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Apple, where is the touchscreen?

Posted November 23, 2016 by South City Computer

Apple where is the touchscreen If you have seen any of the commercials for the new Macbook Pro you probably noticed that Apple has incorporated a new touchbar feature above the keyboard. The touchbar marketing makes this new feature seem sexy sleek and cool by allowing users to interact with certain programs by using the new touchbar. Apple calls this new feature “A touch of genius” and “Light. Years ahead”, but really is this that “genius” or awesome of a feature? This new feature certainly begs the question: Why doesn’t Apple just make a Macbook Pro that is a touchscreen, and how about they call it a Touchbook Pro (duh)?

The Apple team has explained that they just do not think Mac OSX would be effective as a touchscreen operating system. They would like to keep iOS the iPhone and iPad OS the touchscreen operating system and Mac OSX the old point and click version but now with the new touchbar. For the company that claims to create the most intuitive user interfaces for operating system it seems like Apple is missing the boat here since most Windows based laptops now include a touchscreen for ease of use. Windows has recreated the entire Microsoft Windows user interface to accommodate both touchscreen and tradition mouse and keyboard users. So is Windows ahead of the curve here? Has Windows finally taken back the prize for most intuitive operating system interface?

In Windows the computer user is never forced to exclusively use the touchscreen as they can still use the touchpad mouse and keyboard to navigate the operating system as well. It just seems logical to provide Mac OSX users with the same experience to stay competitive. There is nothing wrong with touching the screen every once in a while to launch a program or to move the focus to a search field in the web browser.

Perhaps there is something else holding the Apple company back from making a touchscreen laptop. Maybe it has something to do with the chipset they have created for the Macbook laptop, and they just do not want to re-engineer a touchscreen into the motherboard due to cost and profit margins. While we may never really know what is holding this feature back, it is safe to say that the Macbook Pro laptop and Mac OSX is lagging behind in using the cutting edge features that touchscreen brings to the usability of a laptop.

Computer power cycles in continuous loop

Posted July 16, 2016 by South City Computer

If your computer is power cycling where it is turning on and then turning off, and then turning back on again, and does this in a continuous loop, this is probably indicative of an issue.

There are a few possible reasons for this behavior and tracking down which is to blame can be a little tricky.

Power Supply

The first thing to check is the power supply. Is it plugged in to the wall correclty? Make sure that all connections to the motherboard are securely fastened. Ensure that the voltage coming out of the power supply is correct. You may also be able to run a “paper clip” test on a desktop power supply in order to test if the behavior happens when the power supply is disconnected from the motherboard. If the power supply is kicking on and off then this is likely the issue causing the power cycling.

CPU

If the power supply is working correctly next is to test the CPU. Usually if the computer seems to start to boot, but never gets to the bios screen then the CPU may be the reason. Sometimes the heat sink on the CPU becomes loose or the CPU paste eventually wears out. It is a good idea to check that the CPU heat-sink is securely fastened to the motherboard. Remove the heat-sink and apply new thermal paste.

Motherboard Capacitor

If you have tested the power supply and the CPU and neither seems to be the reason for the power cycling behaivor, then a capacitor on the actual motherboard could be to blame for the behavior. The capacitors can sometimes begin to bulge and burst or bust. When this happens they no longer function correctly and sometime cause erratic behavior such as startup and shutdown loops. Unfortunately this is also indicative that more of the capacitors on the motherboard may begin to fail and probably the entire motherboard would need to be replaced if this is the case.

It may be a good idea to take your computer to a computer repair store near you to have these tests performed. The expert computer repair technicians at South City Computer will perform these tests and give you a report for how to fix this issue. Contact South City Computer today to get started.

Refurbished Lenovo Thinkpads for Sale

Posted July 12, 2016 by South City Computer

Lenovo Thinkpads for Sale South City Computer currently has a large assortment of affordable refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad laptops for sale. Lenovo Thinkpads are high end corporate laptops that can not be purchased in big box stores. The laptops are grade A refubished quality meaning they have very little wear. These laptops were engineered tough and durable and have a well thought out design. They feature a tough protective ABS plastic shell, the classic Thinkpad trackpoint, as well as a matte screen to cut down glare, and also feature a keyboard light for illuminating the keyboard in dark places. These Lenovo Thinkpads come with Windows 7 or Windows 10 pre-installed as well as a subscription to our South City Computer club. These make great laptops for just about anybody including students. Come to South City Computer today to see the Lenovo Thinkpads laptops we have available for purchase. Hurry they won’t last long!

Windows 10 Free Upgrade Ends this Month

Posted July 12, 2016 by South City Computer

South City Computer Windows 10 The Free Windows 10 upgrade is set to expire later this month. The last day to upgrade for free to Windows 10 is on Friday July 29, 2016.

