Reuse checklist

Checks of an XO laptop being re-used:

• check for any SD card left in the laptop by a prior owner,
• charge the battery<ref>with batteries stored for some years, it may be necessary to upgrade the firmware and then charge the battery, rather than the other way around, but you can only do this if you have a spare battery.</ref>,
• upgrade the firmware<ref>upgrading the firmware is essential for best support of the latest software release.</ref>,
• use the collection stick, get a developer key, and disable-security,
• run the hardware diagnostics, with menu, concentrating on keyboard<ref>on membrane keyboards look for keys that might be able to come off, usually one edge will wear through first.</ref>, touchpad<ref>the 166 mm wide touchpads are prone to instability and this grows worse as they age.</ref>, and touchscreen,
• for XO-1.5 with serial numbers SHC02 and earlier, check the heat spreader by typing test /switches<ref>the XO-1.5 before SHC02 may eventually stop working due to thermal cycles, see <trac>10314</trac>.</ref>,
• check the clock, and if it is wrong fix it, charge the clock battery, and check it again<ref>a clock with the wrong date can cause several problems, such as a hang during boot, or failure to install flash plugin or other extras, which is why it is good to do it before installing the operating system.</ref>,
• install the operating system, see latest releases for install instructions,
• clean the keyboard, touchpad, and display,
• tighten the case screws, tighten the hinge screws, check the battery latch,
• test the wireless antenna, it is not enough to only test that it works with the internet,<ref>broken antenna cables inside the laptop can lead to problems downloading or collaborating with activities, and cable breaks are more likely with laptops that have seen heavy usage.</ref>.

If problems are encountered, refer to the troubleshooting guide.

Some problems expected for any laptop manufactured more than five years ago:

• a limited main battery operating life, of about half normal time,
• a limited RTC battery life, of about three to five weeks storage, (hence the recommendation to disable-security),
• mechanical failure of the membrane keyboard,
• increased unpredictable response of the 166mm wide touchpads,
• age discolouration of the plastic.

Main batteries produced for XO-1 will be failing in ever increasing numbers, because they were designed for a four year life and have certainly exceeded it. Make sure spare main batteries are not left in storage, but are kept in rotation, being discharged and charged. Long term storage can cause cell imbalance in the pack, which is difficult to fix, but in general requires several discharge and charge cycles.

Notes

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