Difference between revisions of "User:Lynnae/Laptop Binder"
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| '''Test Read and Write Functions''' || | | '''Test Read and Write Functions''' || | ||
− | Verify the disk is recognized in '''Places'''. Blank the disk using Brasero or K3b, and burn the '''test directory''' back onto the disk for the next builder. If you need help using the burning programs see the [[ | + | Verify the disk is recognized in '''Places'''. Blank the disk using Brasero or K3b, and burn the '''test directory''' back onto the disk for the next builder. If you need help using the burning programs see the [[User:Lynnae/Disk_Burning]] tutorial. Please carefully remove the disk and place it in it's case. |
|- | |- | ||
| '''Optional Step: Test Media Streaming''' || | | '''Optional Step: Test Media Streaming''' || |
Revision as of 11:44, 3 October 2012
Laptop Build Binder Drafts
Core Tasks Page
- Abbreviated Guide for Builders
Check for broken or damaged parts, repair as directed by your instructor. Note missing parts on the Keeper label.
Verify Keeper label information.
Find an appropriate AC adapter.
Install an imaged hard drive.
Set BIOS boot order. Verify the RAM installed against the specification category. Confirm that no BIOS passwords are set.
Troubleshoot any wireless issues, and confirm WiFi is working.
Run basiccheck
.
Test the optical drive (Audio, Data, Live Boot ISO, CD/DVD-RW, blanking).
Test all USB ports.
Test all input devices: keyboard, trackpad, and webcam if available.
Run printme
.
Start any needed battery or memory tests on the testing station.
- Abbreviated Guide for Evaluation
Remove the hard drive.
Check the optical drive for disks.
Recycle all machines with floppy drives or without USB ports. Consult instructor for machines with extensive damage.
Find an appropriate AC adapter.
Troubleshoot POST as needed, and determine specifications from BIOS or the Hardware Detection Kit.
Fill out a Keeper Label.
Install needed components according to specifications listed on the white board.
Start Memtest86+ at the testing station.
Media
=Editing Laptop Build Checklist
STEPS | NOTES AND DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS |
Check For Broken or Damaged Parts |
Visually inspect laptop for broken screen, missing keys, weak hinges, cosmetic problems, etc. If in doubt, check with your instructor and make repairs as directed. |
Look at the Keeper Label |
The Keeper label is used to ensure that all systems are built to proper specifications, and to keep track of the build process. Accurate information on the Keeper label is also essential for keeping our laptop hoards organized. If something is confusing or looks wrong, fix it or check with your instructor. Information about the system that you can't deal with right away can be entered in the Notes section. To begin the build process, check the Make, Model, CPU, and RAM portions of the Keeper Label and add whatever is missing. See How to Fill out the Keeper Label for more details. |
Get a Power Supply |
Look for a label on the bottom of the laptop that described its output Voltage and Amperage requirements. Grab an appropriate power supply from the labeled boxes on the shelves (the box labels are color-coded by brand for easy locating). The barrel or 'jack' of the AC adapter will need to fit into the laptop plug, and the AC adapter center pin will need to be the correct length to provide power. See How to Test an AC Adapter for more details. |
Install imaged hard drive |
We pre-install hard drives with Ubuntu 10.04. Our image includes some in-house additions such as the |
Install appropriate optical drive (if missing or CD read only) |
Look on the Optical Drive shelf to see if any are available for the model you are working with. If nothing seems like it will fit, ask your Instructor if any Parts Machines are available. |
Power Up Laptop |
Start your engines! |
Enter BIOS |
Pay attention to any error messages that appear during boot. Your instructor can help you troubleshoot. See Entering BIOS for more help. |
Set boot order in BIOS |
Look for the boot order option in BIOS. The preferred order is CD-ROM boots first, hard drive boots somewhere between CD-ROM and network, and network boots last. Other boot devices that may be available can be ignored. Get as close as possible, depending on the BIOS, but make sure the network boot option is not set before the hard drive. Different BIOS versions and manufacturers will use different naming conventions; if you're not sure, ask an experienced builder or instructor for some tips. |
While in BIOS, check the RAM |
The build category (High End, Mid Grade, Low End, etc) of your laptop is determined by the specifications on the Keeper label. Check the whiteboard and make sure that the correct amount of RAM is installed. The BIOS may not report the exact amount you have installed, but it should not be less than about 128MB of the total RAM installed. If some RAM is not reported in BIOS, you may have a bad stick of RAM, or a bad RAM slot or memory controller. Keep in mind the Hardware Detection Kit on the network may be helpful when BIOS does not provide adequate information. |
Boot to Ubuntu |
Boot to the hard drive. Log in as "oem" (password: freegeek). This account is automatically set up by our customized Ubuntu installation. |
Verify Wireless Connectivity |
Click the Network icon on the top panel to see if wireless is installed and working.
