Remember when Windows failed to start and you could just enter Safe Mode by pressing F8 or Shift+F8 at boot. Long gone are those days with the new Windows 10. The only way to access Safe Mode is by first booting into Windows 10 and then holding the shift key while choosing to restart to get the Windows Boot Option Menu. But what if your computer no longer boots into Windows?
The only way to get Safe Mode during boot up is to create a boot time Safe Mode option before you can no longer boot into Windows. To create a boot up option menu Hit Win+x and select the Command Prompt (Run as Administrator). Now type bcdedit/copy {current} /d “Windows 10 Safe Mode” and hit Enter. Now from the Start menu, type msconfig, run System Configuration in the results, and then select the Boot tab. Choose the Windows 10 Safe Mode option you just created, choose Safe boot and select Minimal under Boot options. You can repeat these steps, substituting suitable names in quotes at the Command Prompt, to create shortcuts for Safe Mode with Networking (choose Network rather than Minimal in System Configuration) and Safe Mode with Command Prompt (Alternate shell). And there you have it, an “old skool – nu skool” Safe Mode boot option menu.
If you are in the predicament where you cannot boot into Windows and cannot access Safe Mode, or you just don’t like doing the techy stuff yourself, then bring your computer to South City Computer, and we can fix your computer for you.

Do remember punch cards? Most of us don’t. But they were an important invention back in the day before magnetic medium. Have you ever wondered how many punch cards it would take to store all the records in Google? Assuming that Google has 15 exabytes, or 15,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes of storage capacity. Punch cards can contain roughly 80 characters, each box of cards can hold 2000 cards. 15 exabytes worth of thin cardboard punch cards stacked would reach up 3 miles.

The Fragility of Hardware: Or What To Do When Your Laptop Breaks

Gravity. It is the force that binds us to this planet, and is largely responsible for all life as we know it. However, like all creative forces at work in this majestic universe, gravity has a destructive side. It can wreak havoc on your laptop! Laptops have been known to fall from heights great and small. Being portable devices, they seem especially drawn to Earth’s pull. If they are not sliding toward the edge of the surface on which they’ve been gently placed, they’re often releasing themselves from the grasp of caring hands. Even if your laptop manages to avoid a calamitous rendezvous gravity, hardware damage can still occur. Micro tremors, vibrations, being picked up, being set down. All of this gradual ware and tear can lead to hardware issues.

What should you do when misfortune befalls your beloved laptop? Worry not! It doesn’t have to be the end. We can remedy myriad hardware issues right here at South City Computer! Broken screen? We can fix that! Damaged keyboard? We can fix that! Some unseen internal gizmo has made its existence impossible to ignore by suddenly refusing to function? Odds are… We can fix that! What happens when gravity attacks your laptop from above? Say gravity has chosen to conspire with a cat, who has gingerly knocked a glass of water all over your precious PC? Well, after you frantically unplug the device, turn it off, and remove the battery… Bring it to South City Computer! Give us a chance to fix that!