All main laptop and notebook parts explained
On this website you will find information about all main parts inside a typical laptop or notebook computer. You can identify parts by the description or image below. In order to get more information about a particular part, you can follow the link in the description or simply click on the image.
The system board is the main logic board in any laptop. All internal components are connected to the system board. This is one of the most expensive parts in a laptop.
More memory you have installed – better the performance of the laptop.
Learn about different types of memory, compatibility issues and how you can replace or upgrade memory yourself. The memory is a user replaceable part.
The hard drive is the main storage of information in a laptop. All system files, personal files are stored inside the hard drive. Find the difference between SATA and IDE hard drives. Faster hard drive you have installed – faster data access you get. You can upgrade the hard drive yourself.
The processor is the brain of your laptop. Faster CPU means faster data processing.
The keyboard is the main input device. Find out how the keyboard is connected to the motherboard and how it can be removed or replaced.
The CD/DVD drive allows you to read/write data from/to a CD or DVD disc. Lear about the difference between drives with regular and SATA connectors.
The cooling fan is a part of the cooling module in a laptop. The fan helps to cool down the processor when the laptop is turned on.
In most modern laptops the video card is integrated into the system board. If the video card fails you have to replace the whole motherboard.
In some laptops the video card is a discrete module and can be removed or replaced separately from the motherboard.
In most laptops the audio board is a part of the motherboard. If that’s the case, all audio board input/output components such as volume control, microphone jack and headphone jack are soldered directory to the motherboard.
The internal wireless card helps you to connect to the Internet without running a cable. Learn about different types of internal wireless cards and how they are connected to the motherboard.
The CMOS battery provides power to the CMOS chip when the laptop is turned off or disconnected form the wall outlet.
The LCD screen is one of the most expensive parts in a laptop computer. The LCD screen mounts inside the display panel.
If you accidentally cracked the screen, it has to be replaced. You cannot repair a cracked screen.
SCREEN INVERTER BOARD aka FL INVERTER
The inverter board is a power supply for the backlight lamp inside the LCD screen. When inverter fails, the LCD screen goes very very dark and you barely can see any image on the screen. In most laptops the inverter board is mounted inside the display panel below the LCD screen.
SCREEN BACKLIGHT LAMP aka CCFL TUBE
The backlight lamp is the main source of light in the LCD screen. The backlight lamp is mouted inside the screen. When the backlight lamp fails, you have to replace the whole LCD screen. It’s possible to replace just the lamp inside the screen but it’s very hard and has to be performed by an experienced technician.
The video cable connectes the Laptop screen to motherboard. The video cable carries data signal for the LCD screen and power for the ivnerter board.
Many modern laptops come with a web camera built into the display panel. The web camera is not a part of the LCD screen. The web camers is located on a separate board and can be replaced separately from the LCD.
DISPLAY HINGES aka SCREEN HINGES
The dispaly hinges connect two main parts of any laptop – the display panel and base assembly.
The AC/DC power adapter converts high voltage AC power from the mains to low voltage DC power required by the laptop.
The battery is a secondary source of power for a laptop. The battery gets charged while the laptop is plugged into the mains and keeps the laptop running when it’s unplugged from the mains.
October 1st, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Hi!
Can you please tell me where is the chip controller based on the mainboard? I have a Acer Aspire 5101!
thanx
September 19th, 2009 at 7:41 am
5 star
September 13th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
DLR,
Install more memory. Use at least 2GB for Vista.
September 9th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
I have upgraded my os from windows xp to windows vista but it becomes very slow although it is core2duo. How can I improve the speed?
August 31st, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Tried your most recent suggestion. Laptop worked for approx 5 min upon restart after removing laptop’s rechargable battery and cmos battery for a few days. While in a momentary working mode I was able to close open programs, then comp froze on screen I was working on. I crossed my fingers on a successful restart-sadly it did not restart. Am currently awaiting delivery of a new cmos battery of same make/model that came with laptop.
August 17th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Will try your suggestion.
Thanks!
August 14th, 2009 at 7:53 am
clb7210,
Not sure what’s going on. It looks like the laptop is stuck in hibernation mode.
You can try removing the battery and keep the laptop off (without battery) overnight.