|
Run basiccheck |
Open the command line terminal and type |
Test optical drive - data, sound, and DVD |
Optical drive testing can be finicky. Interactions between Ubuntu, different optical media types, and drive firmwares can make for some interesting results. Whenever possible, determine if problems you are encountering are media based (i.e. a scratched disk) or software based (the disk is not automatically unmounted after burning). Reference Troubleshooting Optical Drives from the CLI is a detailed reference. First time builders: All about Optical Drives and Optical Media exercise.
codecs. Detailed Optical Drive and Media Testing Instructions |
Test CD/DVD writing |
We generally use Brasero to test CD/DVD writing, although it will occasionally fail. If this happens, then we use another writing utility called K3b. If the drive is a DVD-RW, you only need to test writing to DVD. For Brasero:
For K3b:
|
Blank the CD |
For Brasero
For K3b
If either program cannot successfully blank a disc but manages to successfully burn to disc, then we'll include a note in the printme to indicate as much. |
Test all USB ports |
Using a USB mouse, make sure that the cursor moves and can interact with things. Do this on all the USB ports. If any of the ports don't work, check in with your instructor. |
Keyboard and Trackpad Testing |
TBD |
Run printme from terminal |
This will give you a System ID number. If an ID number is shown, the laptop has been through the system previously.
|
Clean up and check in with Laptops Instructor. |
Your instructor will direct you to your next task. |
- Resources
- Getting Help in the Laptop Build Room
- Free Geek Reuse Infrastructure Resources Map
- Laptop Life Cycle Diagram
Grand Unified Binder
GRUBinder Table of Contents (by Category)
- Procedures
- Recycle
- As-Is
- Build
- QC
- Testing
- Battery Testing
- Memtest
- Badblocks (Instructor only because of database logging stuff?)
- (POST verification/eval)
- (BUILD TESTS)
- (Keyboard/Trackpad testing)
- Appendix
- Glossary
- How to fill out keeper label
- Tools guides
- Netboot tutorial
- HW detection kit
- other options
- Laptop infrastructure tools (imaging station, research stations, testing shelf documentation...)
- CLI tips and tricks (wiki only)
- Wiki tutorial and scavenger hunt/ideas for hands on activities
- Audience
- volunteer
- volunteer instructor
- staff trainee
- (resource for outside orgs)
Example Templates
Procedures
As-is guide condensed
- GOALS
- Learn POST troubleshooting skills
- Practice locating RAM and HDD
- Practice assembly and disassembly skills and organization
- Learn about identifying hardware from software tools
- EXERCISE
- Remove HDD: Leave caddy, screws and any adapter with the laptop
- Check Optical Drive: Remove and recycle any disks
- Find an AC Adapter
- POST
- Enter BIOS or HW detection tool
- Affix As-Is Sticker: DO NOT fill out AC adapter info
- Remove stickers: Asset and MS windows
- Clean up: Brief clean-up and cable wrapping
- Instructor sign off
- REFERENCES
- AC adapter article
- POST troubleshooting guide
- BIOS guide
Recycling Guide:
- GOALS
- Hands-on anatomy introduction
- Getting oriented in the Build Room
- Assembly and disassembly practice
- EXERCISE
- Remove HDD
- Check optical drive: Remove any disks and recycle
- Remove Stickers: MS Windows and Asset tags
- Remove Parts: Ask your instructor if needed
- Remove Battery: For uncovered electronic devices only, place in bad batteries box. Otherwise leave attached to laptop.
