Thank you so much for the generous donation of a round sponsorship, in support of our sixth annual Trivia Night. It was a huge success thanks to the great businesses in our neighborhood, like yours…We appreciate your cooperation and support for your neighborhood.
Are you wondering how to turn your iphone into an itouch? It’s quite simple really.
To convert your old iphone into something more useful, like an itouch follow these simple instructions:
1. Remove the sim card. You might find it easiest to remove the sim card in the iphone by getting a paper clip, opening it up, and putting the paper clip into the hole where the sim card is located in the iphone, releasing the sim card tray.
2. After the sim card tray is released and it slides out, remove the sim card and push the tray back into the phone until it clicks into place.
3. Navigate on the screen to the iPhone Settings->General->Network-> menu. Uncheck “enable 3G” and “Cellular Data”
That’s it, now you can plug your new iTouch into your computer using the special USB connector and sync it up with your iTunes!
Most Mac users will gloat to their Windows using friends that they use MAC because there are no viruses, malware, or in this case ransomware for MAC. Well those days are long gone! The FBI virus has found its way onto the MAC platform. Now NO Operating System is safe (::cough:: except Linux ::cough::), not even the blessed Mac OS.
The ransomware gets pushed onto unsuspecting users by browsing high-trafficed sites. The FBI virus locks down the Safari browser accusing the user of illegally viewing disturbing pornography, and that the user must pay a fine of $300 to regain use of their computer. The message will not go away by leaving the page or closing the browser. The user is unable to even “force quit” the browser. The ransomware uses the browsers “restore from crash” feature to reload the ransomware page each time the browser is restored.
You should NEVER pay the ransom, and should to bring your Mac to South City Computer today to get this virus correctly removed.
One of the worst things for your computer is a fluctuation in the power source. Computers are pretty delicate devices when you get right down to it. The microchips and logic boards carry very distinct accurate currents that if overloaded will cause big problems. Unfortunately lightning thunder storms are also a fact of life in St. Louis, MO, and do not play well with sensitive computer devices and electronics.
Electrical surges caused by power fluctuation and lightning can cause odd behaviors in your computer. The following are a few signs that your computer may have electrical damage caused by lightning or other power anomalies.
If you computer will not power up at all, no lights turn on even though you press the power button and the computer is definitely plugged into a working outlet, then your power supply may have been fried by a lightning strike. The power supply is typically the computer’s first line of defense against a fluctuation in power like a lightning strike produces. The power supply typically can handle minor power fluxes, but the amount of power fluctuation a lightning strike causes can do damage to the power supply. If your computer is not doing anything after you press the power button, it may be time to have South City Computer test your power supply.
Lightning does not just travel down the power lines, it also travels through the telephone lines. Most computers are indirectly plugged into a phone line through the DSL connection, however some computers that still use dial-up modem may be directly plugged into an old fashion phone jack. If you computer boots up and appears to be functioning normally, but the Internet connection fails, the network card could have been fried as a result of a close lightning strike. Many times the cheap routers the Internet service provider (ISP) installs in your home or office do not have much defense against a power spike and cause that power signal to travel down the network wire to your computer’s network card. This typically causes havoc to the network boards sensitive electronics and causes it to stop working. Some newer computers that have the network card embedded on the mother board can really suffer from this power spike, and could even break the entire motherboard. If your Internet has stopped working after an electrical storm, you may want to have South City Computer test your network card.
Are you seeing the infamous Blue Screen of Death after a lightning strike? This is probably caused by a corrupt system file that could have been corrupted as a result of a lightning strike. It is hard to explain exactly how these things occur, but basically the hard drive would have been reading or writing at the time of the power anomaly, causing an error to be written as 1 or 0 on the hard drive, corrupting a system file, which can cause the Blue Screen of Death. If you are seeing this BSOD error when you use your computer after an electrical storm, it may be time to bring your computer into South City Computer for a computer repair diagnostic.
After booting the computer and after the BIOS screen shows, the computer just locks up and shows a black screen with a blinking white cursor. This is usually caused by an error in the boot loader, and happens similar to the corrupted system file error that is typically associated with the Blue Screen of Death after a lightning storm. This issue usually arises after a power brown out as well, where the power in your home or office may have gone off and on a few times (known as a power brown out). You will probably need the techs at South City Computer to diagnose and repair this computer issue for you.
