Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Third Edition Portable Computing Chapter 21 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Overview Third Edition • In this chapter, you will learn how to – Describe the many types of portable computing devices available – Enhance and upgrade portable computers – Manage and maintain portable computers – Troubleshoot portable computers © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Third Edition Portable Computing Devices Getting the Right Sound Card © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs LCD Screens Third Edition • Major contributor to cost – – – – Most range from 12 inch to 17 inch Aspect ratio changing from 4:3 standard For comparison, 16:9 is standard for widescreen 16:10 is the standard for 17-inch LCD screen © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to LCD Screens (continued) Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Third Edition • Two types of finishes – Matte • • • • Traditional standard Reduces glare Washes out a lot in bright light Hopeless in bright daylight – High Gloss • Relatively new • Offers sharper contrast, richer colors, and wider viewing angles © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Desktop Replacements Third Edition • A desktop replacement laptop can function as a fully standalone PC – Can be used as a desktop replacement – Input devices • Trackballs on early laptops • IBM’s TrackPoint—pencil eraser–sized joystick in the middle of the keyboard • Touchpads © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Desktop Extenders Third Edition • Desktop extenders are portable devices – Not intended to take the place of a desktop – Think of them as smaller, lighter, less-powerful laptops for less intensive use © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Netbooks Third Edition • Netbooks fill the gap between PDAs and laptops – – – – – Focused on low price and size Most have a 10.1” screen Powered by Intel Atom processors Long battery life Relatively low performance © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs PDAs and Smartphones Third Edition • Personal digital assistants (PDAs) – Tiny, handheld portable computing devices – Address book, personal notes, appointments, word processors, image viewers – Often use handwriting recognition with a pen-style stylus for pen-based computing – Use specialized OS such as PocketPC, PalmOS, or Android – Made by Apple, HTC, RIM, Hewlett-Packard, and other companies – Called smartphones when coupled with calling capabilities © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs PDA and Smartphone Features Third Edition • Sync – Can synchronize data between PDA or smartphone and a PC – Need to use specific software on the PC to make this happen • Apple iTunes • Windows Mobile Device Center • PDA to PDA communication – Older PDAs typically have IR ports – Can transfer data (beam) between PDAs – Newer devices use cellular and wireless networks to communicate just like other portable PCs © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Third Edition PDA and Smartphone Features (continued) • Memory – Internal flash memory of 1+ MB on older devices – Newer devices have internal memory of 16+ GB for storing music, videos, and more – Many support additional flash-media cards that are removable and upgradeable for removable storage needs • SD cards common © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Tablet PCs Third Edition • Combines handwriting benefits of PDAs with power of traditional laptops • Classical Tablet PCs require a stylus to write or interact with menus, icons, and so on – Acts like mouse in non-tablet-aware applications • Some feature a touch screen, just like a PDA – Some models offer pressure sensitivity © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Tablet PCs (continued) Third Edition • Form factors – Convertibles offer the look and feel of a laptop, but can transform into a flat computer – Slates start as flat computers and stay that way © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Tablet PCs (continued) Third Edition • Applications can use digital ink to capture pen strokes – Add annotations directly to the screen in Microsoft Office applications • InkyBoard provides a virtual dry-erase board and keeps a digital copy of each board – http://www.cfcassidy.com/inkyboard © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Portable Computer Device Types Third Edition © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Lab – What’s in Your Class? Third Edition • It’s time for show and tell • Survey the class to see what portable devices people have – What do they use the devices for? – What variations are there? – What’s the most unusual device? • Expect to see the gamut from laptops to netbooks to smartphones © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Enhancement Options Third Edition • PC Cards • Single-function ports • General-purpose ports • The modular laptop © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs PC Cards Third Edition • PC Cards are commonly known as the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) – Hot-swappable devices – Easy to use, inexpensive, and convenient – Two flavors: parallel and ExpressCard © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Parallel PC Cards Third Edition • 16-bit PC Cards – 5-volt – Cards can have one or two functions • CardBus PC Cards – – – – 32-bit 3.3-volt Cards can have up to eight functions Slots support 16-bit PC Cards (not visa versa) © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Parallel PC Card Types Third Edition • Sizes/Types – Three sizes: Type I (thinnest), II, and III (thickest) – Many laptops offer two Type-II slots that can also accommodate one Type-III card Type Type I Length 85.6 mm Width Thickness 54 mm 3.3 mm Typical Use Flash memory Type II 85.6 mm 54 mm 5.0 mm I/O (modem, NIC, etc.) 54 mm 10.5 mm Hard drives Type III 85.6 mm © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs ExpressCard Third Edition • ExpressCard – High-performance serial PC Cards – Connect to either the USB 2.0 bus (480 Mbps) or PCIe bus (2.5 Gbps) – Many portable PCs have ExpressCard sockets today © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Software Support for PC Cards Third