Talk:Startup diagnosis

Diagnosis

The following suggestions are made as part of the Improving the Deployment Toolkit project. Please make suggestions and enhancements in this discussion page, which will be incorporated into the page and into the next release of the deployment guide

Note to be removed before updating the page: This page currently describes what can happen during startup without providing guidance on how to resolve problems. I suggest adding some specific diagnosis instructions along the following lines. Please provide input and ideas in this discussion page so that this diagnosis script can be improved before incorporating into the page itself.

Diagnosis principles

The following basic diagnosis principles will help identify and fix problems:

1. Speak with people to understand what is happening from the perspective of the person experiencing the problem
2. Speak with people that have already attempted to fix the problem as they may have ideas about where the problem lies and possible solutions, or know what solutions have already been tried and did not work
3. Observe what happens yourself
4. Use a process of elimination to narrow down where the problem is
   1. Consider possible causes of the problem
   2. Start diagnosing the cause with the most likely, by replacing parts or performing tests to confirm whether that is in fact the cause
5. Consider what options are available for solving the problem:
   1. If the solution will take a long time like waiting for a new part, perhaps there is a short term solution that can be used until the new part arrives, like sharing power supplies until a faulty supply is replaced
6. Fix the problem
7. Follow up later to confirm that the problem really was fixed
8. If the problem could not be fixed
   1. Consider who else may be able to help and consult them
   2. Consider completely replacing the laptop or part
   3. Consider whether there is a way of avoiding the problem or working around the problem all together

Diagnosis of laptop power and battery problems

Note: The XO Troubleshooting PowerOn page and other pages also discusses how to resolve power problems but makes many assumptions and leaps to conclusions about the nature of the problem. That and this page also duplicate each other to an extent and neither are currently included in the deployment guide section of the wiki. Suggestion: Consider merging these pages and linking to the merged page from the Deployment Guide

If the laptop fails to turn on when the power button is pressed, the following actions can help diagnose the reason why and help identify a solution:

1. Starting with the laptop switched off, the battery in place, and disconnected from the power, with no lights showing: Press the power button, which is at the bottom right of the screen marked with a circle with a vertical bar, to the right of the on light with the same symbol, and the battery light
2. Any of the following conditions could indicate that the battery has insufficient power to operate the laptop and therefore needs recharging or replacing:
   1. The battery light comes on and is red
   2. The laptop starts to boot but then switches itself off
   3. The laptop completes its boot, presents the favourite activities screen, and then switches itself off
   4. Nothing happens
3. If any of these happen, plug the power supply into the mains socket and connect it to the laptop (by plugging it into the socket on the left hand side of the screen at the bottom)
4. If the battery light comes on and is amber then this means the battery is charging from the mains
   1. Press the on button; the power light should light up green and the screen should come on and show icons or messages indicating it is booting
      1. If the power light fails to come on follow this power adapter diagnosis procedure:
         1. Try using another power adapter that is known to work from a different laptop; If this works, the power adapter needs replacing
         2. Try using a different mains socket that is known to work; If this works, the original mains socket needs repairing
         3. Try removing the battery and running the laptop just from the mains socket; If this works, the battery is faulty and needs replacing
      2. If the laptop was not working on the battery and then started working when plugged into the mains, try leaving the laptop plugged in until the battery light turns green, indicating it is fully charged
         1. If the battery light fails to turn green after 4 hours, unplug the laptop and see how long the battery lasts; the battery may need replacing
         2. If, after charging for four hours, the laptop switches off immediately or soon after disconnecting it from the mains, replace the battery (Note that batteries may take longer to charge depending on the quality of the mains power supply and the age of the battery)
5. If the battery light does not come on when the laptop is plugged into the mains:
   1. Follow the above power adapter diagnosis procedure and if the power adapter is working,
      1. Remove the battery and replace it with a battery from another laptop that is known to work
      2. If this new battery works then the original battery is faulty and must be replaced
      3. If the battery that is known to work does not make the laptop work then the laptop is faulty and needs to be repaired

Mark.Burnett 07:40, 19 September 2010 (UTC)