Posted by best buy on Mar 23, 2012 in
Tips and Technic
The sudden unexpected shutdown of an operating laptop computer has three common causes among others.
The power-supply transformer or adaptor is going bad, causing the power supply itself to shutdown
A cooling fan has quit working, causing the laptop to thermally shutdown
Lint has collected on the cooling-fan screen guards or in the cooling ducts, causing the laptop to thermally shutdown from lack of adequate air flow
Tablet Netbook
The first two causes and fixes.
The first cause does not happen often. But, to check it or to fix it quickly, a spare power adaptor will do both. The spare will also eliminate this possibly if these shutdowns keep occurring while it is connected. That leaves the two other causes.
The second cause has a greater potential of happening, but not very often. One can lift the front side of the laptop to see if the cooling fan (usually on the bottom side if the laptop) is rotating all right. Many laptops have two fans. If these fans are rotating all right, that leaves only one other common cause. If not, then the nonfunctioning fan(s) must be replaced. This replacement can be self-done, but it requires disassembly of the computer. This disassembly is not easy because the laptop has several ports and accessories tightly fitted into its chassis. A repair shop can do it much easier.
The third and most common cause and fix.
The third cause (collected lint) is the most likely reason for the laptop shutdown. For one thing, the bottom-side cooling fans are close to the surface on which the laptop sits. There, the fans can suck up surface dust easily. This dust collects on the fan screen guards as lint, which prevents adequate air flow through the cooling air ducts. This lint also collects in the ducts themselves, but in smaller amounts.
To describe these ducts further, they pass over the metal heat-transfer sinks surrounding the central processor, which, in turn, allow the air flow to keep the processor at a safe preset temperature. If that temperature is exceeded, the laptop shuts down quickly to protect the processor. These air ducts usually vent from the back or from one side of the chassis.
The easiest and best two-step recommended way to fix this problem most of the time is simply
to remove any lint collected on the fan guards
to blow out the cooling ducts and fan boxes with a small canister of compressed air, starting at either end.
Some of the blown lint might collect on the insides of the fan guards, having been blown toward the fans from the duct vents. Yet many of these screen or mesh-like fan guards can be dislodged or popped from the chassis to remove this lint, and then wedged back into place when the cleaning is done.
This cleaning method is not new, but it works well here because only small amounts of duct lint will cause this shutdown problem. Once all the lint is removed, the laptop will work and sound much better for several months.
A canister of compressed air can be purchased at several outlets (camera, computer, electronics, and hardware). This problem can be further prevented by blowing out the fan and air ducts on a regular basis before the lint collects again. For more information on this and similar overheating problems, see these sites.
How to Fix and Prevent Sudden Thermal Shutdowns of Laptop Computers
Tags: Computers, Laptop, Laptop Shutdowns, Laptop Sudden, Prevent, Shutdowns, Sudden, Thermal
Posted by best buy on Feb 16, 2012 in
Tips and Technic
1. Overview
Before we look at the laptops most suitable for college students, we should understand what makes a good student laptop. Typically, a student would want a laptop that’s lightweight and comfortable enough to lug to and from their various classes. In addition, the laptop has to have great battery life and performance. And price is sometimes a concern, so the above features need to be packed into an affordable package.
Tablet Netbook
After considering the types of laptops suitable for college students, I’ve decided to split them into three categories: budget, thin and light and ultraportable. So let’s take a look at them now …
2. Budget Laptops
For a college student who is short on cash, a budget laptop is a good buy. Some of the best budget laptops include those from Dell, Toshiba and HP. I personally find the Toshiba Satellite A215-S4747 to be a great budget laptop. You get an AMD based dual core CPU, which perfroms very well with most applications. You also get a huge 200GB hard drive and a large number of peripheral ports.
There’s also a nice Sony VGN-NR160E/S model that is (surprisingly) within the budget category. Out of the box, this machine gives you the Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 processor, 1 GB of RAM and a large 160GB hard drive – that’s a lot of computing power at budget price.
3. Thin and Light Laptops
If you prefer a more powerful laptop and don’t mind a little bit of weight, then try going for a thin and light laptop. Some of the models I can think of include those from Lenovo, HP and Sony.
