IT ESSENTIALS

Final Exam Preparation Paper

Chapter 7: Laptops and Other Mobile Devices

Mobile Device Overview

Mobility in information technology means the ability to access information electronically from
different locations outside of the home or office. A mobile device is any device that is hand-held,
lightweight, and typically has a touchscreen for input. Mobile connectivity is limited only by the
availability of cellular or data networks. Mobile devices have self-contained power in the form of
rechargeable batteries, are generally small and lightweight, and do not rely on other connected
peripheral devices, such as a mouse and keyboard, to operate.

Laptops are portable computers. Laptops can be run from an internal battery or from an
electrical outlet. They offer connectivity options such as wired or wireless Ethernet networking
and Bluetooth.

In order to increase portability, laptops may sacrifice some of the advantages that are offered by
desktop computers, such as:

• Slower processors due to cooling concerns and high power consumption

• Limited memory upgrades
• No expansion capability

Smartphones differ from laptops in that they run special operating systems that are designed for
mobile devices. Software for smartphones is usually limited to apps that can be downloaded
from stores such as Google Play or the Apple App Store. An additional feature of smartphones
is location services. Most phones include global positioning system (GPS) functionality. A GPS
receiver in the phone uses satellites to determine the geographic location of the device.

Tablets are similar to smartphones in that they use special mobile operating systems like
Android or iOS. Unlike smartphones, tablets normally have larger touch-screen displays.

E-readers, such as the Amazon Kindle, are special purpose devices with black and white
displays that have been optimized for reading text. E-reader battery life is usually longer than
tablets, at up 15 -20 hours of reading time or more.
Smartwatches are a type of wearable that includes a microprocessor, a special operating
systems, and apps. Sensors in the smartwatch can gather data about various aspects of the
body, such as heart rate, and use Bluetooth to report this information back to another device,
such as a smartphone.

Fitness trackers are similar to smartwatches but are limited to monitoring the body such as
physical activity, sleep, and exercise.

Laptop Components

Motherboards: Laptop motherboards vary by manufacturer and are proprietary. Components

designed for a laptop generally cannot be used in a desktop.
RAM: Laptops use SODIMMs
CPU: Laptop CPUs are designed to use less power and generate less heat, and use CPU
throttling.
SATA drives: Laptops use 1.8” or 2.5” hard drives (have spin rates of up to 10K RPMs).
Solid-State drives: M.2 or NVMe used, much faster than SATA drives.

A docking station allows a laptop computer to function similarly as a desktop computer in the
workplace. It does so by utilizing extra ports and connectors in order to connect peripheral
devices as well as provide functionality and connectors that may not be built into your laptop.

Laptop Display Components

3 types of laptop display technology is being used today:

• LCD - manufactured using 2 technologies: Twisted Nematic (Tn), which is most common and
the oldest, uses high brightness and less power, and In-Plane Switching (IPS), which has
better color reproduction and viewing angles, but has slow response time
• LED - uses less power and has longer lifespan than LCD, top choice
• OLED - more commonly used for smartphones and digital cameras, pixels produce their own
light
LCD displays don’t produce their own light, they use something called a backlight that shines
through the screen and illuminates the display. Backlight types:
• Cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) - fluorescent tubes are connected to an inverter, used
to convert DC to AC power, contains mercury
• LED - no fluorescent tubes, consumes less power, do not contain mercury

Laptop display features:

• Detachable Screens - can be used like a tablet when detached

• Touchscreens - have a digitizer attached to the front layer of glass
• Cutoff switch - helps conserve power by turning off the display

Wi-Fi antennas transmit and receive data carried over radio waves, are typically located above
the screen. The Wi-Fi antenna is connected to a wireless card through an antenna wire.

Power Settings Configuration

Power management controls the flow of electricity to the components of a computer. The
Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) creates a bridge between the hardware
and the operating system and allows technicians to create power management schemes to get
the best performance from a laptop.

ACPI states:

Configuring the power settings affects the following:

• System states
• Battery and AC modes
• Thermal management
• CPU PCI bus power management
• Wake on LAN (WOL)
The ACPI power management mode must be enabled in the BIOS or UEFI setup to allow the
OS to configure the power management states.

Wireless Configuration

The Bluetooth technical specification is described by IEEE 802.15.1 standard.

The most common Bluetooth network is Class 2.

