Guides
29 guidesWritten checks for what the tools cannot judge, and how to read the ones they can. Every guide carries the date it was last checked.
What to check on a new laptop
Everything worth verifying on a new machine, split by what a browser can check, what only your hands can, and what refuses to show up on the first day.
Last checked 2026-08-28How to spot an early defect
Manufacturing faults are there from first boot but surface days later. Telling a defect from unfamiliarity, making an intermittent fault reproducible.
Last checked 2026-08-28Dead pixels vs stuck pixels — telling them apart
Whether that dot on your new screen is a dead pixel, a stuck pixel, or dust — and what to write down while the return window is still open.
Last checked 2026-08-31How to check a laptop keyboard
Ruling out software causes first, then finding the key that never registers or types twice, plus the switch type that decides how expensive the fix is.
Last checked 2026-08-28The detailed check for a device you just bought
The checklist says what to look at. This is the layer underneath — how to examine each item, and how to write it down so it still means something later.
Last checked 2026-08-28Wiping a laptop before you sell or hand it on
Why deleting files is not wiping, how reset works on Windows and macOS, and the locks that survive an erase and leave the machine useless to everyone.
Last checked 2026-08-28What to check when buying a used laptop
What you can verify depends on buying online or in person. The locks that make a machine worthless, the wear that sets its value, and why payment counts.
Last checked 2026-08-31How to check laptop battery health
What health actually measures, how to read it on Windows, macOS and Linux, and how to tell a defective cell from one behaving like a battery.
Last checked 2026-08-26How to check a monitor's refresh rate
A 144Hz panel running at 60Hz looks normal and gives no warning. How to measure what the screen is actually drawing, and what to change if it comes back wrong.
Last checked 2026-08-31How to check a webcam and microphone
Most cameras reported as broken are a permission or a privacy shutter. How to separate those from real faults, and why mic problems hide behind processing.
Last checked 2026-08-28How to check a mouse — starting with double-click chatter
Why a single click opens two files, what the browser test can and cannot see, the sensor faults hiding behind it, and how long a mouse warranty runs.
Last checked 2026-08-28How to check laptop speakers — crackle and a dead side
Why a dead speaker can go months unnoticed, what a per-channel tone test proves, and how to separate an amplifier fault from a damaged driver.
Last checked 2026-08-28How to check a touchscreen — dead zones and ghost touch
Digitizer faults appear as a strip or a corner, not a whole dead screen, which is why tapping at random misses them. A grid sweep and a multi-touch count.
Last checked 2026-08-28How to check for screen burn-in and image retention
One fades in a few days and the other never does, and they need opposite responses. Why a gray field finds burn-in that a white one hides.
Last checked 2026-08-31Laptop camera not working — start with proof, not drivers
Reinstalling the driver is the last step, not the first. Prove in five seconds whether the hardware, driver and permissions are fine, then narrow from there.
Last checked 2026-08-28Microphone not working — when only they cannot hear you
Two faults hide inside a single complaint, pointing opposite ways. Split them first, then check Bluetooth profile switching and per-app device memory.
Last checked 2026-08-28Laptop keyboard not working — how many keys tells you why
A keyboard is a wired grid, so faults arrive in shapes. All keys, one row, or two scattered keys are three different problems with three different fixes.
Last checked 2026-08-28Mouse or trackpad not working — frozen, jumpy, dead clicks
A disabled trackpad is usually a function key, and a wireless mouse that stutters is usually USB 3.0 interference sitting beside the receiver.
Last checked 2026-08-28Screen flicker — panel, signal, or software
Flicker starts at one of three layers, and four quick observations tell you which. Plus the two kinds that are not faults — PWM dimming and camera banding.
Last checked 2026-08-28Backlight bleed — telling a real fault from IPS glow
Telling real backlight bleed on a laptop or monitor from IPS glow, why consumer warranties set no threshold for it, and why your photo of it lies.
Last checked 2026-09-01Laptop won't turn on — four states, four causes
No lights at all and stopping at the logo are different failures. Narrow by how far it gets, then split the machine from its screen with one test.
Last checked 2026-08-28Laptop not charging — narrowing it down layer by layer
Power crosses six layers between the wall and the cell, and a break in any one looks identical. How to eliminate them in order, plus the USB-C traps.
Last checked 2026-08-28Laptop running hot — telling a defect from normal behavior
Thin laptops are designed to run hot and the fan is meant to spin. Where the line sits between designed behavior and a fault, and how to evidence it.
Last checked 2026-08-28External monitor not detected — cable to graphics output
The monitor watching the wrong input is the most common cause and the last one checked. Plus why a USB-C port may not carry video at all.
Last checked 2026-08-28Return rights in practice — deadlines, notice, and who pays
The date that counts is when you gave notice, not when the box gets back. What resets a deadline, and which route makes the seller pay postage.
Last checked 2026-08-31Checking a warranty by serial number
Cover often starts at manufacture rather than purchase, so a new machine can arrive with months already gone. How to check, and how to get it corrected.
Last checked 2026-08-28When a return is refused — what actually works next
When a retailer has refused your return — which reasons hold up, why Section 75 beats a chargeback, and where to escalate now the EU ODR platform is gone.
Last checked 2026-09-01Was it really new? Four counters that can't be reset
Cleaning and repackaging make a used machine look new. Cycle count, drive hours, warranty start and burn-in do not wipe with the OS.
Last checked 2026-08-28Buying a used phone — the ten minutes that matter
The account lock no online tool can verify, the IMEI check to run before you meet, and the screen and touch tests that run in the phone's own browser.
Last checked 2026-08-31
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Rather just run the checks?
The full check runs every browser test in one flow. A few minutes, no reading.