4th Module

Laptops and other Portable devices

 ➢
A laptop is a personal computer that can be easily moved and used in a variety of locations.
➢
Most laptops are designed to have all of the functionality of a desktop computer, which
means they can generally run the same software and open the same types of files.
➢
However, laptops also tend to be more expensive than comparable desktop computers.

How is a laptop different from a desktop?

➔
A laptop has an all-in-one design, with a built-in monitor, keyboard, touchpad (which
replaces the mouse), and speakers.
➔
This means it is fully functional, even when no peripherals are connected.
➔
A laptop is also quicker to set up, and there are fewer cables to get in the way.
➔
You'll also have to the option to connect a regular mouse, larger monitor, and other
peripherals. This basically turns your laptop into a desktop computer, with one main
difference: You can easily disconnect the peripherals and take the laptop with you wherever
you go.
Some main differences we can expect with a laptop.

●
Touchpad: A touchpad—also called a track pad—is a touch-sensitive pad that lets
you control the pointer by making a drawing motion with your finger.
●
Battery: Every laptop has a battery, which allows you to use the laptop when it's
not plugged in. Whenever you plug in the laptop, the battery recharges. Another
benefit of having a battery is that it can provide backup power to the laptop if the
power goes out.
●
AC adapter: A laptop usually has a specialized power cable called an AC adapter,
which is designed to be used with that specific type of laptop.
●
Ports: Most laptops have the same types of ports found on desktop computers
(such as USB), although they usually have fewer ports to save space. However,
some ports may be different, and you may need an adapter in order to use them.
●
Price: Generally speaking, laptops tend to be more expensive than a desktop
computer with the same internal components. While you may find that some basic
laptops cost less than desktop computers, these are usually much less powerful
machines.
 Laptop Motherboard
●
Motherboard is the main printed circuit board (PCB) found in general
purpose microcomputers and other expandable systems.
●
sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, baseboard,
planar board or logic board
●
Unlike desktop PC system boards, laptop system boards come in thousands
of different shapes and sizes.
●
Laptop motherboards are model-specific. In other words, you cannot remove
motherboard from a Toshiba laptop and stick it into a Dell laptop.
●
All parts inside a laptop are connected to the system board, either directly
via a connector mounted on the system board or through a cable.
HP ProBook 4540S 712921-
601 Laptop Motherboard Genuine Integrated Laptop Motherboard for Dell Vostro
1540 RMRWP with Intel HD Graphics

Laptop motherboard for Dell inspiron 5559 i7 LA-D071P

➔
In a typical laptop the following ports and components are
permanently attached to the system board and cannot be easily
removed and replaced without soldering:
➔
1. Hard drive (HDD) connector.
➔
2. CD/DVD drive connector.
➔
3. Memory (RAM) slots.
➔
4. Battery connector.
➔
5. Keyboard connector.
➔
6. Audio (headphone and microphone) jacks.
➔
7. Volume control wheel.
➔
8. USB ports.
➔
9. Ethernet (RJ45 aka network) port.
➔
10. IEEE 1394 (Fire Wire) ports.
➔
11. Video chip and some other components and ports.
●
System board, processor (CPU) and LCD
screen are the most expensive parts in any
laptop.
●
In some cases, when one of these three parts
fails, it’s cheaper to buy a brand new laptop
than replace the failed part. But each case is
different so do your research.
 Laptop Processors
●
The microprocessor, or CPU, works with the
operating system to control the computer.
●
It essentially acts as the computer's brain.
●
The CPU produces a lot of heat, so a desktop
computer uses circulating air, a fan and a heat sink
-- a system of plates, channels and radiator fins
used to draw heat off of the processor -- to cool off.
●
Since a laptop has far less room for each of these
cooling methods, its CPU usually:
●
Runs at a lower voltage and clock speed -- This reduces heat output
and power consumption but slows the processor down. Most laptops also
run at a higher voltage and clock speed when plugged in, and at lower
settings when using the battery.

●
Mounts to the motherboard without using pins -- Pins and sockets
take up a lot of room in desktop PCs. Some motherboard processors
mount directly to the motherboard without the use of a socket. Others
use a Micro-FCBGA (Flip Chip Ball Grid Array), which uses balls instead
of pins. These designs save space, but in some cases mean that the
processor cannot be removed from the motherboard for replacement or
upgrading.

