Laptop Advice

After a rigorous search of internet webistes. We have come up with a list of the best laptops to buy.

1.                                    Panasonic Toughbook
2.                                    Sony Vaio
3.                                    Dell XPS
4.                                    Acer
5.                                    Samsung
6.                                    Toshiba
7.                                    Fujitsu siemens
8.                                    HP
9.                                    Packard Bell
10.                                    Advent
11.                                    Medion

These laptops are based on  a seacrh of how consumers have rated thier product after purchasing. Also considered is the amount of rewards the companies have won regarding thier laptops. For the best laptop to buy or the top 10 laptops we are here to help you decide. We have also contacted companies for laptop repairs and asked those wich laptops they repair the LEAST.

On a sony vaio press f1 or f2 on start up to boot into recovery press f10

On a dell press f2 to enter bios setup

On an ibm lenovo press f1 even before you turn it on to enter the bios

On a panasonic press f2 to enter the bios

On a Toshiba press esc or f1 to enter the bios

On all other press f2

laptop advice on Hard disk drives

A hard disk in your laptop is like a cassete tape that you had songs on in the old days. For those who need a bit more help and understanding i will put in layman terms. A hard disk is like a big cupboard. Where do you keep all your paper files at home? In a desk or drawer , or even a cupboard. some cupboards are big and some cupboards are small.one cupboard maybe 2 foot another maybe 8 foot in size.  its the same with a hard disk drive. A hard disk drive can be 200 gigabytes or 800 gigabytes. Actually a hard disk is similar to a cd rom only a hard disk is very dense and can hold more data. 

Data are like bits of information computarized information.  This can be letters ,images and so on. All these images and documents are stored by the laptop on the hard disk. Inside the hard disk is what looks like 2 cd roms. They are half the size of a cd like the ones you play on your music player and hifi.  Data on the hard disk can be lost just like in the real world you can lose your paper files , therefore its good to make copies. A laptop computer stores files in bytes.  You might store files in A4 or A3 documents. 1 megabyte is 1024 kilobytes.  1000 megabytes equals 1 gigabyte .  Usually a hard disk on a laptop will be between 80 gigabytes and 500 gigabytes.  Hard disks just like cupboards can be broken.  A hard disk will usually last 4 years.  Some hard disks can last up to 10 years.  What makes a hard drive last longer its if you dont knock the laptop around.

Laptop Memory advice.

Memory inside the laptop are like extra hands that move information around the computer.  The memory stores each bit of data in a capacitor within an integrated circuit. Only one transistor and a capacitor are needed per bit of information. Memory are like small drawers that move out of a cupboard and send files where needed. Lets imagine you click on a picture to view it. The picture may be 30 megabytes. So the mouse clicks the image, the software tells the processor that the image on the hard disk needs to be opened, so  the chipset then says to the processor tell the graphics card to send data to the screen the data now needs to be expanded because you clicked on it. So the data needs to travel between processor memory graphics card and the bus or the (roads) on the motherboard.

The processor may be pushing the information very quickly to produce the image but on this laptop because there is only 1 gig of random access memory or ram, the image is taking its time to be produced on the screen. so you wait for it to be opened. zzzzzzz  However on your friends laptop he has 4 gigs of ram. Extra hands !!!  Now things are going to really move fast. If you ever think of what memory does just think of it as an extra pair of hands. Instead of emptying the cupboard in 4 minutes you empty it in 1 minute. Increasing memory is the best way to speed up a laptop.  Its also the cheapest. Some have mistakenly thought that increasing the size of the hard disk or processor will be the best way to speed up a laptop, ….no way. The best way to speed up a laptop and the cheapest way is to upgrade your ram ( Random access memory).

laptop advice on the Processor

The processor is the brains of the computer. It talks with programs like microsoft word and other programs then It has to interpret instructions that are sent to it by the memory. The processor does 4 things. It collects information, then it decodes the instructions, it executes the instructions then it writes back the information to the memory telling it what it has done. 

 It works by using billions of switches. As the processor does an enormous amount of work. It needs to be cooled down. If a processor  had the same power as your brain it would need a fridge the size planet earth on top of it to cool it down becuase of the amount of instructions sent. The processor in laptops really needs a more cooler system nearly everyones laptop gets hot. The fan only will come on when the processor is piping hot. On a desktop computer the cooling is much better.

Graphics card advice

The graphics card puts an image on your laptop screen. The processor says to the graphics card “quick need an image on screen” or something like this… the graphics card then works out the size of the image wether its in 3d how many pixels used, if it needs shading and lighting affects and so on. It paints an image the same as you would. First it draws a matchstick frame then fills in the colours. Th graphics card on a laptop gets piping hot. In fact the reason laptops break the most is becuase of graphics cards.  Look at the chip with the number 2 on it. This is the graphics card.

The main reason for motherboards dying is becuase unlike memory and hard disks that can be replaced, graphic cards usually are moulded to the board when it was made and therefore cannot be removed. Also companies that make graphics cards are under pressure from large laptop companies. For example the big branded laptop company says we want to make a thin laptop will your graphics card and cooler fan allow us to build this thin laptop, or will the fan and graphics chip be thin enough to fit inside our new super thin laptop.

The graphics card company now is scared to say no or the company will take on a different graphics card. So graphics cards really need a better cooling system they get way too hot. Buying an air can and blowing out dust that clogs up the vents is really the answer to fix this big problem.

Who is the best person to ask when buying a laptop?.  PC World? No way ! How about google? nope.

