Before going into the subject of Dell laptop troubleshooting, we should explain first what troubleshooting means exactly. It is a different form of solving problem by performing a systematic search to find the source of a problem. The term is applied to many different fields, from electronics to medicine but in all these field it means the same thing: diagnosis.

When talking about Dell laptop troubleshooting we can actually try and cover a lot of areas but we would have to write a book or an entire manual on this subject. If you are interested in larger and more detailed explanations, there already are Dell manual for troubleshooting available on the Internet. One very easy way to check for troubleshooting is to check the special icon located on the task-bar right next to the clock in the lower right corner of the display.

When the operating system detects an error with your laptop, a balloon generally pops up in that corner alerting you that there is a problem. Different icons located here can show you that some drivers need to be updated or there are compatibility issues between the version of the software and your operating system.

When your laptop shuts down for no apparent reason and when you touch it, it feels really warm, that is a sign that you are having some overheating problems. I’m sure most of you have already heard about the blue screen of death. What really happens is that the screen turns blue and it shows white written lines with errors. This usually happens when new software and peripherals are installed. Other problems could be with the display. It could have dead or stuck pixels. Can’t tell the difference between the two? Well, a dead pixel turns black and there is no way you can get rid of it unless you change the whole display. Stuck pixels usually turn into a color and stay that way permanently. This problem can be solved by rubbing gently the area on the display around those stuck pixels. Amazing, but it actually works.

You can also diagnose certain problems that your laptop might have just by listening to the unit. You can hear scratching on the hard drive or inside the optical drive. If you notice interruptions in the charging process, this could be a problem with the power jack.

If you have a multi-meter you can check the cord and see if there is any power flow. If there isn’t, you may have to replace the charger. If the laptop is charged but the battery runs out too fast, it’s a sign that you should buy another battery for your laptop. In time, the battery runs out of power and cannot stay charged for as long as it did when it was new. If you ever notice any odd smell coming out from your laptop, like hot plastics or burning, beware as there may be something fried inside the unit, on the motherboard. This is why we always advise you to properly ventilate the laptop.

Dell launches the new 13.3-inch ultraportable Latitude 13 in Culver Intel platform targeting professionals.
The Dell Latitude 13 displays from 499 euros with the following configuration:
Dalle 13.3”WXGA HD (1366 × 768)
Intel Celeron 743 (1.3 GHz)
RAM Installed (Max) 1 GB DDR3 1066 MHz (4GB), 1 slot
Storage Space 250 GB at 7200 rpm

Graphics Card Intel GMA X4500MHD up 1.76 GB shared
Audio System 2 speakers Dolby Sound Room
Webcam not micro Wi-Fi a / g + Gigabit Ethernet
Bluetooth Yes Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
ExpressCard Yes, ExpressCard34
USB 2 USB 2.0 including 1 e-SATA combo
Operating system Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
Li-Ion 6-cell 30Whr
Autonomy announced 11 hours max
Dimensions (mm) 330 x 230 x 16.5-19.7
Weight 1.52 Kg (with battery)

For 750 $, Dell has a Latitude 13, which differs by a Core 2 Solo SU3500 clocked at 1.4 GHz, 2 GB DDR3 1066 MHz, a 1.3 megapixel webcam with microphone and a SATA hard disk of 320 GB at 7200 rpm.  The Dell Latitude 13 preconfigured to 1000 $ it differs from model to 700 $ a Core 2 Duo SU7300 (1.3 GHz), 4 GB DDR3 1066 MHz Hard Disk SATA 320 GB at 7200 rpm, a 1.3 megapixel webcam with microphone and Wi-Fi a / b / g / n.

You can customize the Dell Latitude 13 with a SSD of 64 GB and an operating system Windows Vista Business 32-bit or Windows 7 Professional 32-bit with downgrade to Windows XP Professional SP3.  Other options should be proposed later as a 16 GB SSD, a 3G module, a unit external optical drive type DVD combo drive or DVD Blu-Ray/graveur a TPM security module and Absolute Software’s Computrace (see this article).

Currently, a Dell Latitude 13 with Core 2 Duo SU7300, 4GB DDR3, SSD 64 GB, 1.3 megapixel webcam with microphone and Wi-Fi a / b / g / n such amounts to 868 euros.  This ultraportable sports a simple design and professional combining the gray / silver and black. The frame is brushed aluminum and the hinges are reinforced zinc. The battery is integrated and can not withdraw.  The screen is pressed forward in the way of a V13 or Dell Vostro Dell XPS Adamo, in order to maximize the impression of smoothness of the camera.