●
Has a sleep or slow-down mode -- The computer and the operating
system work together to reduce the CPU speed when the computer is
not in use or when the processor does not need to run as quickly. The
Apple G4 processor also prioritizes data to minimize battery drain.
 Laptop Memory
●
A laptop's memory can make up for some of the reduced
performance that comes from a slower processor.
●
Some laptops have cache memory on or very near the CPU,
allowing it to access data more quickly.
●
Some also have larger busses, allowing data to move
between the processor, motherboard and memory more
quickly.
●
Lapto­ps often use smaller memory modules to save space.
●
Memory is primarily of three types:
– Cache Memory
– Primary Memory / Volatile Memory
– Secondary Memory / Non Volatile Memory
●
Memory types used in laptops include:

– Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module (SODIMM)

– Dual Data Rate Synchronous RAM (DDR SDRAM)
– Single data rate Synchronous RAM (SDRAM)
– Proprietary memory modules
 Cache memory
●
Cache memory is a small-sized type of volatile
computer memory that provides high-speed
data access to a processor and stores
frequently used computer programs,
applications and data.
●
It is the fastest memory in a computer, and is
typically integrated onto the motherboard and
directly embedded in the processor or main
random access memory (RAM).
●
Primary Memory / Volatile Memory:
– Primary Memory also called as volatile memory because the memory can’t store the data
permanently.
– Primary memory select any part of memory when user want to save the data in memory
but that may not be store permanently on that location.
– It also has another name i.e. RAM.

●
Random Access Memory (RAM):
– The primary storage is referred to as random access memory (RAM) due to the random
selection of memory locations. It performs both read and write operations on memory. If
power failures happened in systems during memory access then you will lose your data
permanently. So, RAM is volatile memory. RAM categorized into following types.
●
DRAM
●
SRAM
●
DRDRAM
 Secondary memory
●
Secondary memory devices include
– magnetic disks like hard drives and floppy disks
– optical disks such as CDs and CDROMs
●
Desktop computers have multiple bays for
installing additional drives, such as CD and DVD
ROM drives.
●
However, space in a laptop is in much shorter
supply. Many laptops use a modular design,
allowing a variety of drives to fit in the same bay.
 Hard Disk drive
●
Like a desktop, a laptop has an internal hard disk drive,
which stores the operating system, applications and data
files.
●
However, laptops generally have less disk space than
desktops.
●
A laptop hard drive is also physically smaller than that of a
desktop.
●
In addition, most laptop hard drives spin more slowly than
desktop hard drives, reducing both heat and power
consumption.
 Input Devices
●
Input devices are essential in order to use a
computer.
●
These devices allow users to interact with the
applications that the computer displays.
●
Without input devices, the computer would be
nothing more than a screen that displays
something random and of little use.
●
There are many different types of input devices
that all allow us to interact in different ways.
●
Keyboard
– A keyboard consists of a series of keys that can be pressed to input commands or letters.
These are used to write documents but can be used to navigate user interfaces in lieu of a
mouse.
●
Mouse
– A mouse consists of a ball or laser that tracks the movement of the device. The computer
is able to register the movement of the mouse and translate it as movement of the cursor
on the screen. A mouse also contain buttons that allow the user to select objects, move
windows or open applications. Many also include a scrolling wheel to allow for scrolling
through long documents or Web pages.
●
Trackball
– These devices work like a standard mouse except the users rolls a ball inside a base
rather than moving the device across the table top. Many users prefer a trackball to a
mouse, because it involves less wrist movement, reducing repetitive-motion issues.
●
Touchpad
– This is a device typically found on laptop computers. It works like a mouse or trackball,
except it's a flat panel you move your finger across. The motion of your finger registers as
cursor movement on the screen. Many touchpads now enable gestures to scroll through
documents or zoom in on a photo. Buttons are typically below the [Link] to add
Text
●
Graphics Tablet
– These devices are used like a piece of paper and a pencil. These allow
artists to draw more naturally in a graphics application. They have a stylus
that looks like a plastic pencil that you can use to draw on a flat panel. The
device will register the pressure of the user's hand to draw lighter or darker
lines on screen. Many even have erasers on the back that allow you to erase
mistakes with the stylus.
●
Touchscreen Monitor
– These devices double as an output and input device. They display the
computer environment on screen, and allow a user to manipulate and
interface with it just by touching the screen. These can take the place of a
mouse and even a keyboard if a virtual keyboard application is installed.
●
Joystick
– These devices are primarily used for computer gaming. They consist of a
stick on a base with various buttons that all have different functions. It
operates similar to a yoke on an aircraft, making them suitable for flight
simulators.
●
Scanner
– These devices allow a user to input a photograph or document into
the computer. By placing a piece of media in a scanner, you can
create an image file that can be opened and manipulated on the
computer.
●
Microphone
– This is a device used to input voice data and sound. You hold the
microphone up to a source, most likely a person's mouth, and it
registers the sounds and inputs them into audio recording
applications. This will let you do many things, from recording a
song to talking to someone on Skype.
●
Webcam
– This is a small video camera that takes video and inputs it into the
computer. These allow you to record and send small videos or
have a video chat with someone over the Internet.
 Expansion Bus
●
An expansion bus is an assortment of wires that
allows for computer expansion with the use of an
expansion board, a printed circuit board inserted into
an expansion slot on the motherboard that provides
additional features to a computer system.

