Archive for the ‘Computer Repair’ Category

« Previous Page — Next Page »

Should you fix your computer problem yourself?

Posted by South City Computer

Motherboard repair st louis computer repairGot a computer issue that you think you can fix? Try it! Just be careful you don’t mess up your computer worse than it already is. There are many reasons that you may want to try to fix your computer issue yourself. Computer repair can be expensive and time consuming and it really depends on how much you value your computer. If you just don’t see the value in putting any money into an old computer, then you should probably try to repair the computer yourself to save you money. If the computer is valuable to you and you cannot afford to be without your computer, then you should probably take it to a computer repair store in your area to do the job for you.

If you feel comfortable troubleshooting computer issues, then by all means attempt to fix your computer. However if you are not the computer guru type, and think you will cause more harm than good, then you are probably right.

What is the worst thing that could happen to my computer if I try to fix it myself?

This is a variable answer to this question because it depends on what is most important to you about your computer. It could be your pictures or iTunes collection, or it could be those super important excel spreadsheets you have for work. What I am getting at is the most common worst case scenario is data loss. Losing your pictures, music, and documents can be very aggravating and costly, not to mention having a broken computer on top of that.

Do I have the tools to fix my computer?

If it is a hardware issue that requires you to get inside your computer, you may or may not have the necessary tools. Apple computers oftentimes have special screws that require special screwdrivers to disassemble them. Other computers could have similar requirements for tools to work on them. If you don’t have the necessary tools, then you might not be able to fix your computer. Unless you want to invest in these tools, you will probably will be better off taking it to a computer repair store.

What should I do if I mess up my computer worse by trying to fix it?

You should probably stop attempting to be a computer guru at this point. Shut the computer down, and bring it to a computer repair specialist in your area. A computer repair technician should be able to figure out what is the issue with your computer, and possibly come up with possible solutions to your computer issue. The computer repair technician may also be able to salvage your important data.

Why would a computer technician be better at fixing my computer issue than me?

Our computer technicians are certified experts at computer repair. Many have degrees in computer science and computer IT. They have a vast understanding of computers from the software layer to the hardware layer. If you are not knowledgeable about computers and their many different components you may want to leave it to a computer repair specialist. However if you think you can handle it, then you may be the perfect candidate to fix your own computer.

Open on Saturdays!

Posted by South City Computer

South City Computer is Open on Saturdays!South City Computer is open on Saturdays from 9AM – 6PM. We have extended our hours to Saturday to try to help those people who work overlapping weekday hours and cannot make it to our computer repair store in St. Louis during our regular weekday hours Monday-Friday 9AM – 6PM. We welcome walk-ins, but for the best customer experience please call ahead to schedule an appointment with a computer repair technician about your computer issue. South City Computer is located at 3235 Ivanhoe Ave. in St. Louis City 63139. Call us: 314-400-7918.

All About Data Loss

Posted by South City Computer

It isn’t rare to see someone come into our computer shop who is worried about the data on their computer. There are many things that can go wrong with the part of the computer that stores your personal files, some of which we can fix, and some of which require special facilities that we don’t have. If your computer stopped working and you’re worried about your data, the situations I’ll describe here should give you a better idea of what you can expect to happen. They’re listed in order from highest to lowest chance of recovery.

  • Corrupt MBR

    One common issue is the MBR, or Master Boot Record on the hard drive being corrupt. The MBR is located on the first few megabytes of the drive, and contains information as to where each file on the hard drive is located. If the location information in the MBR differs from the actual location of the file on the drive, the computer won’t be able to find the file. This will often result in the computer not booting. The technicians at South City Computer can look through the actual data on the drive, and rebuild the MBR based upon it, resulting in a full recovery and a usable drive.

  • Unable to mount drive

    When the drive won’t mount, it means that there are too many bad sectors on the drive for the computer to open and use the file system. It is impossible to boot a computer when the drive won’t mount, and it also means that recovering files from the drive will involve working with raw data. In most cases, our software technicians can use advanced tools to pull the raw data from the drive and form an image, a virtual drive stored as a file within a different drive. We use advanced algotrithms to rebuild the corrupt sectors amd patch them into the image. Then, the image can be mounted and the files can be extracted.