The Sony VAIO VGN-FZ280E is a pretty good choice for a thin and light notebook. This system comes with a Bluray compatible writer that can also burn CDs and DVDs. You also get an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz CPU, 2GB RAM and a very large 250GB hard drive.
Another model I’d consider is the HP Pavilion dv6675us. You will get an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz CPU, 4GB RAM and 250GB of hard drive space. The 4GB of RAM is a great feature which will come in handy if you’re a student of finance or science and need to run intensive computational applications.
4. Ultraportable Laptops
If the size and weight of the laptop is of high importance to you, then go for an ultraportable laptop. These laptops give very good computing performance in a very small, compact package.
In this category, I think the Lenovo ThinkPad X61 is a great choice for students. It is slightly pricey (but not outrageously so) but it is one of the best performing laptops around. It weighs only about 3 pounds and is hence an extremely portable piece of hardware. You also get an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz CPU, 2GB RAM and an ample 100GB hard drive. You don’t get a built-in DVD writer though – that unit is external to the laptop.
Another good choice is the Toshiba Portege R500-S5001X. It weights 2.4 pounds and is less than an inch thick. This is one of the thinnest and lightest notebooks you will find in the market. It’s also very reasonably priced.
Conclusion
Well! I hope this article has shown you the various types of laptops which are suitable for college students. Regardless of your needs and budget, make sure that you do proper research before shelling out any cash. Until next time, best of luck and happy shopping!
Best Laptop Computers for College Students
Tags: College, Computers, Computers Laptop, Laptop, Laptop Computers, students
Posted by best buy on Feb 13, 2012 in
Lenovo Lenovo IGF Idea, Z370 13.3″ 500GB Win7 HP64 (Catalog Category: Computers Notebooks / Notebooks) Review
Lenovo IGF Idea, Z370 13.3″ 500GB Win7 HP64 (Catalog Category: Computers Notebooks / Notebooks) Overview
Nationwide BTS 2011 Lenovo Z370 Intel Core i5-2410M . Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit, 13.3″ LED 4GB DDR3, DVDRW, integrated graphics, Intel B
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Feb 13, 2012 12:10:14
Tags: Catalog, Catalog Category, Catalog Lenovo, Category, Computers, Lenovo, Notebooks
Posted by best buy on Jan 27, 2012 in
Lenovo NEW ThinkPad X1 320 GB 4 GB W764 (Computers Notebooks) Review
NEW ThinkPad X1 320 GB 4 GB W764 (Computers Notebooks) Overview
Thin and light ThinkPad X Series frees you to work without constraints. Lenovo’s Power Manager, carefully selected low-voltage processors, less power-hungry displays, and the latest battery technology allow hours of worry-free computing on-the-go.
Manufacturer: Lenovo Group Limited
Manufacturer Part Number: 129126U
Manufacturer Website Address:
Brand Name: Lenovo
Product Line: ThinkPad
Product Series: X1
Product Model: 129126U
Product Name: ThinkPad X1 129126U Notebook
Product Type: Notebook
Processor Manufacturer: Intel
Processor Type: Core i5
Processor Model: i5-2520M
Processor Speed: 2.50 GHz
Processor Core: Dual-core
Cache: 3 MB
vPro Technology: Yes
Standard Memory: 4 GB
Memory Technology: DDR3 SDRAM
Memory Standard: DDR3-1333/PC3-10600
Hard Drive Capacity: 320 GB
Solid State Drive Capacity: No
Hybrid Hard Drive Capacity: Not Applicable
Optical Drive Type: No
Optical Media Supported: Not Applicable
Screen Size: 13.3″
Display Screen Type: Active Matrix TFT Color LCD
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Screen Mode: WXGA
Backlight Technology: LED
Screen Resolution: 1366 x 768
Graphics Controller Manufacturer: Intel
Graphics Controller Model: GMA HD 3000
Graphics Memory Accessibility: Shared
WWAN Supported: Yes
Ethernet Technology:
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jan 27, 2012 11:00:15
Tags: Computers, Notebooks, Notebooks Computers, ThinkPad, ThinkPad Computers