OLPC XO-1.5 Troubleshooting

You can't get the laptop to turn on.

It is possible that the battery is not charged. Plug your OLPC into a power outlet. If the LED on the battery flashes yellow after being plugged in, this means that the battery has lost all of its power and needs time to charge. If the LED on the battery flashes red or does not light up at all, it is possible that the battery has to be replaced.

Listen for the boot sound when you turn the laptop on. If it plays, it is possible the display is bad and must be replaced.

Listen for the boot sound when you turn your laptop on. If it does not play, it is possible that the motherboard is bad and must be replaced.

Make sure the power button does not stick out of the socket. If it does, the power button will need to be reinserted. Otherwise, press firmly on the power button. If you do not feel a click, most likely the power button is jammed and needs to be reinserted.

Remove the battery and wait 30 seconds before reinserting the battery. Try to turn on the computer again. If signs of a "Bad Motherboard" is still present, it is possible the motherboard needs to be replaced.

The laptop turns on, but it seems like the screen is too dark.

Shine a bright light onto the screen. If you can see the background and text after shining a light on the screen, the backlight is broken and must be replaced.

If no text is displayed after shining a bright light on the screen, it is possible that the display is bad and must be replaced.

If the display has been replaced and reconnected and the screen still does not turn on, it is possible that the motherboard is bad and must be replaced.

The laptop turns on and appears to work, but it does not play audio properly.

Plug headphones into the audio jack. If they can play sound properly, it is likely that the speaker is bad and must be replaced.

If headphones encounter the same issues as the speakers on the laptop, it is possible that the motherboard is bad and must be replaced.

Make sure the computer is not on mute or the volume is too low to be audible. If it is on mute, press the increase-volume button to turn mute off. If volume is too low, the same step can be taken to increase the volume.

The keyboard doesn't seem to work or seems to be hitting the wrong key when pressed.

Try to use the touchpad. If the touchpad works, it is possible that there is a stuck modifier key, such as Ctrl or Function key. Press the F key to see if it brings up a 'Terminal' or a 'Frame.' If this window pops up, replace the keyboard with a known good one to see if it is bad.

Sometimes, the keyboard cable inside of the laptop is knocked loose. Try opening up the laptop and plugging the keyboard cable in and out.

If the cable is fine, it is possible that the keyboard controller is bad and will need to be replaced.

If the problem persists after replacing the controller, it is possible that the motherboard is bad and will need to be replaced. There is a known suspect part on motherboards that sometimes fails.

The touchpad does not respond or does not work when you try to move on it.

Try moving the laptop to a warmer/colder area and placing it on a flat surface. Sometimes, the calibration is out of alignment and this can resolve touchpad issues.

It is possible that the keyboard controller is not connected to the touchpad anymore. Open it up and re-seat or replace the cable.

If the keyboard is also experiencing issues, or replacing the cable did not work, it is possible that the keyboard controller is bad. Replace the keyboard controller.

If the touchpad can only move horizontally, it is possible that the touchpad surface is bad. This will require replacing the entire bottom section of the laptop. To do this, install the new top half onto a new bottom half.

If the keyboard controller has been replaced and there is still touchpad issues, it is possible that the motherboard is bad and must be replaced.

The USB port does not work when you plug something into it.

First, make sure that your USB device works on another computer. If it does, we know the problem is local to the specific OLPC.

If only one USB port is bad, it is likely that the soldering for its connection is broken. Reattach and resolder the USB port's connector.

If no USB ports work or you have tried resoldering, it is possible that the motherboard is bad and must be replaced.