Most of the problems students encounter with school-issued Dell laptops can be solved with these simple troubleshooting and maintenance steps. Please try these steps before bringing your laptop in for repair.
General Troubleshooting
Restart Your Computer
Restarting is a normal part of computer maintenance and should be done weekly, even when you are not having problems. Here are two ways to restart your computer:
Normal Restart
- Click the Start Menu
- Click the Power icon
- Click “Restart”

Forced Shutdown and Restart
If your computer is unresponsive or won’t power on at all, try a forced shutdown and restart:
- Make sure your computer is connected to a working charger for 2-3 minutes.
- Hold down the power button (above the keyboard) for 5-10 seconds until the battery indicator LED light (on the bottom right edge near the headphone jack) turns off.
- Wait 5 seconds, then press the power button to restart.
- If the circular Dell logo does not appear on the screen, repeat the steps above.

If the circular Dell logo does not appear after 3-4 attempts, you will need to bring your laptop in for repair.
Connect to CCSDStudents Wi-Fi
While you are at school, your school-issued laptop should only connect to the CCSDStudents Wi-Fi network.

Click on the Wi-Fi icon on the taskbar, and make sure you are connected to CCSDStudents.
If your laptop will not connect to CCSDStudents, you will need to turn it in for repair. If you have attempted to connect to CCSDWireless, CCSDGuest, or another school wifi network, it may also need to be turned in for repair.
Run Dell Command Update
Dell Command Update installs important driver and firmware updates for your computer hardware.
- Make sure your computer is connected to a charger.
- Click on the Start Menu, scroll down and open the Dell folder, then click on Dell Command Update.
- Follow the prompts to scan for and install updates. Do not unplug your computer from power until the updates are complete.
- After the updates are installation is complete, restart your computer.


Install Windows Updates
- Click on the Start menu
- Type “update.”
- Click on “Check for Updates“
- On the Windows Update screen, click the “Check for Updates” button. (Check for new updates even if it says the system is up to date. Sometimes new updates appear after the computer has been restarted or resynced.
- Allow any updates to install. Restart the computer when prompted.
- Restart again after all updates are completed.



Install the Free Space Fix
Running low on free space can make your computer to run slow and cause many strange problems. This fix can free up as much as 10GB of space on your drive.
- Click on the Start Menu.
- Search or browse for Company Portal and open it.
- Click the search icon 🔎, type “space” and search for it.
- Open “Space Issues Fix” and click “Install.”
- Allow the installation to complete.





Company Portal Sync
In order for standard software and settings to be configured, the user settings must be synced with the CCSD system.
- Click on the Start Menu.
- Browse or search for Company Portal and open it.
- Wait for the program to fully open, then click the gear icon (⚙) to open settings.
- Click Sync.
Syncing can sometimes take an hour or more, but you can still use your computer while it syncs.



CTLS, Clever, and other Websites
Problems accessing individual websites like CTLS and Clever can usually be resolved by following the steps below.
Use the Official Link (not a Bookmark or Favorite)
CTLS
Any CTLS bookmarks and favorites that point to the “educationincites.com” domain will eventually stop working. Starting from the official URL will often fix the problem. Here are 3 ways to do that:
- Open your browser and type in: ctlslearn.cobbk12.org (Don’t google it; type in the full address.)
- Go to either the CCSD website or CHS website and click Login > CTLS Learn.
- There are also official links to CTLS Learn on the Start Menu of school-issued laptops.
Create a CTLS Bookmark that Always Works: Just use your mouse to drag this link to your bookmarks/favorites bar: CTLS Learn
Clever (DeltaMath, etc.)
For Clever resources (and resources like DeltaMath that log in through Clever):
- Go to: https://clever.com/in/cobb
- Click on “Log in with Active Directory.”
- Log in with your school Microsoft 365 credentials.
You can also create a Clever bookmark by dragging this link to your bookmarks/favorites bar: Clever
Try a Different Web Browser
Sometimes websites will work in one browser and not in another. If you’re having problems in Edge, try Chrome. If the problem is in Chrome, try Edge.
Clear Your Browser Cache/History
Clear cache in Edge or Chrome
- Open the browser and press CTRL-SHIFT-DELETE
- If you are in Chrome, click “Advanced”
- Set the Time Range to “All Time”
- Check all boxes (optionally, you can leave “Passwords” and “Autofill Form Data” unchecked)
- Click “Clear Now” or “Clear Data”
- Close the browser and reopen
- Repeat as needed for each browser and each profile.
Still Need Help?
Some software and configuration issues (especially those involving CTLS) can be solved remotely by the CCSD Tech Help Desk. Call 770-426-3330 and follow the prompts.
If the steps above do not solve the problems with your school-issued laptop, bring it to the learning commons to turn it in for repair.