Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Web Secret #142: Tim’s Laptop Service Manuals

Have you bought a laptop lately?

Even though these useful devices cost between $1,000 - $3,000, the manufacturers no longer feel the need to include a manual.

I am not sure what the thinking is behind this.
  • Maybe they are just trying to save money. Wow - that's infuriating. Can't handle thinking about that.
  • Maybe they think all laptop purchasers are naturally technically savvy. Then why do my friends and relatives keep calling me for help?
  • Maybe they imagine that all of us have the time to scour the Internet searching for an online version of the manual. Sounds fun - and I have so much extra time on my hands anyway.
Since none of the above is remotely acceptable, imagine my joy when I stumbled upon "Tim’s laptop service manuals." I'll let Tim explain what he has included in this fabulously useful website:
These are the professional, official documents published by the various laptop makers, either for their own technicians or for the use of the general public.

They generally detail the exact list of parts in each model of laptop – often down to individual screws, ... and describe the procedure for disassembling and reassembling the entire machine, including panels, RAM, wireless cards, keyboards and touchpads and LCD screens, all the way down to the motherboard itself.
Oh Tim, where were you when my company sent me two memory cards with no instructions on how to install them in an antiquated Dell? Or when that Acer netbook started glitching nonstop?

To fully appreciate the treasures that Tim has posted on his site, I looked up the manual for my current MacBook Pro. He has the actual technician's manual!
  • Is your hard drive noisy? Here are the troubleshooting instructions.
  • Is your USB port failing to recognize devices? The manual lists what to do.
  • Battery won't charge? Here are your next steps.
How useful is that?

I think I'm in love.


1 comment:

  1. This is an awesome find. I have searched the internet for hours at a time in the past trying to find answers to relatively simple questions regarding various laptops I have owned. This seems like a much faster solution.

    Ian
    Webmaster, Cheap Laptops

    ReplyDelete