Laptop Builder Orientation

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Revision as of 16:54, 20 January 2012 by Scellef (talk | contribs) (Added Tour and Procedures checklists)
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Welcome to Laptop Build!

In Laptop Build, we evaluate and build all of the laptop donations Free Geek receives. As laptops have begun taking center stage in the personal computing world in recent years, this program is fast becoming more central to Free Geek's mission of reuse.

Refurbishing laptops is a different world compared to working on desktop systems. Where almost all of the internal components in a desktop system are modular and replaceable, the same simply isn't true for laptop systems. Laptops are highly engineered machines that rely on very particular and proprietary components. In addition, the components and the pieces that hold them together are much smaller and require a delicate touch and a lot of patience. It's very easy to accidently render a system unusable by trying to force it open, stripping a screw, or snapping an innocuous piece of plastic. This program is designed to introduce you to the many varied forms a laptop can take and help you to gain experience in safely disassembling and troubleshooting them.

Laptop Orientation Checklist

LAPTOP BUILDER INFORMATION
Name Geek ID#
E-mail Start date


TOUR INSTRUCTOR
INITIALS
Introduce brands (Dell, Gateway, HP/Compaq, IBM/Lenovo, Sony, Toshiba, Others), current shift schedule, and relative differences.
Power adapter shelves and organization schema (Brand, Voltage, Amperage)
Optical drive shelf
Battery & HDD Caddy drawers
Tools (screwdrivers, dental picks, razors) & Testing Equipment (multi-meters, USB mice & keyboards, PCMCIA cards)
Labels, Checklists & Whiteboards
Research stations
Testing Shelf, Incoming HDDs & RAM
Closets, Parts Machines, and Imaged HDDs
Recycling Cart, Store Cart, HW Grants Cabinet, Sorting Table


PROCEDURES INSTRUCTOR
INITIALS
Recyclers:
  • Removing HDDs & Data Security
  • Strategic Disassembly
  • Organizing Screws
  • Covered vs. Uncovered Electronic Devices
As-Is/Scraptops:
  • Determining Power Adapter Ratings
  • Troubleshooting POST
  • Determing Specs
  • Swapping in RAM, swapping out PCI cards
Evaluations
  • Recording system information
  • Memtest86+
Builds
  • Installing & Troubleshooting components
  • Troubleshooting drivers
  • System configuration
  • Hardware testing (ports, drives, batteries)
  • Screen swaps