or its individual keys. In both cases, you can repair the laptop yourself. Some laptops have a retention bar above or below the keyboard to hold it in place. In some models, to remove it, you need to unscrew the screws located on the back of the device. After removing the fasteners, you need to carefully lift the keyboard and disconnect the ribbon cable connecting it to the motherboard.

Be careful not to damage the connector on the motherboard or break the ribbon cable. After these operations are completed, you can remove the keyboard, replace it with a serviceable one and reassemble everything in the reverse order.

Laptop keyboard flex

Conclusions

There are a number of common malfunctions in which you can repair a laptop on your own, primarily with regard to replacing the keyboard, overheating and malfunctioning of the battery. A general rule of thumb when troubleshooting is to consistently diagnose and rule out all problems before deciding to replace / repair a motherboard, as this is one of the most expensive components. Another way to get your laptop repaired is to contact a service center. As a rule, this is quite expensive, since it is more profitable for their craftsmen to replace expensive blocks entirely and not to repair individual parts. There is an alternative to this – courses on laptop repair will allow you to forget about the costs of repairing them forever.