Troubleshooting LCD Dipslay Issues
In the past, CRT monitors could display lower resolution in full screen as they are not confined by the number of or pixels in general; pixels were not used in CRT monitors. This presents a different set of solutions needed to correct low quality pictures on an LCD screen. An LCD monitor has to spread the lower resolution over the native or highest resolution of the monitor. This creates problems when the lower resolution does not divide itself equally into the pixels of the width and height of the native resolution.
For example: a native resolution of 1024 by 768 will have low quality images if set to 800 by 600 resolution because the pixels cannot be distributed evenly from the 1024 to the 800 and from the 768 to 600. This results in some image pixels being displayed over 2 hardware pixels while other image pixels are displayed over one hardware pixel; the resulting resolution works, but is not very attractive. If you have to display at a lower resolution that can not evenly divide into the native resolution find the display options for your monitor. In this utility you will find parameters to change to improve the image quality.
First start with the contrast ratio as this can be the simplest to change and you may not need to change anything else. If the image seems blurred then increase the ratio in small increments to see the effects; this may take several tries. Next try the color settings of the monitor and pay close attention to the hues of colors seen on the monitor, i.e greens, blues and yellows. This is best done in a low light area to gain the full effect first. After adjusting the color settings in the “dark” turn on the lights and adjust until you have the desired result. This will improve the picture as best as you can; however, the best action to take would be to leave the LCD monitor at its native resolution.
How to Replace a Sony Vaio Laptop Hard Drive
To begin replacing the Sony Vaio laptop hard drive,remove the battery of the Sony Vaio laptop after disconnecting the AC adapter from the wall and the device. There is the possibility that the power button could be pushed or triggered by your movements or a screwdriver with a small built up charge; simply pop out the power button and set it to the side. When removing and replacing or upgrading a hard drive it is important to have a small piece of metal around to discharge any static electrical build up so the machine is not affected. Most Sony laptops will need to have the front cover and keyboard removed for access to the hard drive and internal components.
If the speakers are located above the keyboard, remove the screws, they will be located along the side of the device or on top. Slip the speaker cover off and disconnect the speaker connection wires. Next find the keyboard connection cable and remove it then the keyboard exposing the internal components. The hard drive will be hard to miss as it is 2.5 inches wide and encased in a holed casing, like Swiss cheese. There will be 3 – 4 screws holding the cage in place, remove them and then remove the screw on the back as it is the last one holding the cage and hard drive in place.
The cage/hard drive assembly has a connector that attaches it to the board, be vary careful when moving the cage so you do not damage the connector. The hard drive is attached by four fasteners or screws depending upon the model; this will be done after removing the cage from the laptop assembly. You can remove the connector attached to the board either before or after removing the cage, but it is recommended that you do it before. Sony makes sure that more than enough screws and fasteners are used, so you may need to look for more screws if something does not quite come loose. To replace the hard drive simply follow these directions in reverse.
What is LED Printer Technology?
An example of an LED printer array
The LED printer technology developed by Casio has invaded the color printer world for businesses and home users alike. LED printers are as fast if not faster than their competitive laser cousins. First and foremost LED printers use an array of light emitting diodes to repeatedly flash light directed toward an imaging drum. There are no moving parts in the LED’s, aside from the image drum, so it has fewer maintenance issues than other printing technologies and fewer parts to replace. These printers also place all of the color to a page in a single pass, line by line reducing the time needed to produce a full color document.
Depending upon the internal design of the array of LED’s the printers can be faster than laser printers and still deliver high quality prints and documents. One drawback to the LED technology is the fact that only a limited number of light emitting diodes can be placed in a line, or array. This limits the resolution to most of these devices to around 600 by 1200 dpi, at the moment. As the light of the LED hits the imaging drum the electrostatic charge is changed on the drum and the toner, which is the same as in laser printers, will adhere to different parts of the drum and hence different parts of the paper.
LED printers are less expensive to manufacture than laser printers, as they have fewer moving parts, although LED printers are comparable in price to the consumer. This also means there are fewer pieces that need to be disposed of properly. The cost per printed page is in line with in class printers, but for an average user and for typical office applications the LED printers will be slightly less expensive. LED printer technology provides fast print speeds, great color graphics and faster first page out times, yet is currently limited by the physical size of the LED’s thus limiting its resolution.
Troubleshooting Common Laptop Battery Issues
One of the most common issues with laptop batteries is overheating. Not that the batteries are designed poorly or improperly but due to, in most cases, user wear and tear. While the laptop is using the AC adapter for power the battery acts as a back up in case of a loss of power or accidental unplugging. During this AC power use the battery becomes hotter than it would if being used independently. To lessen the chances of this overheating, which leads to a shorter life expectancy of the battery, keep the AC power adapter plugged in only if you need to charge the battery while using the device.