Also, removing the RTC (CMOS) battery might help too but it’s not easy because the RTC battery is buried inside the laptop. Just in case, here is the official service manual for Compaq Presario V2000 Notebook PC. It’s a pdf file and might take some time to download. The RTC battery removal instruction are on the page 155 but before you can do that you’ll have to go through all preparation steps.
August 13th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Same symptoms occur after trying to restart with your suggestion:
Compaq intro screen up for a split second, followed by 2 beeps then message in upper left corner “press f1 to resume, press f2 for setup. No reaction from computer when pressing each on seperate restarts.
August 13th, 2009 at 10:59 am
clb7210,
Here’s what you can try.
Turn off the laptop, unplug the AC adapter. Remove the battery. Wait for a couple of minutes, plug in the AC adapter and try turning it on again.
August 12th, 2009 at 7:27 am
Correction to previous comment:
Press f1 to resume, press f2 for setup
August 12th, 2009 at 7:24 am
I am having a problem with my Compaq v2000.
I was using the laptop via battery and the comp went into hibernation due to “low battery”. I plugged in the comp to recharge and cannot restart system. The Compaq intro screen comes up for approx 1/2 a second, 2 beeps are heard, then in the upper left corner a message appears:
Press to resume, press for setup
I tried pressing both on different restarts and nothing happens.
Any ideas what the probelm could be and how to fix it?
Much appreciated.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Jumme,
I wouldn’t mess with the components on the motherboard. You can fry it.
Have you tried replacing thermal grease on the CPU? Maybe thermal grease dried out and the fan kicks in because the CPU is getting hot.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
David,
I’ve never seen a problem like that and not sure what’s going on.
Check the BIOS setup menu, maybe you can find some laptop wake-up settings in there. Load default BIOS settings and safe them. Reboot the laptop and see if the problem is fixed.
Also, find out if there is a newer version of BIOS available for updates. Maybe it’s a known problem and Asus fixed it with the BIOS update.
August 3rd, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Hi, I have a minor problem with my Asus N81V laptop. Whenever the laptop is asleep and I unplug my USB mouse (or any other usb device), the computer automatically boots up as if I had hit the power button. Ideally the laptop would stay asleep after removing the usb device. Have you heard of this problem? Is there anything I can do? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
David
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:04 am
Hello, nice site, seems you are quite experienced.
Thing is, I just got an old Acer Travelmate 240.
Downgrated CPU from
“Intel Celeron 2.6GHz SL6VV TDP:62.3W” to
“Intel Pentium 4-M (mobile) TDP:20/32W 2Ghz” running @ 1200Mhz (this is actually due to BIOS not reading the CPU right).
Question: I want to make the very whining cooling fan run less noisy (slower). As I allready underclocked the CPU, theres allmost no heat, but still the CPU fan kicks in every 2 minute.
Could I install some kind of resistor on the cable of the fan, to make it run less noisy?
Or change the fan completely? Did you try this?
Its a small 3-wire connector, 5V, 0.4A.
Thanks in advance.
July 25th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Hector,
Have you checked the BIOS settings? Maybe there are some settings for the laptop screen in the BIOS?
Did you try switching video from internal to external mode using Fn+F8 keys?
Try reconnecting video cable on the motherboard. Maybe the cable is not making good contact with the motherboard.
If nothing helps, it’s either bad video cable or there is a problem with the motherboard. I assume your new LCD and inverter are good.
July 23rd, 2009 at 7:39 am
Hi, Saludos;
I have one problem with one dell inspirion 6000 no image comes out, I put a vga lcd monitor and shows and works great, I change lcd and no work and change the inverter and nothing. What possible wrong, thanks like always.
July 21st, 2009 at 10:51 pm
I dont know how to find out if the video card of this laptop is good and th memory of this laptop say’s 1024MB, Hard Drive is 160GB CPU Pent. T3200 OS Free DOS
July 21st, 2009 at 12:19 pm
WannaKnow,
Most laptops are not designed for running games. Do you have a good discrete video card in the laptop? Do you have enough memory? Do you have a fast 7200RPM hard drive?
July 21st, 2009 at 11:58 am
I don’t know what’s the problem with my laptop, when i install an online game it’s always lag. and too slow to read and it’s always reading.
I don’t know much about external or internal problem on laptop but why is it like this.