●
An expansion bus provides an input/output pathway
for transferring information between internal
hardware, such as RAM or the CPU, and expansion
devices such as a graphics card or sound card.
●
There are several different types of expansion buses with
diverse features, such as:
– Industry Standard Architecture (ISA)
– Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)
– Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
– PCI Express (PCI-X)

●
One of the early types of expansion buses was the ISA,
which was used with IBM-compatible computers. It supported
a network card, video card or additional serial ports.
However, the ISA bus had a tendency for bottlenecks and
was replaced by the PCI bus. The PCI has faster standards,
with a 33 or 66 MHz bus speed and support of 32- and 64-bit
data paths. The PCI Express bus, which replaced the PCI, is
even faster.
●
The PCI interface is used in many modern computer
interfaces and conforms to the local busstandard
developed by Intel Corporation.
●
Although the PCI Express (and the PCI-Extended)
has a faster interface, the PCI is more common and
can even be found on some versions of Macintosh
computers. Prior to the PCI interface, some PC
architectures, such as the NuBus and Macintosh,
used their own buses.
Expansion buses used in Laptops

– PCMCIA
– Card Bus
– Express card
 PCMCIA
●
Stands for "Personal Computer Memory Card International Association."
PCMCIA was an organization that focused on creating expansion card
standards for portable computers.
●
The most notable product developed by them is the PCMCIA card
(commonly called a "PC card"), which provided expansion capabilities for
laptops
●
The card could be inserted into a PCMCIA slot on the side of a laptop,
providing additional memory or connectivity
●
There were three versions of the PCMCIA card standard:
– Type I - 3.3 mm thick - used for memory expansion
– Type II - 5.0 mm thick - most common; used for NICs (Ethernet cards), modems,
and sound cards
– Type III - 3.3 mm thick - used for ATA hard drives
●
Larger PCMCIA slots were backwards compatible with smaller cards.
●
In the 1990s, PCMCIA cards were a common means of
adding extra functionality to laptops.
●
But as laptop components became smaller,
manufacturers were able to fit all the necessary
components into their laptops, making PCMCIA cards
unnecessary.
●
Additionally, many peripherals that previously required a
PCMICA card became available in USB versions.
●
In the early 2000s, the trend towards thinner and lighter
laptops eventually made PCMCIA cards obsolete.
 Card Bus
●
CardBus are PCMCIA 5.0 or later
●
CardBus is effectively a 32-bit, 33 MHz PCI bus
in the PC Card design.
●
CardBus supports bus mastering, which allows
a controller on the bus to talk to other devices
or memory without going through the CPU.
 Express Card
●
ExpressCard, initially called NEWCARD, is an interface to connect peripheral
devices to a computer, usually a laptop computer.
●
The cards contain electronic circuits and sometimes connectors for external
devices.
●
The ExpressCard standard replaces the PC Card (also known as PCMCIA)
standards.
●
ExpressCards can connect a variety of devices to a computer including
– mobile broadband modems (sometimes called connect cards),
– IEEE 1394 (FireWire) connectors,
– USB connectors,
– Ethernet network ports,
– Serial ATA storage devices,
– solid-state drives,
– external enclosures for desktop-size PCI Express graphics cards and other peripheral
devices,
– wireless network interface controllers (NIC),
– TV tuner cards,
– Common Access Card (CAC) readers, and sound cards.
 Expansion Ports
●
Expansion ports are different types of