Edition • Two levels of software drivers – Socket services • Device drivers that enable the system to detect when a PC Card is inserted or removed • Provide necessary I/O to the device • Standardized and handled by the system BIOS – Card services • Recognize the function of a particular PC Card and provide the specialized drivers required to make the card work • Handled by Windows • Accessed via PCMCIA option in Control Panel – Only for parallel PC Cards – ExpressCards require neither set of services © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Limited-Function Ports Third Edition • All portable PCs and many PDAs come with a variety of ports – Video connection(s) for hooking up an external monitor (VGA, DVI, HDMI) – PS/2 port for an external keyboard or mouse – Built-in NICs and modems for network support • All of these work the same as in desktop PCs – Video ports • External monitor, projector, or a combination of both – Speaker ports – Extra function key © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs General-Purpose Ports Third Edition • Legacy ports – RS-232, parallel • USB, FireWire, and eSATA – Work same as in PC • Port replicators – Plug into a single port – Usually USB – Offer common PC ports such as serial, parallel, network, and PS/2 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Docking Stations Third Edition • Gives laptops access to PC resources – Large monitors, regular mice, network connections, and full-size keyboards • Provides an easy way to take your laptop in and out of the office • Almost always a proprietary port © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Lab – Expanding the Laptop Third Edition • Examine a laptop and answer these questions – – – – What sort of expansion options does it have? Does it have a PC Card slot? What kind? What about single and multifunction ports? Does it have a proprietary connection for a docking station? © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs The Modular Laptop Third Edition • Newer laptops offer some part-swapping • Get parts off the Web – – – – – – RAM Hard drives CPUs Video cards Optical drives Network cards © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Replacing RAM Third Edition • Usually first replacement item • Many portables have insufficient RAM • Get the right kind for the laptop – – – – – 72-pin SO-DIMM with SDRAM 144-pin SO-DIMM with SDRAM 200-pin SO-DIMM with DDR or DDR2 172-pin micro-DIMMs with DDR or DDR2 204-pin SO-DIMM with DDR3 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Replacing RAM (continued) Third Edition • No standard method – You usually have to unscrew or pop open a panel on the underside of the portable – Disconnect AC power and battery before installing © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Shared Memory Third Edition • Video subsystem “borrows” a portion of system memory • Reduces cost of video cards – Reduces amount of memory on the video card • System RAM will report less RAM available – Not shared as much as taken from OS – Once taken, OS no longer has access to the RAM © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Shared Memory (continued) Third Edition • Shared memory technologies – TurboCache (NVIDIA) – HyperMemory (ATI) • You can make changes to shared memory settings in the system setup utility • Adding more system RAM will increase overall performance © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Lab – Adjusting Shared Memory Third Edition • How much RAM does the laptop have, according to Windows? • Access the system setup utility to see how much RAM is reported to BIOS • Find the options for shared memory – Does it have any shared memory? – If so, what can you do here? – How much RAM can you dedicate to memory? © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs The Modular Laptop Third Edition • Common components that can be replaced or upgraded in a portable PC – Hard drives • 2.5-inch ATA drives most common • Cable select often required • Otherwise the same as regular 3.5-inch drives – Modular CPUs • Just replace with a newer module from Intel or AMD – Video cards • Least standardized © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs The Modular Laptop (continued) Third Edition • Common components that can be replaced or upgraded in a portable PC – Modular Drives • CD, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc • Hot-swappable, though use the Hardware Removal Tool for safety – Mobile NICs and Mini PCI • Most laptops have dial-up modems and Ethernet • Many also come with integrated wireless networking support • Many devices can be toggled on and off with key combinations such as FN-F2 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Mini PCI Third Edition • Support for NICs, Bluetooth, modems, audio, and hard drive controllers • 32-bit, 33-MHz • Supports bus mastering and DMA • Can swap out for newer/improved components © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Maintenance Third Edition • Everything you normally do to maintain a PC applies to portable PCs – – – – – Windows patches and Service Packs Upgrading drivers Error-checking Defragmenting Disk Cleanup • Plus there are other issues – – – – Batteries Power Management Cleaning and heat Protecting the portable from harm © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Batteries Third Edition • Three types of commonly used batteries – Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd) – Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) – Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Nickel-Cadmium Batteries Third Edition • Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries – First batteries commonly used in mobile PCs – Battery memory is the tendency of a Ni-Cd battery to lose a significant amount of its recharge ability – Conditioning charge can sometimes resolve battery memory problem – At best, can only be recharged about 1000 times – Toxic – dispose of at recycling centers © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Nickel-Metal Hydride Third Edition • Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries – Next generation of mobile PC batteries – Less susceptible to memory problems and last longer between recharges – Still susceptible to heat – Popular replacement for Ni-Cd systems © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Lithium Ion Third Edition • Lithium Ion batteries – – – – – Most common type of battery used today Powerful Completely immune to memory problems Built-in circuitry to prevent accidental overcharging Systems designed only to use Li-Ion © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Other Portable Power Sources Third Edition • Smart batteries – Tell the computer when they need to be charged, conditioned, or replaced – Can recalibrate smart batteries, so they remember full length of charge – http://www.rm.com/Support/TechnicalArticle.asp?c ref=TEC49012 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Battery Maintenance Third Edition • Batteries should be stored in a cool place – But not the freezer! • Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries should be conditioned by using a special charger • Battery contacts should be kept clean using a little alcohol or dry cloth • Never handle a ruptured battery – Check the MSDS for what to do in case of an emergency • Used or old batteries should be recycled © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Power Management Third Edition • All components on a portable draw power – – – – CPU RAM Drives Motherboard • Key for power management is the hardware, BIOS, and OS working together to reduce power use – SMM – APM/ACPI © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs System Management Mode Third Edition • System Management Mode (SMM) – Set of features that enables the CPU to slow down or stop its clock without deleting information – Stops the CPU and all of the peripherals – Requires a specialized BIOS and OS – To further power management capabilities, Intel introduced • Advanced Power Management (APM) in 1992 • Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) in 1996 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Requirements for APM/ACPI Third Edition • APM and ACPI require the following in order to function properly – An SMM-capable CPU – APM-compliant BIOS (so CPU can shut off peripherals) – Devices that will accept being shut off (“Energy Star”) – A system OS that knows how to request the shutdown of a particular device • ACPI also supports hot-swappable devices © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs APM/ACPI Levels Third Edition • Full On – No power management—everything running • APM Enabled – CPU and RAM running at full power – Unused devices may or may not be shut down • APM Standby – CPU is stopped (can easily be restarted) – RAM still stores all the programs – All peripherals are shut down (but still loaded) • APM Suspend – Everything is shut down or at its lowest powerconsumption – Hibernation (stores everything in RAM on the hard drive before powering down) © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs APM/ACPI Configuration Third Edition • CMOS settings • Windows – Overrides CMOS settings – Display applet in Control Panel – Settings | Advanced | Monitor tab – Power Management applet in Control Panel © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Third Edition Configuration of APM/ACPI— Windows © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Cleaning Third Edition • Keep it clean – Use a screen cleaner to clean the LCD screen (not a glass cleaner) – Use compressed air to clean out the keyboard and PC Card sockets – Avoid moisture on keyboard © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Dealing with Heat Third Edition • Heat can kill – Use power management – Keep air space between the bottom of the laptop and the surface it sits on – Don’t use a keyboard protector – Listen for fan running a lot or stopping – Use on a hard surface, not a lap or pillow © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Protect the Machine Third Edition • Protect your investment with best practices – Tripping • Watch the power cord – Storage • Protect from damage and dust • Remove the battery for long-term storage © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Protect the Machine (continued) Third Edition – Travel • Use a padded case • Have some battery power available to avoid problems with security • Keep portable in sight • Remember foreign power is 230 V • Make sure your laptop has autosensing power supply © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Protect the Machine (continued) Third Edition – Shipping • Remove removable devices • Don’t label box as “expensive portable computer” – Security • Protect from theft by using a laptop lock • Software tracking programs in case of theft • BitLocker drive encryption protects contents of drive from thieves © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Troubleshooting Third Edition • Laptop won’t power on – Verify the outlet is good – Verify the AC adapter is good – Remove all peripherals • Screen doesn’t come on properly – Make sure the display is on – Press FN key combination to activate the screen – Bad inverter or CCFL = dim screen • Wireless networking doesn’t work – Check for physical switch to turn it on – Ensure you’re in range © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Troubleshooting (continued) Third Edition • Handwriting is not recognized – May need to retrain the digitizer • Keypad doesn’t work – Probably unseated keypad connector – Check manufacturer’s disassembly procedures • Touchpad doesn’t work – Clean with compressed air – May need to reconfigure touchpad driver © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Troubleshooting (continued) Third Edition • Numbers appear during normal QWERTY typing – Check the NUMLOCKS key • Laptop screen turns on and off while typing – User might be pressing the CRT/LCD keyboard button by mistake • Touchpad overly sensitive or not sensitive enough – Adjust in the Control Panel applet © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Troubleshooting (continued) Third Edition • Keyboard doesn’t work after installing RAM or other internal component – Check the fragile keyboard controller connector and reseat if necessary • Replace LCD Panel – Remove all power, AC, and battery – If laptop has WiFi, disconnect both video and WiFi connections when replacing panel © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Third Edition © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved