My Laptop's ___ Doesn't Work!

This post originally appeared here on July 7, 2014.

Today's tip actually comes as a result of two recent service experiences I had.  I will briefly describe both experiences:

1)  I worked on a customer's computer and returned it to him.  He called me later that day and informed me of two problems he was still having, including not having internet.  I was able to quickly diagnose the internet problem using today's tip.

2) I was called to a customer's house to work on a desktop.  While there, his wife told me her laptop's touchpad had suddenly stopped working, and she asked me to look at it.  Once again, I quickly solved the problem using today's tip.

The simple answer to both of these problems:  the wireless card and touchpad had been turned off accidentally.  (Fortunately, in both cases, I was already doing other work, so I did not have to charge either of them solely for the service call.)  Now, for the more complicated answer:

Computer manufacturers have developed a lot of switches and key combinations into their laptops that allow you to turn functions of your laptop on and off.  For example, if you are travelling a long distance and want to write some letters or crunch some numbers on a spreadsheet, you will not need to use your wireless connection.  In this case, you may want to conserve battery life by turning off power to your wireless card.  (The reason why this will help save your battery will be the subject of tomorrow's tip.)

The touchpad could be turned off because you prefer using a wireless mouse, and you have a tendency to bump the touchpad and make your pointer go crazy.  (I do this all the time!)  Other key combinations available on my laptop include shutting off the screen (if connected to an external projector or monitor), adjusting the screen's brightness, and turning the sound up and down.  Depending on your model, you may have other options.

Each of these buttons or key combinations have a legitimate purpose, but they can really mess you up if you don't realize you shut it off.  In the case of the "bad" touchpad, the person was attempting to set up a connection to an external projector at work and unknowingly hit the key for the touchpad instead because they were located right next to each other.

So, before you pay for a technician to look at your laptop because something suddenly stopped working, it would be well worth your time to see if you accidentally shut off that feature.  You may be able to find a symbol somewhere on the keyboard or near a switch that roughly represents the item that is shut off.  (In the case of a key combination, it will usually be the Fn key combined with one of the F1-F12 keys.)  If you are unsure, you can check your computer's documentation (either the print version that came with it or the copies posted online).  It is well worth a few minutes if it saves you some money.