Nearly one third of Windows devices have already been upgraded to Windows 10. This number is shy of the anticipated 1 billion devices Microsoft has targeted to upgrade. Many Windows users have remained on their current version of Windows and do not feel the need to upgrade. The Windows 10 operating system will be available for purchase after the Free upgrade expires. After July 29, upgrading to the Home version of Windows 10 will cost $119, while the Pro flavor will be priced at $199.

Ready to upgrade to Windows 10?

Are you ready to take advantage of the Free Windows 10 upgrade? Are you hesitant because you are afraid to break something or lose all of the data on your computer? South City Computer is offering Windows 10 upgrade assistance. We will ensure your upgrade to Windows 10 happens smoothly, or be able to get you back to where you were before the failed upgrade attempt. For assistance upgrading to Windows 10 contact South City Computer today.

Don’t want to upgrade to Windows 10?

So you are going to pass on the Free Windows 10 upgrade? That is fine if you are content with your current version of Windows. South City Computer can remove the Windows 10 upgrade from your computer to ensure your computer is not automatically upgraded. Contact South City Computer today for help removing the Windows 10 upgrade from your computer

Is your computer Y2K compliant? #tbt

Posted June 22, 2016 by South City Computer

Y2K Compliant TBT

Will you be ready when the clock strikes midnight January 1, 2000? All chaos could possibly ensue when the Millennium Bug stings. This is the day that all computers as we know it may cease to function. Our telephones, bank accounts, and emails will be lost forever in pile of useless computer junk left over from the turn of the century when Y2K struck hard. Our electricity would shut off the moment the clock struck midnight. Traffic signals would go bazerk. Perhaps it is time to stock pile food and water in case of the worst. There would be no rejoicing in this new year because an “apocalypse” was about to dawn. Right?

Ok, so you probably remember this time in the late 1990s when nobody knew what was going to happen when the computer clock rolled over to the year 2000. There were a lot of doom and gloom scenarios going around. Computers and software were being marketed to the masses as “Year 2000 Compliant” and “Y2K Ready”. You may have been one of the “daring” few who actually set their computer clock forward to watch it roll to the new year in hopes that it would lockup and completely melt down your computer.

Computer experts warned that computer programs that used 2 digit year representation such as 98 instead of 1998 would not function correctly due to the year turning to 2000 and instead would be turned back to a previous year such as the year 0, 1000 or 1900. However most computer programs and software already used 4 digit year representation and so the whole Y2K thing was a bit of a joke, pun intended.

The reality of this event, after years of speculation and discussion of what could and or would happen and or go wrong in this instance of time, was that nothing happened.

Do this before you sell your laptop on Ebay or Craigslist

Posted June 16, 2016 by South City Computer

Selling your laptop on an online website like Ebay or Craigslist could be a great way to make some extra money.

To sell your laptop you are going to want to make it clean! And I mean clean inside and out. So lets start with cleaning it of all your data. You don’t want the next person to see your browsing history, email accounts, passwords, sensitive personal information, pictures and music collection. Luckily this is easy to do with Microsoft Windows and only requires a few key strokes.

WARNING THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS WILL DELETE ALL YOUR FILES (PICTURES, DOCUMENTS, VIDEOS, MUSIC, PROGRAMS, SOFTWARE, AND SETTINGS)

From the Start Menu select the Power Icon and then select to Restart while pressing the shift key. This is going to take you to the Windows Boot Option menu. From here you can reset your computer back to its original configuration when it was new out of the factory. Choose Advanced Options, then select “System Restore”. From here it will ask you how you want to restore your PC. Choose to “Reset your PC”.

After it has finished resetting the operating system now you are going to need to make it clean on the outside. Nobody wants a laptop covered in crumbs, boogers, and what ever else people get onto their laptops. Use a microfiber cloth and an electronic safe cleaning solution. Be sure the cleaning solution will be safe to use on your laptop screen. You may need to consult your laptop manufacturers website for the best way to clean the laptop. You can blow out the keyboard by tipping the laptop and spraying some canned air at the gaps between the keys. You can also blow some air into the cooling vents. So make it sparkle because if it looks like new, then somebody will probably want it.

Before you upgrade to Windows 10

Posted June 15, 2016 by South City Computer

Windows 10 woes With the free Windows 10 upgrade window closing next month, some people are still considering whether to upgrade or just stay with the current version of Windows. The final day to upgrade for Free to Windows 10 is July 29. After that date Microsoft will charge $119 for the upgrade. So if you have put off the upgrade this long, here are a few things you should consider doing before upgrading to Windows 10.

Check to see if your computer is compatible with Windows 10. You can do this by checking your computer manufacturer’s website, or you may be receiving pop-ups from Microsoft indicating that your computer is compatible. While this may be true, it could also not be 100% true as many hardware manufacturers have yet to release Windows 10 supported drivers for wifi cards, network cards, keyboards, mouse devices, and also USB ports. You most likely will not know until you have gone through the upgrade what works, and what no longer works.

