CompTIA A+® Certification All-In-One For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

7.11. Troubleshooting Laptop Issues

When troubleshooting laptop-related issues and when answering A+ certification test questions, you should be familiar with a number of popular troubleshooting best practices:

• Verify power. When troubleshooting power-related issues, check whether the LEDs are lighting. You can also try swapping AC adapters to see whether the AC adapter is the problem, or the laptop is.

• Remove unneeded peripherals. Always try to streamline the situation by removing any unneeded peripherals to simplify the situation. After you get the system operating normally, you can then start adding the peripherals back one at a time to see which device is causing the problem.

• Plug in an external monitor. If you have display issues, try connecting an external monitor and use the display toggle to send the output to the monitor. This allows you to determine whether the video adapter is the problem or the actual LCD of the laptop.

• Toggle Fn keys and hardware switches. Always check the function keys to see whether you can toggle an option off and then on. Be wary of a Function Lock key on your system, which might cause the alternate features of keystroke to kick in.

• Check the LCD cut-off switch. If you don't have any display on the laptop, check whether the display is being sent to the LCD by using the display function key. Also check whether there is a cut-off switch on the laptop that is disabling the LCD.

• Verify backlight functionality. If you have trouble seeing the screen, check ...