Used Laptop Quick Inspection

A practical 10–15 minute checklist for buying a used laptop.

Inspection progress 0 / 22 completed

1. Confirm the specifications

Open Task Manager → Performance and confirm the CPU is Intel Core i5-1135G7.

Confirm the laptop has 16 GB RAM.

Confirm the SSD is approximately 512 GB.

Restart the laptop and press F1 repeatedly. Confirm that the BIOS opens without asking for a password.

Do not buy if there is a BIOS or supervisor password that the seller cannot remove.

Set brightness to 100% and verify that brightness controls work.

Open a white page and look for dead pixels, bright spots, yellow areas, flickering or pressure marks.

Open Notepad and test letters, numbers, Enter, Space, Backspace, Shift and arrow keys.

Test left click, right click, scrolling and dragging on the touchpad.

Open Command Prompt and run powercfg /batteryreport.

Compare Full Charge Capacity with Design Capacity. Around 80% or more is good.

Unplug the charger for a few minutes and confirm that the battery percentage does not drop unusually fast.

Test at least one USB port with a USB stick or phone cable.

Test HDMI if you plan to use an external monitor.

Confirm that the charger is included and the laptop charges without the connector feeling loose.

Connect to your phone hotspot and load a webpage or YouTube video.

Open the Camera app and confirm the webcam works.

Play a video and check the speakers for crackling or distortion.

Record a short voice note and confirm the microphone works.

Open and close the lid. The hinges should feel firm and should not crack or lift the plastic.

Check the chassis for cracks, missing screws, dents or a bulging bottom panel.

Listen for abnormal fan grinding, clicking or rattling.

Open Settings → System → Activation and confirm Windows is activated.

Restart the laptop once and confirm it boots normally without errors.

At €190, it is a good purchase if it passes these checks.