The hard disk error is the worst sign that your computer may have been struck by lightning since your data is at stake here. The hard drive is a very sensitive device with a logical controller that cannot take huge spikes of electrical current, and in-turn stops working after power spikes or brown outs. You should bring your computer to South City Computer asap to try to recover any data if possible.
The best thing to do when you hear thunder or see lightning is to unplug you computer completely from the wall. This includes the power, monitor, speaker, microphone, and network cable. Basically make sure that no part of the computer is connected directly or indirectly to the wall since this is the only way the computer can be harmed by electrical storms other than being struck directly by lightning which is very rare.
Also if you are going out of town, going on vacation, traveling, or going to be away from your computer from an extended period of time it is a good idea to unplug your computer from the wall just in case a lightning thunder storm strikes while you are away.
Another time to consider unplugging your computer to save it from electrical damage is when you know or notice the power company servicing the electric lines in your neighborhood or area. The electric company usually fluctuates the power off and on several times and this can cause damage to your computer.
Losing your data, having a computer that stops functioning properly, losing your Internet connection are all very frustrating experiences. So be protective of your computer, don’t leave it in the hands of mother nature.
Unfortunately laptop screens start to malfunction, go out and need repair long before the rest of the laptop computer. It is sometimes necessary to replace the laptop screen to buy a little more time from the laptop computer. However it may not be economically reasonable to replace the laptop screen since the cost of a new laptop may not be much more than the repair of the existing broken laptop screen. It really depends on the quality, the age, and the use of the laptop computer to determine whether the reapir is economically feasable.
When the CCFL bulb begins to dim or go out, you may be able to see the desktop but it is very very dim or totally dark, and needs to be in direct light in order to see anything. This is usually a sign that the CCFL bulb needs to be replaced.
A loose wire connection between the screen and motherboard could also cause the screen to flicker, or stop working completely. If your screen flicker, flashes, or blinks rapidly when you open and close the laptop computer, this could be caused by a loose wire connection, and may be a sign that it is time for a laptop screen repair at South City Computer.
An accidental drop or a “not-so-accidental” punch to the screen after the computer user experiences frustration with the computer is another common reason the laptop screen may break. While this is not a recommended way to use your laptop computer, we understand that these things happen.
A liquid spill into the laptop computer can also cause the screen to stop functioning properly. However this is probably caused by the motherboard malfunctioning rather than the laptop screen being broken.
Replacing a laptop screen can be a difficult computer repair that is not an easy task for the common everyday computer user. Finding the correct parts for the computer repair is not usually very straight forward, and can be difficult to source for some makes and models of computers. Most laptop computers (especially Apple products) have proprietary screws that require special tools to disassemble the laptop computer in order to replace the screen. There also are many pieces to account for when disassembling a laptop computer, and putting them all back together correctly can be a big challenge. These are just a few reasons you may opt out of the DIY fix. However rest assured that this is a totally common repair for the technicians at South City Computer, and you can just have our professionals replace your laptop screen for you.
Happy Memorial Day from the Ivanhoe Computers team. We are OPEN Memorial Day regular hours 9AM – 6PM.
South City Computer offers Windows repair services to the St. Louis metro area. South City Computer can fix all Microsoft Windows versions including Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. Contact South City Computer for Windows repair services today!
Microsoft Windows is the most commonly used and therefore the most targeted computer operating system and often requires repair and support services. Some of the most common Windows repair issues are the infamous “Blue Screen of Death”, “BSOD”, or also known as the “Blue Screen”, or a black screen and blinking cursor issue and black screen with mouse cursor. Windows can sometimes fail to start and needs service. Sometimes the Windows operating system will only be able to boot into “safe mode” because possibly a system file has become corrupt or was deleted by a computer virus. Another very common Windows issue is that the network connection or the wifi “wireless” internet connection has stopped working and therefore the Internet stops working on the Windows computer. Most computer viruses are targeted at Windows computers since they are the most commonly used. Windows start menu is missing or will no locks up. Windows device drivers also become corrupt or have been deleted and need to be repaired. Windows user profile has become corrupted and can no longer access the desktop. Windows is slow and unresponsive. Windows can get stuck in an update and never boot again.