  • Too many input/output errors

    This situation is the same one as above, except that the drive has so many corrupt sectors that we can’t rebuild it. In this case, we would use a technique called file carving. To carve files, we look through the raw data for signatures that indicate the data of a specific file. Each file type has it’s own set of signatures. Since we are wokign with raw data, we can recover the content of the files, but not their names or locations.

  • Mecahnical Problem

    This situation occurs when the drive has mechanical damage to the point that the computer won’t even recognise it as a drive anymore. To remedy such a situation requires taking the drive apart and moving the platters onto a different unit. We do not attempt this type of repair because we don’t have the necessary facilities. We can advise you on your situation and refer you to a company that does, though.

Is your motherboard dead?

Posted by South City Computer

Motherboard repair st louis computer repairMotherboards also known as the logic board to Mac folks are a pretty big culprit of many computer problems. Because they are so complex with so many different components and parts, the risk of failure is much greater.

If you think the motherboard has failed or is going about to fail, and you’re not afraid to “peak under the hood” of a computer, here are some steps you can take to try to determine if this is the cause of the computer problem. Please remember the motherboard is also a very sensitive electronic device and just touching it can cause damage so it is probably best to have an expert computer technician diagnose a motherboard issue. If you are a hands off kind of computer user, we are happy to provide our expert service and advice. Bring your computer to South City Computer so that we can test your motherboard for you.

Check that the power supply on the computer is functioning

Does the computer’s power supply turn on, if there is no power coming out of the power supply this could be the issue and it is probably not the motherboard. However sometimes a dead power supply can also be indicative of a power anomaly that could have also fried the motherboard.

Check the power connector to the motherboard is securely fastened

The cable the connects the power supply to the motherboard comes loose for whatever reason and causes the motherboard to stop functioning. A loose power cable can cause the motherboard to stop functioning.

Try replacing the ROM battery

Sometimes the culprit is just a dead battery on the motherboard.

Examine the board for corrosion, dust, or burn marks

Any of these things are signs of motherboard failure.

Check for bulging or busted capacitors

The capacitors often bulge and burst causing the logic board to stop functioning properly.

Dust

Dust, hair and dirt can cause a motherboard to short out and stop functioning correctly. If the motherboard board appears to be really dusty, try blowing it out with some canned air.

Corrosion

You may notice a little corrosion on the motherboard. You can attempted to scrape this off gently to see if it fixes your motherboard.

Look for burn marks on the motherboard

Sometimes the electronic chips or the electrical circuitry on the motherboard will malfunction and cause an electrical fire which will leave burn marks on the board and possibly melt the board. If the motherboard appears to have had an electrical fire it is probably not fixable.

Remove any extraneous PCI cards

Sometimes video cards, sound cards, or network cards that are plugged into the motherboard will cause the motherboard to stop functioning. Remove any extra PCI cards to see if the motherboard starts to function properly again.

Make sure all PCI cards are fully seated

If the PCI cards come lose the motherboard may stop working. Double check that all the cards are fully seated in their slots.

Most new computers have on-board video cards, but if the computer has a PCI video card, check to see if power is connected to video card.

Try booting with one stick of RAM

The RAM in the computer can sometimes go bad. This will cause the motherboard to stop working. Remove all but one stick of RAM from the board, and also try a different stick of RAM if possible as well.

Make sure all memory is fully seated into memory slots

The RAM sticks sometime come lose, and this can cause the motherboard to stop working.

Is CPU still securely fastened to the board

The CPU is usually connect to the motherboard with thermal paste. Sometimes this thermal paste that glues the CPU to the motherboard wears out over time. This can cause the CPU to stop making a connection with the motherboard and will cause the motherboard to stop functioning.

