There are instances where it is necessary to dismantle a laptop computer to some degree, and sometimes it is necessary to completely disassemble the laptop. The need to do this will be based on what needs to be done, usually to troubleshoot or replace a component. For instance, if you are going to replace a MacBook logic board then you will likely have to go very deep into the disassembly process on any of the model variations. There are however some laptops which are what we refer to as "tech friendly" because they are a breeze to work on compared to some others out there.

Typically this kind of work will be done in a shop, or repair depot, on a workbench with all of the necessary tools and components at hand which are needed to perform the troubleshooting as well as the repairs. However when working in the field as a laptop technician, there really are no limits to where you might find yourself having to disassemble a laptop computer.

Basically if you have the parts, and you are under contract to fix computers onsite, then you will not always have the luxury of a workbench and endless tools and parts. These can be the instances to hope that you do not have to work on too many of the more unfriendly designs that are out there. These can include older laptops as well as newer ones. Price does not come into play here. Most of the laptops under 300 dollars are pretty easy to work on just like some of the more expensive models are as well. If you back to the mid to late 1990's, then a lot of the designs were tough to work on. This does not mean that they were bad designs actually many were really well constructed. Yet over the years more streamlined laptop designs have become much more common in all price ranges.

In all reality it is probably not a good idea to perform any major laptop dismantling on your own. A lot of people have some knowledge of working on different electronics and such, but there are typically a ton of various screw sizes as well as little pieces which must be placed just right in the whole scheme of things when it comes time to putting all the components back together again. Taking everything apart is not necessarily easy, but putting them all back the way they need to be, and then having the refurbished laptops actually power up with everything working after the fact leaves basically no room for error whatsoever in most cases.

Tags: laptop tech tips, laptops under 300, logic boards, macbook, macbook logic board, old laptops, refurbished laptops

The Windows XP and Vista operating systems are often configured to automatically restart when a system failure occurs. However if the laptop restarts then it does not give you enough time to actually see the error message before the system restarts, and often the error message is extremely important to efficiently diagnosing computer issues.

The actual error message can be a great help so to prevent the system from automatically restarting you can follow these simple steps in XP.

Right click My Computer > click Properties > Advanced tab > Settings under Startup and Recovery > and remove the check mark from Automatically Restart in the System Failure section.

This may or may not be set by default in Windows XP depending on which Service Pack is installed on the particular refurbished laptops under 200 but it is good to check just in case you ever need to actually see the error message Windows is providing you before it automatically restarts. The error codes are often referred to as stop errors and when you have access to them it can be surprisingly easy to identify what the cause of the issue is simply by researching the code provided.

The system failure screen is known as the BSOD or Blue Screen of Death in the world of computer technicians and Windows operating system users alike. This is the dreaded screen you see which is all blue and has lots of cryptic looking wording in white letters on the screen. As bad as it sounds it can actually be quite easy to resolve the issue on laptops under 300 dollars as well as brand new ones when you know exactly what the error code being displayed is.

You can follow the steps in this laptop tip to see if the check mark is there meaning it will do the automatic restart, or if the check mark is not there meaning it will leave the error on the screen so you can get the necessary error code as well as information you need to help you begin to resolve the issue causing the system failure.

Tags: laptop error message, laptop performance, laptops under 200, laptops under 300, operating system, used laptops, vista laptop

If you ever find that your laptop computer will play sounds in some applications but not in Windows Media Player you may find these laptop tech tips may help you to resolve the issue. You may receive a laptop error message such as "Windows Media Player cannot play the file…" or even "You do not have a sound device installed on your computer…"

This situation can be caused by several reasons and is often due to a conflict with the file. Other times it may be that the sound card is not working as it should due to the drivers not being installed properly.

Occasionally there may be an issue with the compatibility of the current version of DirectX and your version of Windows Media Player.

Check and make sure that the drivers are properly installed for your sound card or device. Make sure that these drivers are not missing or corrupt in the Device Manager. Try to reinstall the most recent drivers for the device by scanning the Windows Update web site or by going directly to the sound device's manufacturer's web site. Occasionally a simple driver update can fix the issue on laptops under 300 dollars just as well as on more expensive models.

Of course in order to do the above you will have to verify that a sound device does exist within the laptop. If one does exist yet it is somehow corrupt you should still be able to address the issue through the Windows Device Manager.

I have found that sometimes another program will be using the sound card or device at the same time and is actually preventing Windows Media Player from accessing it. Try closing all other programs currently running on your laptop computer and then attempt to play the file again in WMP.

If these laptop tech tips do not resolve the issue you may want to check and see that the version of Microsoft DirectX installed on your laptop computer is compatible with your sound card or device. You can download the most current version of DirectX by going to the Microsoft website and then you will be able to install the latest version. These laptop tech tips are often part of what we use to troubleshoot this particular situation and we hope that they may come in handy for you as well.

Tags: laptop error message, Laptop Tech, laptop tech tips, laptops under 300

We originally reviewed and tested a blue Samsung NC10-14GB netbook computer with Windows XP Home Edition installed as the operating system. This model can now quite often be found for sale in the refurbished laptops under 300 selections. Netbook computers are also known as mini laptops. This model has a nice sized 160 GB hard drive, a 10.2" LCD running at a 1024x600 resolution, and is powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU. The speed and responsiveness of this mini laptop is on par with the other netbook computers we have reviewed such as the Acer Aspire One and the Asus EEE PC.

If you are looking at buying one of the Samsung netbooks, or a mini laptop made by any other manufacturer, we highly recommend getting the 6 cell battery version if you plan on being away from AC power for more than a couple of hours.

SAMSUNG NC10-14GB Atom additional specs:

• Three USB 2.0 ports
• VGA out port
• Headphone out port
• WLAN built-in 802.11b/g WLAN card
• Bluetooth
• 3-in-1 card reader
• Only 2.8 lbs
• 1GB DDR2 667MHz (Maximum)
• 1.3 Mega Pixel webcam

Tags: laptops under 300, mini laptop, netbook computers, refurbished laptops, samsung refurbished laptops