If the battery is consistently hot to the touch, remove it and allow it to cool down first making sure it is close to room temperature before reinserting it. Should the battery continue to overheat or get too hot it will probably need to be replaced. Always replace a defective battery as soon as possible as it could cause irreparable damage to the laptop in question. In addition to overheating failure to charge or hold a charge is another very common issue with laptop batteries.
First check to see if the AC adapter is securely plugged into the device; the tightness of the connection will vary form laptop to laptop but it should be held in place well. To check for a good connection look for the battery charging LED if one is present on your laptop. If it is not on wiggle the cord to see if the connection makes and breaks contact. If you notice a flickering LED light then the solution is a new adapter which is far better than needed to purchase a new battery or a new DC power jack which can be repaired by a common user with a little instruction and help.
How to Find a Good Local Printer Repair Center
The simplest way to find a good local printer repair center is to simply perform a web search. This can provide an end user with reliable information but the search need to include your home town or the largest closest city. This will give you a list of repair centers to choose from, usually a long list. Now you will need to wade through the results and determine which has been rated highly by customers or the community. The best and most accurate way is to check on their site for the BBB logo, or just check with the local Better Business Bureau office/site.
The BBB holds companies to higher standards of customer service and business practices which helps to ensure a customer’s experience with the company. Further guidance may be needed to narrow the results. Most individuals know a computer savvy person that may be able to give them direction or advice. Check with a friend or computer professional to find out more about the companies you are interested in using; this way you get first hand experiences of dealing with and doing business with the company in question. In addition, check with your employer to find out who they use locally.
Regardless of the size of your employer they, most likely, will use a printer of some kind and will probably have a repair center they use. Should your employer not use a local repair shop, which is unlikely, call the business and ask questions. Questions like “how long will the repair take?” or “are you an authorized repair center for my printer?” Find the company’s website and look for testimonials from past clients and customers. This will be a good indication of the quality of work provided by the repair center and give you a basis to make your decision.
How to Find Parts for HP Laptops
Trying to find HP laptop parts can be overwhelming, but following the parts search form on a site can be the simplest and easiest way to find the needed part. First locate the site and choose your country if available. Next find the type of part for which you are looking; for example input or click the link for notebooks and tablet PCs to find a part for the laptop in question. If the part number is known use it to locate the part immediately. Knowing the part number is the most helpful and quickest way to use a part ordering form but is not always available or known.
Most individuals will not know their part number; however, most end users do know the model name of their laptop. Type it in the place provided and a list of parts for that model name will appear. Scroll through the list of model numbers to find your model; don’t worry, a short description accompanies the model numbers so there can be little confusion. After finding the model number click on it and an option to search by category or keyword will appear. Categories will be options like “drivers and cables,” or “electronic parts,” or keywords like “PC board,” “memory,” or “recovery kit.”
Choose the most appropriate option and proceed. By selecting the keyword “drive” a list of available parts will be generated in a table or a list. Indicators will allow you to see if the parts are in stock, back ordered or not available for ordering. If your required part is listed proceed to check out and have the part shipped to your home or place of business. An additional option to search by model number of the HP laptop is available as well for those who know this information.
Troubleshooting Banding in Laser Printers
Banding is a term used to describe the horizontal lines that sometimes appear in laser printer documents. As a rule of thumb the printer should be cleaned regularly as toner particles can build up and cause minor problems. Banding may occur regularly or when more complex or large documents are printed but the problem almost always lies with the printer and not any of the software. If you have recently purchased or started to use new paper that may be the problem. Inexpensive paper can cause minor or barley noticeable banding worse or it can be the cause of it entirely. Change back to the previously used paper to determine if this is the problem.
An example of banding in a laser printed document.
Next look to be sure the printer is set to the correct paper type; although auto paper detect is becoming more common most users do not have that function. You will need to look for the printer utility which is located under “print” in the “file” menu of the program from which you are trying to print. The printer dialogue box will be brought to display and you will need to find the “properties” or “setup” button; this will vary from vendor to vendor. You should see a list of different printer options now including the paper type option. You may need to look for it as every printer’s utility is a bit different. Select the correct paper type such as “photo paper” for a photo print.
While using the printer utility take note of other settings that could help. Say you only notice banding on full page full color graphics; you could set the utility to apply specific parameters to alleviate this on these particular files and documents. This will take some time and calibrating to get the desired result but will save your workgroup or office on paper costs. Again the settings are going to be different on each company’s printers but the features are generally universal.