- Reassemble Laptop: Do the best you can
- Affix HDD REMOVED : Sticker
- Instructor Sign Off
- Optional Exercise
Locate and remove these components from a few different machines: HDD, RAM, Modem or WIFI card, Keyboard, Optical Drive, (Screen), Battery
- REFERENCES
- Laptop anatomy references
- Build Room Tour/Orientation references
Eval
- GOALS
- Learn about identifying laptop specs via triaging procedure
- POST troubleshooting
- EXERCISE
- Remove HDD: Make sure all caddy parts and adapters stay with the machine
- Check optical drive: Remove and recycle any disks
- Check for Floppy Drive: If YES, recycle
- Check for USB ports: If NO, recycle
- Check for damage: Broken screen, hinges, missing parts, etc. If YES, check with instructor
- Find AC adapter
- POST testing
- Memtest instructions (Netboot Guide)
Build Guide
see table above?
- REFERENCES
- Determining Specs guide
- AC adapter guide
- POST troubleshooting guide
- Keeper label guide
- WiFi troubleshooting guide
- Imaging station/about our OS image/About Printme
- Optical drive testing references
- Keyboard testing guide (see netboot guide)
- Repair references
- Google-fu article
- Testing appendix
- GOALS
- EXERCISE
See CORE TASKS list
Testing
- Requires the most knowledge and awareness of tools. How to separate educational materials from testing process.
- Turn existing Laptop_Testing sheet into a transcluded document. Make separate document template for each guide (only want to transclude the bare bones steps into Laptop_Testing sheet, and have the verbose information listed in a more education-focused guide)
Battery Testing
Draft for cheat sheet needed
- CLI COMMANDS
cat /proc/acpi/battery/*/{info,state}
rm ~/bat_mon batterytest while : ; do stress-test ; sleep 300 ; done
- REFERENCES
tutorial to give additional info for each command, pretty much the existing guide
Memtest
- Cheat sheet needed:
- Via NETBOOT MENU
- Via CD
- Via GRUB
Badblocks
Instructors only because of database logging project?
Optical Drive Testing
New procedure in development, first draft
- DVD-RW drives
STEPS | NOTES AND DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS |
Test mechanical functions |
Test first from the physical button on the drive. Make sure the drive is securely seated (for build, cabled correctly). Test the tray from software by opening a terminal and typing eject If you have any difficulty, make sure the drive is recognized by the system basiccheck -m and choose option 1. |
Test Live CD Boot |
Grab your Build Testing Disk. Put it in the disk tray and reboot your computer. You should boot to a live environment. Remove the disk and boot back to Ubuntu from the hard drive. |
Test Read and Write Functions |
Verify the disk is recognized in Places. Blank the disk using Brasero or K3b, and burn the test directory back onto the disk for the next builder. If you need help using the burning programs see the User:Lynnae/Disk_Burning tutorial. Please carefully remove the disk and place it in it's case. |
Optional Step: Test Media Streaming |
Open the disk in Places. Find the .wav file and play it via Rhythmbox (Is streaming media a needed mechanical task?). |
Documentation Tasks/Brainstorm
- (DONT FORGET TO CHECK FOR EXISTING DOCUMENTATION):
- BIOS and POST
- wifi troubleshooting/networking guide
- netboot
- educational guide for each of the testing steps
- 'error codes' for builder orientation sheets
- document keyboard testing (would be really cool to make some of our testing code outward facing...)
- glossary
- build room tools and infrastructure (software (printme, basiccheck), hardware (research stations and imaging station), and screwdrivers (outward facing tools list a la ifixit.com)
- update RAM table, remove unnecessary information
- builder orientation exercises for instructors (scavenger hunt, match AC adapters, can be transcluded possibly)
- HDD guide: form factor, interfaces, mechanical vs SSD (Illustrations needed!)
- finish DMM illustration
- turn Laptop_Testing into a few transcluded pages
- update and finalize new keeper label
- introduction to our homebrew scripts and the freegeek-extras package
- Optical Disk Testing:
- intro to disk utility, terminal and GUI
- mount, eject, dmesg
- what to do when a disk isn't recognized
- ISO burning
- Running updates & installing programs
- CLI cheat sheet
- keeper label example sheet/how to fill out keeper label