Back up your data! All of you important data, just back it up. Put it on the cloud, Google Drive, a flash USB drive, an external hard drive, email it to yourself, or burn it to a DVD. Make a backup before you do the upgrade, because something could go wrong and you could lose all your important data.

Create a system restore point. While Windows 10 will allow you to “roll back” your computer to your previous version of Windows, you may just want to create a system restore point before you try the upgrade in case the “roll back” doesn’t work, and sometimes it doesn’t work.

Create a system recovery CD just in case. If you have seen those pesky messages urging you to create a system recovery CD, now is the time. Create a system recovery CD so you can re-install your system back to factory just in case something goes terribly wrong with the Windows 10 upgrade.

If you are still on the fence about upgrading, or you are happy with Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, that is fine! Just stay with your current version of Windows. Chances are you will purchase another computer with Windows 10 before Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 support is ended by Microsoft. Windows 7 will be supported until the year 2020.

If you are eager to have Windows 10, but your computer just doesn’t play nicely with it, then you should consider purchasing a new computer with Windows 10 pre-installed. This will ensure you have a working Windows 10 computer.

If you have tried to upgrade to Windows 10, and now your computer is no longer working, you will need to take your computer to a computer repair store in your area for professional service to get you back to your previous version of Windows. South City Computer offers Windows 10 recovery services.

Chromebook Screen Repair

Posted June 7, 2016 by South City Computer

Chromebook computer screens break. Most people don’t even know how it happens. Most Google Chromebook laptop screen breaks are accidental however some are intentional. Broken laptop screens occur for various reasons such as a dropped laptop, stepped on laptop screen, laid, rolled on, or sat on laptop screen, and even punched laptop screens causing them to break or crack. Also, laptop screens break for reasons unknown to how it may have happened.

If you are lucky the laptop screen may still be usable when broken, however most breaks will worsen over time. The screen may be totally unusable too, showing only random colors and vertical lines, or appearing mostly to all white or black. There may even be a noticeable crack evident where the vertical lines seem to protrude from.

South City Computer can replace most broken laptop screens on all types of computers. South City Computer services all brands makes and models of laptop computers including Asus, Acer, Chromebook, Compaq, Dell, Lenovo, Gateway, HP, Toshiba, IBM, and Apple laptop computers with laptop screen damage.

Contact South City Computer for expert and professional laptop screen repair services.

Windows Vista Approaches End of Support

Posted May 20, 2016 by South City Computer

Windows Vista End of Support In less than a year Microsoft will “end of life” Windows Vista. The official end of support date for the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system is April 11, 2017. You may recall Microsoft ended all support for the Windows XP operating system just over a year ago. Microsoft will no longer offer technical support, release any Microsoft updates or security patches for Windows Vista after the end of mainstream support date. Windows Vista users will be left to fend for themselves. Windows Vista will no longer be safe to use on the Internet and will no longer be able to install newer software.

The Windows Vista operating system is now 3 versions behind the current release of Windows. Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 have all come into the market after Windows Vista so the choice to upgrade to a newer version of Windows is available. The next predecessor, Windows 7, will not end mainstream support until January 14, 2020.

Windows Vista was officially released into the consumer computing market nearly 10 years ago on January 30, 2007. Most computers that were originally built for the Windows Vista operating system are also reaching the age range of 7 to 10 years old. The lifespan of most laptop computers is 3 to 5 years while desktops can last slightly longer for 5 to 7 years. If your computer is still running Windows Vista, then congratulations, you have had a very reliable computer, but unfortunately it is probably time to upgrade.

While Windows Vista was once the acclaimed version of the Microsoft Windows operating system, it has now become nearly obsolete, being surpassed by the usability, functionality, speed, stability, and ease the of use of Windows 7 and Windows 10.

Windows Vista computer users can come into South City Computer to discuss what options they have to upgrade or replace their computers. South City Computer has suitable replacement laptops and desktops computer in stock. South City Computer also offers computer recycling service for Windows Vista laptops and desktop computers. Please call or come by! 314-400-7918

Laptop Repair in St. Louis

Posted May 20, 2016 by South City Computer

South City Computer offers laptop repair services to Saint Louis City and the St. Louis metro region. We repair and service all makes and models of laptop computers. We service on all brands including Acer, Asus, Apple, Alienware, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Toshiba, Gateway, Compaq, MSI, and gaming laptops.

South City Computer can repair all laptop issues. The most common laptop repair services are broken dc jack, broken laptop power jack, failed AC power supply, replacement, broken screen replacement, broken screen repair, broken touchscreen repair, dim screen repair, flickering screen repair, keyboard repair, laptop liquid spill repair, laptop liquid damage, virus removal, malware repair, corrupt operating system, laptop fan repair, laptop fan replacement, hardware repair, RAM upgrade, motherboard repair, hard drive replacement, data recovery, CPU repair, laptop cooling system repair, and laptop overheat repair.

Bring your laptop to South City Computer for professional laptop repair services. 314-400-7918