If you are using Windows XP, you may have noticed that it has become difficult, or impossible to run Windows Update. Microsoft announced some time ago that they had discontinued all support and updates for Windows XP, and that they had officially “end of lifed” the Windows XP operating system. Unfortunately this causes many issues for Windows XP users that still rely on Windows XP because they are invested in software that will only run on Windows XP, and therfore cannot upgrade to Window Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10.
Windows computer users may notice big user interface changes when moving into the Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 operating system. A new “Start screen”, similar to the one on the Windows Phone OS, includes live application tiles which some users find confusing when compared to the classic Windows desktop. While this is not a malfunction of the Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 operating system, it is rather a new feature that can seem confusing to some Windows 7 and Windows Vista users who are familiar with the classic Windows desktop and start menu.
Many of these are common issues of Microsoft Windows and can be repaired by the expert computer technicians at South City Computer. If you are experiencing any Windows issues, and need expert PC repair and computer support services then bring your computer to South City Computer today!
Are you confident that your data is safe and available at all times on the “cloud”? Many companies and individual entrust their valuable data, and proprietary business information to third party data storage and hosting companies without ever giving it a second thought. Mainly “who controls the cloud”? Is your data really any “safer” and more available on the cloud?
Cloud services from Amazon, Google, etc are prone to failure just like any other computing storage network. The truth is, the cloud is just a pretty way to say “A computer in a datacenter somewhere”. As we know computers and data networks are prone to failure. The cloud is by no means a high availability cluster like most people invision. They falsly invision the “Borg” if you will (that ones is for the Trekies). Unfortunately most cloud services are not at all like that, and are no different than shared hosting services. Many companies are suprised when their data is unavailable do to outages at major cloud hosting companies like Amazon and Google. They are also suprised when their data is hacked and stolen on the cloud, since they falsly invisioned security happening behind the scenes. While most cloud hosts offer some basic security, you should probably not rely on the cloud for sensitve and proprietary data storage. The cloud get hacked, and the cloud goes down. There I said it.
A fog of questions like, “What happened to may data?”, “Where is my data?”, “When can I expect to see my data again?”, “Will I ever see my data again?”, “Wait a minute, what the heck is the cloud anyway?”. Leaving many business owners and IT managers scratching their heads and throwing their hands up as they are at the whims of the big cloud hosts to restore their data, “hopefully”. This downtime costs companies millions of dollars in lost time, productivity and revenue. There is nothing worse for a business than the entire company of employees sitting at work waiting for the computer systems to be restored while on the clock.
If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself! This includes data security and data hosting. We recently lost a contract to a company touting cloud data services for use in a medical practice. They convinced the customer to move their email service to Google Mail (Gmail). They sold them on the data uptime and security of Gmail at such a minimal cost. However no where does Gmail admit to being HIPAA compliant, and nowhere would they agree to enter into a Business Associate agreement with a physicians office to be so. Google also shares information with third party advertisors, because Google is first and foremost an advertising giant who survives on selling data to advertisers! So next time you are wondering how the heck Google knows you are on ED meds, or something more private, you should probably ask, where is my physician storing my electronic private health information?
I brought my Macbook Air 13” to this shop after a tea spill. In Apple, they charge plain $750 whatever happens to your computer, even if they only change a single piece, and don’t give you the option of changing all the parts. In Ivanhoe, I saved a lot of money since the only repair that my computer needed was changing the keyboard. The technicians evaluated, gave me a quote, got the cheapest new keyboard they could find, and did a very good job repairing the Mac. I recommend this shop.
One of our friends brought in a computer where a virus had renamed all of his files so that they appeared as a .html file. He had thousands of files so doing this manually was out of the question so he came to us to write a program to do it. Below is the program we used to strip the .html extension recursively from all of his files.
find -name "*.html" -print0 | xargs -0 rename 's/\.html//'
If we knew all of his files had the extension .html appended, then we may have done something like this. But upon closer inspection only some files had been renamed.
find -maxdepth 1 -type f | sed ‘s/.\///g’| grep -E [.] | while read file; do mv $file ${file%%.*}; done