Ebay? not at all. The best person or people to ask are those who annually repair over 1500 of them. We asked James Davis the Managing Director of Laptop Repair UK.  “The best laptop in our opinion is the Panasonic CF - 74″.

This laptop is in the middle range semi rugged Panasonic Laptops. First you have the lightweight range. Like the toughbook T7or W7. These are fantstic laptops being very lightweight but featuring all the bells and whistles you would expect on the worlds best laptop company. At the rugged tough military end you have the Panasonic Toughbook CF 30. This laptop has won more awards than any other laptop when it comes to pure “throw it around toughness”. It was Laptop magazines ultimate choice for summer 2008. Just type “Panasonic toughbook tests” into youtube and you will see buckets of water poured over these laptops cars and lorries being driven over them. They always work fine afterwards.

best laptop to buy

However we have chosen the Panasonic semi rugged CF -74 . Just look at this laptop. The strong handle means it will last years. This laptop is lighter than the CF -30. This mid range toughbook is a belter. Its lightning fast with duel core processor. Magnesium alloy case with handle. Shock proof hard drive. Spill resistant touchpad and keyboard.  Laptopshop and Amazon are doing some great deals at the moment on this laptop but be warned you really do get what you pay for . This laptop is not cheap but if you can afford the best then this is what your man will need. A massive  4 gigs of ram make it wickedly quick and touchscreen is just perfect, we absolutly love this laptop not other laptop can compare in looks and durability. Its a real mans laptop. Not for boys. As the speed is incredible this laptop is at the top in our editors award.

Many men are looking for a laptop to buy thier wives. What is the best laptop to buy for them?.

When a laptop boots up and there is nothing on the screen there are a number of reasons for this.  Step 1. First is a memory problem. Check that the memory is seated properly. Switch the memory with a new module that you know is working. If this does not work try step 2. Second remove the hard drive and press F2 as soon as the laptop boots. This should take you to the bios. If this does not work proceed to step 3.  Third open the laptop and check the motherboard. Remove the battery. Plug in the mains and check that the power is reacing the fuse. If this is all well proceed to step 4. Fourth

Remove the motherboard check the connection between the screen and the mainboard. Also look for any burnt integrated circuit chips on the board and replace any that are burnt out. Then proceed to step 5. Fifth Check the inverter inside the screen sometimes the image is soo dark you cannot see the image on the screen. Our advice is Just replace the screen with any old screen just to see if it lights up. The best advice is If your laptop still does not boot up then call a reputable laptop repair company like Laptop Repair uk Ltd.

To start with I personally use windows xp. That does not mean it is better. I have used both operating systems and at first windows vista is a bit hard to get used to. Especially if your looking for something like msconf.exe . One thing to remember though is if you go to search > then type in msconfig in windows vista it will find msconfig. Now you can edit the start up menu programs. When you are so used to an operating system its always abit intrepid to move to a new operating system. Microsoft havent always got things right.

Take windows millenium, this was the worst operating system i have ever seen. it did not last long with windows xp brought out quickly. Windows 98 se was soo good that many engineers did not want to make the change over. Now we have xp its a bit daunting to move to windows vista. Windows Vista is a very good operating system with many improvements over xp. It looks better and if you have 4 gigs of ram vista will use all of it. I personally run xp with 4 gigs of ram on my laptop and it runs like a dream.

I know one day i will have to move to vista so i am getting used to it on my wifes new sony vaio laptop.  If you have to choose which one bear in mind that everyone one day will be using vista. For me I will use xp until I really have to change over. One word of warning ! Do not install vista on a laptop that is not vista ready. This will cause major problems. I have seen this many times.

A bit of advice. One of my engineers installed vista on a dell 9400 it crashed the machine with a blue screen then messed up the graphics card and we had to perform a hardware repair ont he graphics card. The operating system controls the bios and controls things like fan speed and so on. If the operating system doesnt control the fans properley overheating can occur.

A few years ago. Sony vaio laptops where vivisting workshops all over the country because of a memory slot problem on thier motherboards. Sony have long fixed this problem so if you think you will have this problem with an new laptop chances are high that you wont. If your laptop does not boot do not open the memory slots and try to push the memory hard into the board or this will break the pins. If your laptop does not boot up this is a safety mechanism in sony laptops in order for the protection of the motherboard. Take the laptop to a Qualified Engineer. For the most part though you will not find this in most modern sony laptops. They cleared this problem up a long time ago. The only way you will get this problem now is if you press on the contacts on the memory slot too hard.

If this has not put you off and you still want to buy a sony laptop then Amazon is doing some very good deals this winter.

Fujitsu siemens. Good laptops. A note of caution. If you are thinking of purchasing a fujitsu siemens laptop in my view the less you pay the more problems you will have. I have seen many sub £300.00 fujitsu siemens laptops come into our workshop. The chipset dies and because you cannot remove this chip from the main board, there is a no repair. That said i would highly recommend buying a fujitsu siemens for around £700.00. As an engineer I saw very few of these machines at our workshop last year. So in essence never buy a sub £300.00 laptop in any make as you will get what you pay for.

There has been a number of issues with the IBM t43 laptop where nothting is shown on the screen. As you may have guessed from reading other posts, this is often down to the graphics card . Usually the ATI 128 graphics bga chipset on the motherboard. This laptop in its day was the best laptop arpound for strengh and durability. This problem must not be confused with the tube inside the screen. When a tube dies the screen will often go pink. Replacing the screen will fix the problem. The laptops from ibm like the t60 are very strong laptops. They will last you many years becuase of there durability. They are not the best looking laptops but will last longer than a thin laptop anyday.