Laptop Build Checklist

The evaluation should have been completed to reach Build. Work through each step as well as you can, and ask if you have questions. Try and learn the reason for each of the steps. This knowledge will come in handy later on when, inevitably, things aren't going as smoothly. Your instructor will be able to answer questions and check your work. Never overlook the help that the builder to your right or left might be able to lend. You can also find information on the Free Geek wiki at Laptops. Check with your instructor to find out what type of box to build, then work your way down this 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	Check the Make, Model, Proc, and RAM portions of the Keeper Label and add whatever's missing. On the Keeper label, mark the start box on the Build line. If something seems odd (e.g., ominous notes, missing pieces, bizarre specs), just ask your instructor. .
Get a Power Supply	Look for a label on the bottom of the laptop that described its 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).
Install imaged hard drive	Get a hard drive from your instructor, install the hard drive in the caddy (attach an adapter if necessary) and then install it in the laptop.
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	If you see an error message like "checksum error, defaults loaded" then your CMOS battery is dead. Ask your instructor what to do about it.
Set boot order in BIOS	Look for the boot order in BIOS. Of the available options, the preferred order is as follows : CD-ROM boots first; Hard drive boots somewhere between CD-ROM and Network; Network boots last. Get as close as possible, depending on the BIOS, but make sure the Network boot isn't before the hard drive.
While in BIOS, check the RAM	Is there at least 512 MB of RAM? If not, save and exit BIOS, add RAM sized to fill the available slots. If the laptop is High End, then it should have more than 512 MB of RAM (preferably 1 GB or more). Once the RAM is upgraded, verify the new amount in BIOS).
Boot to Ubuntu	Boot to the hard drive. Log in as "oem" (password: freegeek).
Battery Check	On the Ubuntu OS toolbar, a battery icon is visible when the battery is charging. Check the icon to see the percent of charge and make a note of it for use later on. (For 10.04: left-click icon -> click on "Laptop battery X min. until charged" -> Details -> look at Percentage.) If no icon is visible, the battery is fully charged, not seated correctly, or possibly deceased. Mark the charging start box on the Keeper label.
Get wireless working.	If there isn't already a wireless card installed, then install, configure and test a wifi card (to determine if wireless card is already present and working, you can try and access a website like Google or llama.freegeek.org). Internal (mini-PCI) is best, but PCMCIA is an acceptable second option. For wireless advice, try the Wireless Tips page.
Run basiccheck	Open the command line terminal and type basiccheck. You will need to be connected to the network (Either Wireless or LAN) to test the networking step. If you encounter any errors, check with your instructor.
Test optical drive - data, sound, and DVD	For each drive: Use a music disc to test sound. Test-read a data CD (if any data shows up in the file browser that opens, test passes. Skip this test if you have a RW, you will test data read in the next step). Test the DVD-ROM, if present. If a DVD icon appears on the desktop, the test passes. Do 'not install codecs.
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: Open up Brasero Disc Burning (under Applications >> Sound & Video) Click Data Project Click the green + symbol (near the top left of the window) and select examples.desktop. Click Burn on the lower right-hand corner. A new window will appear with a few options. If available, select User burnproof and Burn the image directly without saving it to disk and click Burn. When a disk is done, verify that it contains the files you wrote to it by inserting the disc and checking out what pops up. For K3b: Check that K3b is installed. Look for it under Applications >> Sound & Video, and select it if it's there. If K3b isn't listed, you can install it by searching for k3b in the Ubuntu Software Center, or by typing sudo apt-get install k3b into a terminal. Select New Data Project (near the bottom of the window, or through File >> New Project >> New Data Project). Double-click examples.desktop in the top-right window pane so that it appears in the bottom window pane. Click Burn, and then click Burn again on the window that pops up. When a disk is done, verify that it contains the files you wrote to it by inserting the disc and checking out what pops up. |-
Blank the CD	For Brasero Select Tools >> Blank. Make sure Fast Blanking is selected and click Blank. For K3b Select Format (Near the top of the window, or through Tools >> Format/Erase rewritable disk... Make sure Quick Format is selected and click Start.
Check battery charging percentage	Is it almost charged or is it charging compared to last check? Take note.
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.
Edit Power Management	Go to System > Preferences > Power Management. "On AC Power" tab When laptop lid is closed -- set to "Blank screen" "On Battery Power" tab When laptop lid is closed -- set to "Blank screen" When battery power is critically low -- set to "Shutdown" (This is in preparation for Battery Test) "General" tab and finish Notification Area -- set to "Always display an icon" Click "Close" to save changes. Test setting by closing and reopening the screen lid, the desktop should reappear.
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. You must be on the wired network From a terminal, type printme NOTE: Always select Laptop for system type Make sure to double check for FG-PDX or Uncovered electronic device stickers Make a note of anything special or any problems you encountered that weren't corrected and should be disclosed Reference the whiteboard for what to write in the "notes" section (All but battery check) Select Print, and then choose Print to file on the Desktop. Call it something like "BUILD" or "BUILD PRINTME"
Test the battery	Step 1. Make sure battery is fully charged: Click the battery icon to see its charge percentage If fully charged, then move to Step 2. If not fully charged, then move to Step 3. Step 2. If the battery is fully charged Place the laptop on testing shelf with its power adapter Open a terminal and run batterytest. If a battery test has already been run, but you need to rerun it, then type rm ~/bat_mon into the terminal, followed with batterytest Open another terminal and enter the following: while : ; do stress-test ; sleep 300 ; done Place a Battery testing label on the laptop If you want to see for how many minutes bat check has run, open up another terminal and type watch -n60 wc -l bat_mon Laptop Power & Batteries can provide additional information. Step 3. If the charge is not complete: Mark the keeper label Build started and completed Make sure the keeper label Charging started box is checked. Place the laptop on the testing shelf, plug it back in and let it complete Charging. Place a Charging label on the laptop.
Clean up and check in with Laptops Instructor.	Your instructor will direct you to your next task.