The connection is mainly located at the back from left to right Ethernet, USB / e-SATA, USB, VGA, power connector, an air vent and attached Kensington. The card reader is present on the right side while the audio ports are located on the front right.  The keyboard is a model for flat keys and the touchpad, embedded in the chassis, has two buttons.

Like all ultraportables Culver, the Dell Latitude 13 is intended for everyday use like Office, Internet and mobile media base. Its design is fine and fairly standard configuration.  It lacks somehow a higher capacity battery, which is more a priori not user replaceable. The lack of HDMI is also a disappointment as the failure to find the option of operating system 64 bit then it is possible to embed 4GB of RAM. Or they can be fully exploited by the 32-bit system, and it is not possible to opt for 3 GB of RAM. The SSD option is however significant as for now, no mobile CULVER on the French market is not equipped.

The computers had really evolved in the last decades, and today they had become really small and really advanced devices. And the smallest ones are the notebook computers, that have all of the components of a desktop PC, only that they are incorporated into a single unit. The laptops are really small, thin and lightweight, and they also have a battery, so this means that they are highly portable. They have many more other advantages but the portability is the best one. So you can take a laptop anywhere you are going, and use it anytime you need to.

There are many producers of notebooks on the market, and here are some of the best companies in the world: Hewlett Packard, Acer, Asus, Dell, Sony, Toshiba, Lenovo, Fujitsu, MSI and Apple. So today we’ll make a comparison of 2 notebook computers, and we’ll choose to compare two of the best 13.3 inch laptops : a model offered by Toshiba and one made by Fujitsu. From Toshiba we will choose the Satellite U 500, which is a nice laptop that is available in 3 different colors: black, white or red. Not only that it looks good, but it is also less prone to fingerprints thanks to the materials it is made of. It comes with a full size keyboard, a TouchPad and many more other features and technology to offer you a great experience no matter what kind of activity you are doing. It also has quite a lot of ports, and they are: in the front side the bridge media adapter slot, and the wireless antenna switch, on the left side the RGB monitor port, the HDMI port, the eSATA / USB combo port, the microphone jack, the headphones jack and an USB port. And finally on the right side there are the network port, the modem port, the AC adapter jack, another USB port and the optical drive. There are three models available and we’ll discuss about the most expensive of them, so that the price can be closer to the price of the Fujitsu laptop we’ll discuss later. So here are the technical details for the U 505 – S 2005 WH that costs 800 dollars:

-         processor – Intel ® Core ™ i3 – 330 M Processor
-         operating system – Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) (this may depend on the store where you buy the laptop from)
-         memory – 4 GB DDR3 , 1066 MHz
-         Graphics engine – Intel ® Graphics Media Accelerator HD
-         Hard drive – 500 GB HDD ( 5400 rpm)
-         Optical drive – DVD SuperMulti drive (+ / – R double layer) with Labelflash ™ drive
-         Other features –  S / P DIF Digital Audio Port, HDMI port

From the second company – Fujitsu, we will choose another laptop that has a 13.3 inch display screen the LifeBook S 760. This one is also a small laptop with a simple and elegant design, and quite good features. But it is much more expensive than the Toshiba model, and it comes at a big price of 1,400 dollars.

And now here are the technical details for this model:
-         Processor – Intel ® Core ™ i5 – 520 M VPRO ™ Processor (2.4 GHz, 3 MB L 3 cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93 GHz)
-         operating system – Genuine Windows ® 7 Professional, Bonus Media (this may depend on the store where you buy the laptop from)
-         memory – 1 GB DDR 3, 1066 MHz
-         Graphics engine – Integrated Intel ® HD Graphics

-         Hard drive – 160 GB HDD ( 5400 rpm)
-         Optical drive – Modular Dual Layer Multi Format DVD Writer
-         Other features –  Microsoft ® Office Ready PC with Microsoft ® Office Professional 2007 60 day Trial, Integrated Webcam, Integrated multinational 56K V.92 modem and Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Bluetooth wireless, Main battery: Lithium ion (6 cell, 10.8 V, 5800 mAh), ENERGY STAR ® qualified

Even though the model from Fujitsu has a better processor, the Toshiba U 500 Satellite has a much better RAM memory, and a much bigger hard drive. The rest of the features are pretty much the same, but the U 500 is 600 dollars cheaper. So we recommended you to choose the Toshiba U 500 Satellite instead of the Fujitsu LifeBook S 760. If you already own one of these 2 laptops, we invite you to tell us more about them, and about the way they work. Are you happy with them? Does it worth spending 800 or 1,400 dollars for buying one of them?