Laptops access the internet using wireless adapters. Three major types are being used:
• Mini-PCI - 124 pins, 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g
• Mini-PCIe - 54 pins, same standards as Mini-PCI + 802.11n, 802.11ac
• PCI Express Micro - half the size of Mini-PCIe, 54 pins, same standards as Mini-PCIe

Laptop Expansion Slots

Many laptops contain ExpressCard slots to add functionality. There are 2 main types:
• ExpressCard/54 - 75mm x 54mm x 5mm, PCI Express/USB 2.0/USB 3.0, e.g. (Smart Card
reader, Compact Flash reader, 1.8inch disk drive)
• ExpressCard/34 - 75mm x 34mm x 5mm, PCI Express/USB 2.0/USB 3.0, e.g. (Firewire, TV
Tuner, Wireless NIC)

External Flash memory and readers:

• External Flash Drive - fast access, high reliability, reduced power usage
• Flash Cards - small, portable, require no power
A smart card is similar to a credit card, but has an embedded microprocessor that can be loaded
with data. It can be used for telephone calling, electronic cash payments, and other applications.

Smart card readers are used to read and write to smart cards and can be connected to a laptop
using a USB port.There are two types of smart card readers:

• Contact - This type of reader requires a physical connection to the card, made by
inserting the card into the reader, as shown in the figure.
• Contactless - This type of reader works on a radio frequency that communicates when
the card comes close to the reader.

Replacing Laptop Components

Some parts of a laptop, typically called customer-replaceable units (CRUs), can be replaced by
the customer. CRUs include:
• Battery
• RAM

Parts that should not be replaced are called field-replaceable units (FRUs). FRUs include:
• Motherboard
• LCD display
• Keyboard

Signs that the battery needs to be replaced:

• Battery does not hold charge
• Battery overheats
• Battery is leaking

The form factor of an internal storage device is smaller for a laptop than a desktop computer.
Laptops use:
• 1.8” drives
• 2.5” drives

Most storage devices are CRUs unless a warranty requires technical assistance.
Other Mobile Device Hardware

Cell Phone replaceable parts:

• Memory
• SIM card
• Battery

Mobile devices use the following wireless connections:

• Near Field Communication (NFC) - enables mobile devices to establish radio communications
with other devices by placing the devices close together.
• Infrared (IR) - If a mobile device is IR enabled, it can be used to control other IR controlled
devices remotely.
• Bluetooth - allows data exchange over a short distance between two Bluetooth-enabled
devices or connect to other Bluetooth-enabled peripheral devices

Wireless and Cellular Data Networks

Every mobile device has a unique 15-digit number called an International Mobile Equipment
Identity (IMEI). This number identifies the device to a carrier’s network. The numbers come from
a family of devices called the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). It can often be
found in the configuration settings of the device, or in a battery compartment, if the battery is
removable.

The user of the device is also identified using a unique number called the International Mobile
Subscriber Identity (IMSI). The IMSI is often programmed on the subscriber identity module
(SIM) card, or can be programmed on the phone itself, depending on the network type.

Wi-Fi is usually preferred over a cellular connection because it is usually free. Wi-Fi radios use
less battery power than cellular radios so the device battery should last longer using Wi-Fi.

Airplane Mode turns off all cellular, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios. Once airplane mode
has been turned on, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other wireless functionality can be turned on except
for cellular.

A hotspot is when a cellular device is used to provide an internet connection to other

devices. The Wi-Fi devices could select the cellular device at its Wi-Fi connection.
Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a networking standard that consists of two levels:

• Physical level - radio frequency standard
• Protocol level (aka Bluetooth pairing) -devices agree on when/how bits are sent and that what
is received is the same as what was sent

In order for the devices to pair:

• Bluetooth radios must be turned on
• One device begins searching for other devices
• Other devices must be set to discoverable mode (visible)

Some bluetooth devices:

• Wireless Speaker - portable speaker that connects to mobile devices
• Wireless Headphones - hands-free headset for listening to music and receiving calls
• Wireless Keyboard or Mouse - make input easier
• Wireless Gaming controller - make gaming easier

Email

Email structure relies on:

• Email Clients - connect to email servers to retrieve emails, users use it to compose/read/
manage their messages, can be web-based or standalone (platform dependent)
• Email Servers - responsible for forwarding email messages sent by their users/to other email
servers, store emails until retrieved by users

Email clients and servers use various protocols, the ones as follows:
• POP3 - port 110, doesn’t leave a copy of email on the server
• IMAP - port 143, faster than POP3, often used in large networks, requires more resource
• SMTP - port 25, text-based, message sent only after recipient identified, uses ASCII and
MIME
• MIME - used in conjunction with SMTP, extends the text-based format
• SSL - developed to transmit files securely, most support encryption
Information required to set up an email account:

The email service is provided using either:

• Local email – The email server is managed by a local IT department such as a school
network, business network, or organizational network.
• Internet email – The email service is hosted on the internet and controlled by a service
provider such as Gmail.

Mobile Device Synchronization

Data synchronization is the exchange of data between two or more devices while maintaining
consistent data on those devices. It eliminates the need to make changes to every device you
use.

Synchronization methods include synchronization to:

• The cloud
• A desktop
• An automobile

Types of data to synchronize:

• Contacts
• Applications
• Email
• Pictures
• Music
• Vidros
• Calendar
• Bookmarks
• Documents
• Location data
• Social media data
• E-books
• Passwords

Preventive Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Because laptops and mobile devices are portable, they are used in different types of
environments. As a result, they are more likely than desktop computers to be exposed to
harmful materials and situations, including dirt and contamination, spills, drops, excessive heat
or cold, and excessive moisture. Proper care and maintenance can help laptop components run
more efficiently and extend the life of the equipment.

Routine maintenance includes the monthly cleaning of these laptop components:

• Exterior case - Wipe the case with a soft, lint-free cloth that is lightly moistened with
water or mild cleaning solution.
• Cooling vents and I/O ports - Use compressed air/non-electrostatic vacuum to clean out
the dust from the vents and from the fan behind the vent. Use tweezers to remove any
debris.
• Display - same as exterior case
• Keyboard - same as exterior case
• Touchpad - same as exterior case + never use a wet cloth

Common problems and solutions for laptops:

• Screen pixels dead/not generating color - power to pixels cut off

• Network and wireless fully okay, but laptop cannot connect to network - Wi-Fi turned off, out
of wireless range
• Laptop display flickering - not enough refresh rate, inverter damaged or malfunctioning
• Image on screen looks pale - LCD backlight not adjusted
• Keyboard inserting numbers instead of letters - num lock enabled
• Incorrect color patterns - display not connected properly, GPU overheating/faulty/
malfunctioning
• External display has power but no image - video cable loose/damaged, laptop not sending a
video signal
• Laptop does not power on - not plugged in, not charged, battery doesn’t hold charge
• Key stuck on keyboard - debris under the key
• GPS not functioning - service disabled or in airplane mode
• Laptop battery supports the system for reduced amount of time - battery hasn’t been charged
or discharged properly, extra peripherals are draining the battery, incorrect power plan,
battery not holding charge
• Laptop powered on but nothing displayed on screen - screen cutoff switch dirty/damaged,
display in sleep mode
• Image on display pixilated - display properties incorrect
• Ghost cursor moving around - dirty trackpad, trackpad and mouse used at the same time,
finger touched trackpad while typing
• Image on screen has artifacts - display not connected properly, GPU overheating/faulty/
malfunctioning
• Images on display distorted - display settings changed/not properly connected, GPU
overheating/faulty/malfunctioning
• Bluetooth connected devices not functioning properly - Bluetooth off, batteries in the input
device dead, input device out of range
• Battery swollen - battery overcharged, incompatible charger, defected battery
• Unable to decrypt email - digital certificate missing/unrecognized
• App not loading or unresponsive - restart app/OS
• Mobile device won’t connect to internet - Wi-Fi/carrier unavailable/settings incorrect
• Tablet fails/very slowly charges when connected to AC - in use when charging, AC adapter
does not have enough amperage
• Mobile device doesn’t power on - battery uncharged/won’t hold charge, power button broken
• System frozen/unresponsive - RAM needs to be cleaned, apps consume too much resource
• Touch screen unresponsive/inaccurate - dirt/water or too much resource
• Smartphone cannot connect to carrier network - no SIM card
• Device overheating - power-intensive app running while charging, many radios on while
charging, battery defective
• Users cannot open a series of apps - apps removed or installed in removed flash memory card
• User locked out of device - user forgot password or sth. like Find My iPhone on
• App error logs not displayed - app doesn’t have required root-level permissions
Abbreviations

• GPS - global positioning system

• Tn - Twisted Nematic
• IPS - In-Plane Switching
• CCFL - Cold cathode fluorescent lamp
• ACPI - Advanced Configuration and Power Interface
• WOL - Wake on LAN
• CRU - customer-replaceable unit
• FRU - field-replaceable unit
• NFC - near field communication
• IR - infrared
• IMEI - International Mobile Equipment Identity
• GSM - Global System for Mobile Communications
• IMSI - International Mobile Subscriber Identity
• SIM - subscriber identity module