Does the CPU fan still function

If the you don’t hear the CPU fan or feel any air moving from the CPU fan, it could be the reason the motherboard stopped working. If the CPU overheats, it can cause damage to the motherboard.

What happens if I drop my computer?

Posted by South City Computer

Of course, one sure way to break a computer is by dropping it, but many people wonder what actually happens to the computer when it gets dropped that makes it stop working. There are a number of different issues that can arise, with the most simple being screen and case damage. If the case becomes damaged, you may also be facing the chance of a part of the motherboard being broken off, making the computer irrepairable. The most common issue, however, is hard drive failure.
The hard drive in your computer is the part that stores both your personal files, and the files needed to boot the computer and run an operating system such as Microsoft Windows. The hard drive is also the most delecate part of the computer. It works a bit like a traditional record player, but on a microscopic level. A small arm moves back and forth, the end of which contains a device that can change the polarity of molecules on the platter, the surface that the arm moves over. Because the data on the platter is stored so densely, any damage to it can cause failure. When the computer is dropped, it’s possble that the arm can scratch the platter, making it difficult for the computer to read. As the drive continues to be used, the scratch will become deeper, eventually causing failure. The hard drive will often make some noise if this is about to happen — see our article about noises your computer might make.

So, what do I do?

First and foremost, turn it off. This is one of the rare cases where it is OK to turn your computer off immediately by holding down the power button. Since Windows will try to write a bunch of information out to the hard drive during the shutdown process, it is good to just skip that in this case. You should not do this if your drive is not failing.
Don’t turn it back on. No matter how bad you need your data, turning the computer or drive back on will only increase your chance of irrecoverable data loss.
Protect the computer. Since the computer can’t be used anyway, take it and put it somewhere that it will be protected from any further shocks. If you have a padded case, put it in there. If your comfortable with removing the hard drive, you can take it out and put it in a padded container. Otherwise, I recommend puting it somewhere on the floor, but where it won’t get stepped on, like under your bed.
Bring it to a professional. Data recovery is a complicated task. This is why you should carefully bring your computer to a professional to have it looked at. South City Computer has an in-house data recovery specialist that can diagnose your issue and help you recover your data. We use advanced imaging technologies to pull raw data off the drive if necessary. We can then search this data for your important files. We also have specialists that can replace your hard drive with a new one and move your files over.
Don’t let a drop cause data loss in the first place! We offer comprehensive backup and recovery plans that eliminate the need for data recovery in case of a failure. We have some more information here, but you can also give us a call at 314-400-7918 for more information and to sign up.

Local South City Computer repair store is different

Posted by South City Computer

computer-repair-sign
The computer repair industry is a 21 billion dollar industry with almost 60,000 businesses that provide computer repair services. The businesses run the gamut of large computer retailers to IT management companies, to the small local computer repair store in your neighborhood, to the guy fixing computers out of his garage for extra cash. So how can you be sure you are going to get the best service at a reasonable price?

Here is what makes South City Computer different than all the rest:

Small local business! South City Computer is a local independently owned and operated computer repair store in south St. Louis City. South City Computer is your neighbor who can help you with your computer issues and support. Sometimes it is nice to see a familiar face, or to be able to ask for somebody you already know and have a comfortable working relationship. You can expect the same great familiar quality service every time. By choosing to do business with South City Computer you are supporting your local community and helping to provide jobs to people who also live in your neighborhood.

Quick turn-around! South City Computer can usually provide same day to next day service if necessary depending on the complexity of the issue. South City Computer can provide agile service because it is a small business. The fastest most stores can service your computer is usually anywhere from a couple weeks to months. South City Computer understands how important a computer can be to your business or everyday life, and that having it out of commission is not a viable option.

Flat rate service menu! Most computer repair services follow the South City Computer flat-rate service menu. You will know how much your computer repair is going to cost you right when you walk through the door. There are no hidden service fees or expenses. You can quickly determine if it is worth the expense to repair the computer issue or is it time to invest in a new computer. The technicians at South City Computer can give you advice to guide you to make the wisest decision.

