Refurbished Laptop Computers and the Most Common Problems You Should Check

Refurbished notebook computers offer a cost effective way to acquire a notebook. There are a few pitfalls to avoid, but after reading this article you're much less likely to fall into any of those traps, even if you're not that tech savvy.

A refurbished notebook computer is a laptop that the manufacturer took back for a reason. There are renew notebooks that are preowned laptops. These notebooks broke down and instead of repairing them the company gave the user a new one. Meanwhile they got it repaired and put them back on the shelves.

These notebooks are usually in almost new condition, it takes a thorough examination to tell if they've been tampered with. The most often failing component in a notebook is the battery and the screen. Both parts are easily replaced by an expert, so if you go for a renew notebook that has been repaired with one of these you're in for a great deal.

Ask the retailer why the particular unit is refurbished. They either state it on the box or the label, but they have to tell you if you ask. If the model is new, the price is right and you can't spot anything shady going on, jump at it and be happy with your new notebook, it's not very likely to fail again after careful repair and thorough in-house testing by the manufacturer.

There are notebooks that are older models. These are usually sold by private entities as "refurbished notebooks". These in fact are used notebooks and should be advertised as such. The price usually is very affordable so they can be attracting at first, but make sure you check every little detail you can think of. If you have no idea what to look for, check things you'd really hate to have repaired.

Screen, hard disk drive, keyboard, outer shell. These are all frustrating if they go south, so check all of them. Used notebooks are virtually a hub for diseases, look at the keyboard. If it's dirty or there is "stuff" between the keys, don't buy it. There are very few more disgusting things out there than a keyboard full of dirt from the previous owner.

Hard disk drive. If you have time then check it for bad sectors or funky noises. If there is anything going on, skip the deal. Hard disks are prone to mechanical damage because they have moving parts. A dead hard drive can erase all your documents and they're not cheap to get back. In the hundreds.

The screen is an important part as well. Check for dead pixels. This is an easy step, scrutinize the screen showing solid white, black, blue, green and red backgrounds. If you don't spot anything strange and the colors, contrast, brightness look all right you're good to go.

For those who are not that self confident a friend can be a very good help. Ask someone you know is handy with computers. They will spot if something is wrong and it can save you some hard earned money.