Printer Paper Loading Problem Troubleshooting
Paper loading problems are some of the most common problems of printers and can easily be identified and possibly remedied by the end user. Paper jams or when the printer “eats” paper are perhaps the most common occurrence. Check to see if the printer is online; if not, reset it and try again. If you notice jams occurring regularly then a cleaning of the interior is in order. Use a small amount of isopropyl alcohol on a lint free cloth and gently wipe the rollers and interior components; be very gentle while wiping, the alcohol will do the work.
Afterward, use a can of compressed air to clean away and dry the components. This will prevent and solve most simple paper jams that occur while loading paper. If the loading problem persists after cleaning, pull out the paper tray and examine it for obstructions or wrinkled paper. If no obstructions can be found, print a test page and watch for the printer’s “task” window on your desktop. It should display an error code that can be found in the user’s manual and will tell you what might be the problem. Then take a look at the paper rollers closest to the tray; pay attention to any abnormalities on the roller mechanism. You may need to use a flash light to get the best look.
Over time and with heavy use the rollers can become damaged and may need to be replaced which can be done by virtually any professional printer repair shop or store. If, after all of this a “paper won’t feed” or “load paper” message is present in your display screen examine the printer settings to determine if “manual feed” has been selected. If it has, the printer is probably looking for paper in a different tray; reset this to auto feed or auto detect on the printer and perform the print again. If none of these fix the problem then the probable cause is a bad paper out sensor and will need to be taken to a repair professional.
Battery Technology Overview – Part 2
While a nickel metal hydroxide (NiMH) battery has two to three times the capacity as a nickel cadmium battery, compared to lithium ion batteries the NiMH batteries have a lower density by volume and the self discharge rate is higher. An effect called “voltage depression” can occur in NiMH batteries due to partial discharging and recharging; this can lead to premature discarding of the battery but can be reversed if full charge cycling is used. This means a battery is fully discharged and then fully recharged restoring the internal charge memory of the cell. NiMH batteries have been redesigned recently to provide a lower discharge rate and longer life than its previous chemical structure allowed.
The current standard in laptop battery technology is the lithium ion battery; this battery uses lithium ions (Li-ion) to charge and hold chemical energy between the cathode and anode. These batteries are characterized by no memory effect or voltage depression. This means that the life of the battery is not affected by the full discharging of the battery. This alleviates the user from having to remember to fully discharge the battery prior to recharging. Li-ion batteries also exhibit extremely low self discharge rates, about 5% a month as compared to NiMH at 30% total capacity per month at room temperature which is a marked increase in the storage life of a battery. It should be noted that low self discharge NiMH batteries have a 1.25% monthly self discharge rate.
There are a few drawbacks to Li-ion batteries that are not widely known. Lithium ion batteries over time will lose their total capacity simply due to age which is not apparent in other batteries. This happens regardless of use or storage, and is inevitable in lithium ion batteries. High heat levels can drastically reduce the charging and recharging capabilities permanently and this usually happens during an overcharging or when stored in a high temperature area. Even with these few drawbacks Li-ion batteries have one of the highest energy to weight ratios on the market today.
How to Remove a Laptop LCD Screen
Removing an LCD screen on a laptop is actually quite simple and shouldn’t take much more than 15 minutes, in addition it will save an end user from sending it to a technician. This may go without saying, but unplug the laptop before working on it. Locate the screws holding the LCD screen in its casing, and using a Phillips head screwdriver, remove the screws. There are at least four and they can be located on the screen side or the cover of the LCD screen depending upon the manufacturer. The screws tend to stick a little after being completely loosened and a knife or Xacto blade may be needed to free the screws.
Next look for screws or screw covers on the side of the screen; if covers exist use the knife or Xacto blade to remove them. Then take out the screws with the Philips head screwdriver, unscrewing all of these screws allows the user to gently pull the plastic casing from the LCD screen. Start at the bottom of the screen and work around the perimeter of the screen. When approaching the latch to the screen and cover it may be necessary to slide the latch while removing the casing. At this point the screen should be exposed and the casing should be completely removed. Remember this casing only comes off of the front of the assembly.
Slowly tilt the LCD screen forward; some screens have screws on the side holding them to the back casing, these are usually located on the sides of the screen, but varies by manufacturer. After tilting the screen out locate the connection of wires on the back of the LCD screen, this is the video cable and will be secured with tape or clips. Gently tilt the LCD screen back up and find the inverter at the bottom of the screen. Very carefully slide the inverter out, but it may need to be unscrewed first, again depending upon the manufacturer. Slide the inverter cable plug off of the LCD screen and remove the screen.
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