LAPTOPS

A laptop is a battery- or AC-powered mobile computer system that typically weighs between two to five pounds. Its compactness makes it ideal for mobile users who are on the go and need to work or access data, whether in or out of the office. Great strides have been made over the past few years to improve the effectiveness and ease of using laptop systems. Technological improvements regarding such things as battery power, docking stations, port replicators, wireless accessibility, USB, form factors, and overall general size have contributed to the growth in laptop use.

Docking Stations

A docking station is basically a housing or frame, if you will, that allows a laptop computer to act as a desktop system when it is inserted or ‘plugged in’ to the docking station. Docking stations contain electronic interfaces that allow laptops to connect with peripheral devices, such as monitors and printers. Docking stations allow the flexibility of using larger keyboards and monitors when a laptop is inserted into a docking station. They are typically equipped with bays and slots for extra storage media and additional expansion cards.

A laptop system has its own configuration or ‘personality.’ To be more descriptive, it has its own set configuration of software services as well as hardware device drivers for such things as video and networking. This is called a hardware profile. Most operating systems installed on laptop systems today allow the use of hardware profiles. When most operating systems are installed, a default hardware profile is created. A separated hardware profile can be set up and used for drivers loaded when a laptop is ‘docked’ in a docking station. If more than one hardware profile is present on a laptop system, the user is prompted to choose the profile they wish to use. The choices are usually “docked” or “undocked” profile. You can rename these profiles from within the OS to anything you wish—for example, “At Work” or “At Home.”

One of the most common mistakes made by laptop users is choosing the wrong hardware profile when a system is booted. If you choose a docked profile when the laptop is undocked, or vice versa, it is likely that the wrong device drivers will be loaded for video, mouse, keyboard, network, printing, or sound. Make sure you pick the right profile. Rebooting and selecting the proper hardware profile can quickly resolve issues resulting from this common mistake.

Port Replicators

A port replicator replicates laptop ports. It is basically a docking station without slots for storage or extra expansion card usability. Similar to docking stations, port replicators provide things such as parallel and serial ports. When a laptop is attached to a port replicator, easy access can be accomplished to stationary devices such as large monitors, printers, joysticks, MIDI devices, and full-size keyboards. It should be noted that there are no real industry standards for docking stations and port replicators. These devices are usually proprietary to a particular laptop manufacturer. In other words, when you purchase a particular laptop computer, you will have to buy the docking station or port replicator made by the laptop’s manufacturer.