connection ports on a laptop that allow various
kinds of external devices to be connected to the
machine.
●
There are numerous types of connectivity ports
from the most basic USB till the latest Express
card slot.
●
USB Port :
– Among all the connectivity ports the USB port is the most
widely used interface.
– The USB lets you connect several types of devices to your
laptop such as external hard drives, pen drives, cameras,
keyboard, mice etc.
– It also helps in charging mobile phones and such small
devices as it supplies small amount of power the connected
devices.
– When the standard USB version 2.0 offers a transfer speed of
480 Mbps, the latest version 3.0 offers higher speed of 5Gbps.
●
Express Card Slot:
– Express Card slot is the largest Expansion slot on the body of
your laptop.
– Devices might be plugged into the body of laptops via this slot.
– It allows devices like cellular broadband cards, memory cards,
adapters, and network cards.
●
Thunderbolt Port:
– Thunderbolt port is a connectivity medium, which uses
expansion bus to let the laptop be connected to the peripheral
devices.
– It has been developed by the tech giant Intel and brought into
the market by the Apple Inc.
– Now other companies also support this interface on their
respective devices.
●
HDMI Port:
– HDMI or high definition multimedia interface is relatively a new induction
to the new age gadgets.
– The HDMI port is a compact audio/video connector that helps us to
connect the laptops, tablets, or mobiles to the newer and popular
entertainment things like HD LCD or plasma TV or HD DVD or BlueRay
players.
– And it will not be wrong to say that with the help of HDMI on our
machines we can connect to any high end electronic entertainment
gadget.
●
Firewire/ IEEE 1394 port:
– Firewire is quite similar to the USB interface on all the fronts barring the
technological one.
– It was first brought to light by Apple computers as the USB ports were
lethargically slow at that time.
– Though, the USB 2.0 has, with its fast speed, has overwhelmed the
Firewire a little bit but if it is inbuilt on your system it will only benefit you.
●
Memory Card Reader:
– Memory card reader is a slot, which is pretty
common on modern day laptops as it allows you
to insert any kind of memory card ranging from
SD to XD to any other card like Sony Memory
Stick into your system, hence better connectivity.
– Isn’t it a hassle-free method to transfer the pics
from your camera by simply inserting the memory
card in the cardreader? This way you can avoid
connecting USB cables to transfer the files.
●
VGA Connector:
– This is used to connect your system to any analog monitor or
LCD TV.
– As we know that VGA is not a digital thing; it has been used to
video connect devices for ages.
– It still remains relevant to the modern day laptops and is
almost ubiquitous phenomenon.
●
External SATA or External Serial Advanced
Technology Attachment:
– It is a means of faster data transfer.
– It is a bus interface which is used to connect host BUS
adapters to the mass storage devices such as hard disks.
– It holds many advantages over the old interfaces like more
efficient and fast data transfer and reduced cable size
because it uses only 7 conductors instead of 40.
– A must port for every laptop.
●
RJ 45/Ethernet Port:
– RJ 45 is a jack standard registered for a modular connector that uses 8
conductors and is used to connect computers to a local area network (LAN)
especially Ethernet.
– RJ 45 was previously a telephone thing standard.
– There was a time when it was considered indispensable but due to technological
advances it has grown somewhat obsolete.