On-site and remote repair services! South City Computer offers on-site and remote computer repair services. A technician can come to your house or office to diagnose and possibly fix your computer issue. A computer repair and support expert can also connect to your computer remotely to try to diagnose and fix computer issues without you having to unplug anything. This may save you some time and hassle during your computer repair.

Visit the Technology Bar! Ask an expert South City Computer repair technician a question, seek advice, or have them take a look at your computer, laptop, cell phone or other technology at the South City Computer Technology Bar. Get a quick fix, learn something useful, get helpful advice, or discover an answer to your computer technology question. Schedule an appointment today! The South City Computer technology experts can help!

Free PC Checkups! You probably have gone to your doctor for a physical checkup just to make sure you are doing well, think of the Free PC Checkup as exactly the same thing, but for your computer. South City Computer can give your computer a thorough scan for potential issues or threats, and maybe give it a quick tweak to make it run faster and smoother, all that is for FREE!

Technology News! South City Computer is in the “know” when it comes to technology. South City Computer offers updates and alerts on the latest viruses, trojans, ransomware, spyware threats, as well as computer tips, computer software recommendations reviews, smartphone app recommendations and reviews, computer repair resources, and other interesting tech news from around the world syndicated on the website, in an email newsletter, and on Facebook and Twitter. All this is for FREE!

South City Computer strives to be different than the rest by offering you more value and better friendlier service. South City Computer is your friendly neighbor that can help you with your computer needs. You will recognize the difference immediately when you choose South City Computer.

Tips for Increasing Laptop Battery Life

Posted by South City Computer

How to prolong your battery lifeImagine a laptop battery that lasted for days or weeks instead of just hours. Over the past few years, scientists have been working on a Lithium sulphur graphene battery that could last more than twice as long as a Lithium Ion “Li-ion” battery (the type of battery in most modern day laptops and cell phones). Most Li-ion batteries have between 300 and 500 discharge/charge cycles. The Lithium sulphur graphene batteries are able to go through over 1500 charge cycles without deterioration. Improved battery technology is at an ever increasing demand by car companies like Tesla, as the electric car is becoming closer to an everyday reality of modern life. Experts claim these batteries could enable electric vehicles to travel with a range of more than 300 miles on a single charge. These batteries are still at an early stage in development, and the cost and use of these batteries is still unknown. So for now we are stuck with the Li-ion battery.

Probably everyone would like to have a laptop battery that lasts forever. Unfortunately this is not currently possible with modern day Li-ion battery technology. However with some simple care and maitenance you can buy some extra time out of your laptop battery.

NOTICE: These are only recommendations, you should always use the manufacturers recommended care and use for your Li-ion battery.

KEEP IT COOL

Temperature plays a huge role in the lifetime of a laptop batter. Always keep the battery at a normal moderate room temperature. Never allow the battery get too cold. Do not ever charge a laptop battery if the computer reaches a temperature below freezing. Only charge at moderate temperatures. Some batteries accept charge below freezing but at a much-reduced charge current. The battery performance decreases with cold temperature and increases with heat, however shortens life by a factor of two for every 10°C increase above 25–30°C (18°F above 77–86°F). So while the battery will perform better when warm, a battery lives longer when kept at a moderate room temperature.

TURN IT OFF

If possible turn off your laptop while charging. This allows the battery to reach the threshold voltage unhindered and reflects the correct saturation current responsible to terminate the charge. Running the laptop while charging can confuse the charger and the battery will never actually reach the recommended maximum charge.

PULL IT OUT

If you are going to have the laptop plugged into the wall for extended periods of time remove the fully or partially charged battery from the computer and put it into storage. Never remove the battery from the computer if it is not at least partially charged. Be sure to store the battery in a cool dry place. Never store a laptop battery in a refrigerator since this can cause condensation and ruin the battery.

SLIM IT DOWN

Be sure to dim the screen. The screen is the largest drain of the battery in most laptop computers.

Slim-down the processes on the computer. Avoid extraneous programs from running, and stop updates from running. Also avoid processor intensive processes such as movies and games.