●
Modem Port:
– At the first glance one might take the modem port for standard telephone jack, but
it is not the same.
– It connects an internal modem of a computer to a telephone line.
– And the modem of the system connects the computer to the internet by making a
data call to a distant Internet Service Provider.
 Docking station
●
A docking station is a hardware device that allows portable
computers to connect with other devices with little or no effort.
●
Docking stations enable users with a laptop computer to
convert it into a desktop computer when at the office or at
home.
●
For example, a user could use their laptop on the road, and then back at the
office they could connect the laptop to the docking station to use their monitor,
speakers, and office printer.
●
The picture to the botton is an example of a Dell docking station. This particular
docking station enables the laptop to be directly connected to the docking
station without the need of using any additional cables. Keep in mind that all
docking stations are different.
●
Dock - Term used to describe the process of connecting a portable computer
to a docking station.
●
Undock (cold dock) - Term used to describe the process of disconnecting a
portable computer from a docking station after it has been shut down.
 LAPTOP DISASSEMBLY GUIDELINES
●
STEP 1. Unlock and remove the battery.
●
STEP 2. There are six spring-loaded latches securing the keyboard on the top.
●
In order to open up the latch push on it with a small flathead screwdriver.
●
When you push on the latch, it will move inside the case and the keyboard will lift up a little bit preventing the
latch from moving back in the locked position.
●
Do the same with all six latches.
●
STEP 3. Lift up the keyboard. Turn it upside down and place on the palm rest.
●
STEP 4. Before you remove the keyboard completely, it’s necessary to unlock the connector and release the
cable.
●
STEP 5. Slide the cable retainer about 1-2 millimeters to the shown direction.
●
This will unlock the connector.
●
STEP 6. Pull the cable.
●
STEP 7. Remove the keyboard from the laptop.
●
STEP 8. Remove two screws securing the service cover on the bottom.
●
STEP 9. Under the cover you can access the hard drive, both RAM modules,Wi-Fi card and CMOS battery.
●
– Remove one screw securing the hard drive caddy. – Slide the hard drive assembly to the left to disconnect it
from the motherboard.
●
STEP 10. Remove one screw securing the optical drive.
●
Slide the optical drive to the left and pull it out of the case.
●
STEP 11. Remove all screws from the bottom.
●
STEP 12. Remove screws securing the top cover (palm rest) assembly.
●
Disconnect the power button cable, touchpad cable and both speaker cables.
●
STEP 13. Unlock and disconnect the power button and touchpad cables the same way you disconnected the
keyboard cable.
●
STEP 14. Unplug both speaker cables.
●
STEP 15. Start separating the top cover assembly from the bottom case.
●
STEP 16. Remove the top cover assembly.
●
STEP 17. On the other side of the top cover you can access:
●
– Both speakers. – Power button board. – Touchpad.
●
STEP 18. Now we are going to remove the cooling fan.
●
STEP 19. Remove three screws securing the fan.
●
STEP 20. Remove the fan from the case and disconnect the cable.
●
The fan connector is located on the other side of the motherboard.
●
STEP 21. There are two screw covers located in the lower left and right corners of the screen bezel.
●
Remove both covers with a sharp object. Remove both screws.
●
STEP 22. Insert fingers between the bezel and screen and start separating the bezel from the display cover.
●
STEP 23. Continue removing the bezel.
●
STEP 24. The bezel has been removed.
●
STEP 25. Remove three screw securing the screen to the right hinge bracket.
●
STEP 26. Remove three more screws from the left bracket.
●
STEP 27. Separate the LCD screen from the cover. Now you can access the display cable in the back.
●
STEP 28. Remove sticky tape securing the connection.
●
Unplug the display cable from the screen.
●
STEP 29. Remove the LCD screen completely and replace it with a new one if necessary.
 Describe portable computing
devices:
Notebook
●
A notebook computer is a battery- or AC-powered personal computer generally
smaller than a briefcase that can easily be transported and conveniently used in
temporary spaces such as on airplanes, in libraries, temporary offices, and at
meetings.
●
A notebook computer, sometimes called a laptop computer, typically weighs
less than 5 pounds and is 3 inches or less in thickness.
●
Among the best-known makers of notebook and laptop computers are IBM,
Apple, Compaq, Dell, Toshiba, and Hewlett-Packard.
●
Notebook computers generally cost more than desktop computers with the
same capabilities because they are more difficult to design and manufacture.
●
A notebook can effectively be turned into a desktop computer with a docking
station, a hardware frame that supplies connections for peripheral input/output
devices such as a printer or larger monitor.
 Ultra book
●
An Ultrabook is a mini notebook computer designed to provide
similar or superior computing functionality as that of a
standard laptop but with less size, weight and an extended
battery life.
●
The Ultrabook is a trademark name that was initially conceived
by the Intel Corporation in 2011, but the term has expanded to
refer to a new category of notebook computers that sits
somewhere between lightweight laptops and tablets.
●
Ultrabooks are integrated with consumer ultra-low voltage
(CULV) processors, graphic card accelerators, solid state
drives and limited external communication ports. In general
terms, an ultrabook may also be called an ultrapotable
notebook or subnotebook.
 Tablet PC