Shutoff or remove any hardware that is not being used. Also disconnect any USB hard drives and USB peripherals such as wireless mouse, or a wifi antenna.

PARTIAL CHARGE AND DISCHARGE

Lithium-ion batteries do not actually need to be fully charged. It is actually better to only do a partial charge. It is better not to fully charge the laptop battery, because high voltages stress the battery. Choosing a lower voltage threshold, or eliminating the saturation charge altogether, prolongs battery life however this reduces the runtime. However since most people want maximum runtime, most chargers go for maximum capacity rather than extended service life.

Li-ion should never be discharged too low, and there are several safeguards to prevent this from happening in most laptops. Most laptops cut off when the battery discharges to about 3.0V/cell, stopping the current flow. If the discharge continues to about 2.70V/cell or lower, the laptop battery’s protection circuit puts the battery into a sleep mode. This renders the pack unserviceable and a recharge with most chargers will no longer be possible. To prevent a battery from falling asleep, apply a partial charge before a long storage period.

Battery manufacturers ship batteries with about 40 percent charge. The low charge state reduces aging-related stress while allowing some self-discharge during storage. To minimize the current flow for the protection circuit before the battery is sold, advanced Li-ion packs feature a sleep mode that disables the protection circuit until activated by a brief charge or discharge. Once engaged, the battery remains operational and the on state can no longer be switched back to the standby mode.

Do not recharge lithium-ion if a cell has stayed at or below 1.5V for more than a week. Copper shunts may have formed inside the cells that can lead to a partial or total electrical short. If recharged, the cells might become unstable, causing excessive heat or showing other anomalies. Li-ion packs that have been under stress are more sensitive to mechanical abuse, such as vibration, dropping and exposure to heat.

These are just a few helpful tips you can use to try to extend your laptop battery lifetime. Always follow the manufactures recommended care and use for your Li-ion battery. If you are experiencing issues with your laptop battery or cell phone battery, it may be time to have it checked by a computer repair and laptop repair store. Bring it to South City Computer to have an expert computer service technician diagnose your laptop or cell battery today.

Is it time to TOTAL your computer?

Posted by South City Computer

Is it time to say goodbye to your computer?Depending on the age and value of a computer, sometimes a repair is just not worth it. Many people buy cheap bargain computers from retailers like Best-Buy, Micro-Center, or OfficeMax. While these computers may have come at a seemingly great deal, eventually you might have to ask yourself; “Is this computer worth the cost of the repair?” Computers can be totaled just like a car after an accident or major malfunction. At some point most computers will experience a hardware or software malfunction where the repair cost could exceed the actual value of the computer. Many people who come into South City Computer for our expert computer repair services want to know if they should move forward with the cost of the repair, or if they should just total their computer and look at a new computer purchase.

5 of the most common issues that total a computer

Motherboard

Most computers can be considered “totaled” if the motherboard starts to malfunction. This can be caused for a variety of reasons. The most common reason is the capacitors on the motherboard will begin to bulge and leak. This is not an easy repair, and will most likely require the entire motherboard to be replaced on the computer. Think of the motherboard like the engine in your car, usually if your engine locks up or seriously malfunctions, you would probably not pay to replace the engine and would seek to purchase another car.

Broken/Shattered Screen

While it seems silly to throw away a laptop just because the screen is shattered or goes dark, usually the price of repairing a screen is more than just putting that money toward a replacement laptop computer. A replacement screen will vary depending on the computer. The cost of the labor to replace a screen, while reasonable, can make the cost of the repair more than the value of the computer.

Viruses and Rootkits

On older computers having viruses and/or a rootkit is almost a fact of life. A computer that is infected with viruses and/or a rootkit is usually repairable, but if the computer is old this service may be too costly to invest in an old computer. You can usually determine whether your computer is too old for this repair by looking at the version of Windows running on it. If it is at least 2 versions behind, you probably don’t want to spend a lot of money on a total operating system repair.