●
A tablet is a wireless, portable personal computer with a touchscreen interface.
●
The tablet form factor is typically smaller than a notebook computer, but larger than
a smartphone.
●
The idea of tablet computing is generally credited to Alan Kay of Xerox, who sketched
out the idea in 1971.
●
The first widely sold tablet computer was Apple Computer's Newton, which was not a
commercial success.
●
Technological advances in battery life, display resolution, handwriting recognition
software, memory and wireless internet access have since made tablets a viable
computing option.
●
Today, the most common type of tablet is the slate style, like Apple's iPad,
Microsoft's Surface or Amazon's Kindle Fire.
●
External keyboards are available for most slate-style tablets, and some keyboards also
function as docking stations for the devices.
 Touch screen technology
●
A touch screen has two main advantages.
●
First, it allows users to interact directly with what is displayed, rather than indirectly with a pointer controlled
by a mouse or touchpad.
●
Secondly, it does not require the use of an intermediate device. Touch screens can be attached to
computers or to networks as terminals. They also play a prominent role in the design of digital appliances
such as the personal digital assistant (PDAs), satellite navigation devices, mobile phones and video games.
●
How a touch screen event is registered depends on the touch screen's inherent technology. The three main
touch screen technologies are:

– Resistive: This screen has a thin metallic layer that is conductive and resistive, so that touching results in a change in
the electrical current sent to the controller. Pros: More affordable, not damaged by dust or water, responds to finger or
stylus. Cons: Only 75% clarity and susceptible to damage by sharp objects.

– Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW): Ultrasonic waves pass over this screen. Touching it results in absorption of part of the
wave, registering the position of the touch, which is sent to the controller. Pros: Responds to finger or stylus. Cons: May
be damaged by dust or water.

– Capacitive: This screen is coated with an electrically-charged material. Touching it causes a change in capacitance,
which allows the location to be determined and sent to the controller. Pros: Not damaged by dust or water and has high
clarity. Cons: Must be touched with a finger only - a stylus cannot be used.
●
 Enhancing Hardware Support
●
By default, Fedora attempts to automatically
detect and configure support for all of the
components of your computer.
●
Fedora supports the majority of hardware in
common use with the software drivers that are
included with the operating system.
●
To support other devices you may supply
additional drivers during the installation
process, or at a later time.
 Enhancing Hardware Support
●
By default, Fedora attempts to automatically
detect and configure support for all of the
components of your computer.
●
Fedora supports the majority of hardware in
common use with the software drivers that are
included with the operating system.
●
To support other devices you may supply
additional drivers during the installation
process, or at a later time.
6 ways to improve your laptop's performance

[Link] windows update or update the OS

periodically
[Link] your hard drive
[Link] your computer clean
[Link] in a security suite
[Link] all else fails, reset
[Link] hardware
 Configuration Management (CM)
●
Effective configuration management (CM) involves the practice of
processing system changes systematically with the primary intent of
updating the system while maintaining system integrity.
●
To meet this goal, a good CM program implements detailed policies,
procedures, and techniques while employing the proper CM tools
necessary to manage revisions, track revision status, and document
and verify each step throughout the process.
●
A successful and effective CM program will result in:
– Improved performance
– System compliance with established specifications and guidelines
– Lowered probability of errors
– Enhanced online availability