Broken or Failing Power Jack

The point where the computer attaches to the power supply, known as the DC jack, sometimes becomes a point of failure on a laptop computer. On most laptops the DC jack is usually connected directly to the motherboard and the force and movement exerted from plugging and unplugging the power supply usually breaks this off of the motherboard. You may notice the power jack wiggles around when it plugs in, and may turn off and on when the computer is moved. There usually is no easy fix for this, and will cause the entire motherboard to need to be replaced.

Broken/Dead Hard Drive

No Operating System Found? Eventually the hard drive on your computer may die. Unfortunately on almost all newer computers the Windows recovery partition is included on the hard drive, and becomes un-recoverable after the hard drive dies. Windows 8 computers do not even have a license key on the outside of the computer anymore, and if the hard drive dies, you have to pay to replace the hard drive and re-purchase Windows 8.

A replacement hard drive will vary in price based on the size and speed of the hard drive. The real cost comes into the cost of the replacement Windows operating system and the time it takes to re-install and re-setup the Windows operating system.

Some older computers have a recovery CD that comes with the computer or can be ordered from the computer manufacturer. These CD’s are usually not too costly, but can take time to get. Since time is money you may have to consider is the computer worth the wait or should you just purchase a replacement.

Ultimately there is no one size fits all way to figure out if your computer should be totaled, or incur the cost of a repair. Essentially it is based on the value you place on your computer.

If you are unsure of whether or not your computer should be totaled or repaired, bring it in to South City Computer for expert honest computer repair advice. We can give you an estimate of what your computer is worth based on market value, and let you know about what the repair cost is that your will incur on the computer.

Heartbleed Bug still a threat

Posted by South City Computer

The “Heartbleed Bug,” officially know as CVE-2014-0160, is one of the most far reaching  vulnerabilities ever discovered. It allows a hacker to break the encryption on webpages, and steal personal information such as credit card numbers, but more importantly passwords.

When you connect to a secure website, the website uses something know as SSL to encrypt your connection. By doing this, all the data that’s sent between you and the website is meaningless to anyone except those who have the decryption key, i.e., you and the website. One of the features of SSL is that it uses a “heartbeat signal” that is repetitively sent between you and the website to confirm that you are still connected to the real thing. Your computer sends the website a special packet of data, and the website responds with another special packet. Heartbleed exploits a vulnerability in the OpenSSL brand of SSL that allows a hacker to create an abnormal heartbeat packet, which, when sent to the server, will get it to respond with the decryption key. Once the hacker has this key, he can use it to decode all your communications with the website and get more information, like your password.

Not all websites were vulnerable to Heartbleed, but most were. These include Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and many more. Even though all major websites, and most small ones, have patched the bug by now, any information that you sent before it was patched could have been stolen.

This is why it’s extremely important that you change your password for all of the online services that you use. A hacker could have stolen your password before the bug was fixed, and has just not used it yet. Keep in mind that this must be done after the site you’re using has fixed the bug. If they haven’t fixed it, then you make your new password vulnerable too. All major websites (Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.) have fixed it, but when working with a smaller website, like a corporate intranet for example, you should check with the administrator to make sure first.

Support for Windows XP Ends in Less Than a Month

Posted by South City Computer

Microsoft released Windows XP in 2001, and it was arguably the most popular Windows operating system ever. In fact, it still is extremely popular. 11% of people who are visiting web applications still use Windows XP. Unfortunately, Windows XP is about to be put out of support by Microsoft.

“Out of support” can be kind of a vague description of what is actually happening. Microsoft ending support means that no more software compatible with XP will be released, and none of the software you have installed will recieve updates. These updates include critical security patches that protect your computer from viruses. When these updates stop being issued, more and more vulnerabilities will be discovered, but will never be corrected.

This is why it is important to upgrade your system. With support ending next month, it is critical that you do this as soon as possible!

You have two options when it comes to upgrading.

  • Purchase a new PC
    If your computer still runs Windows XP, it may be time just to replace it. South City Computer can offer you help in finding a new computer suitable for your needs. We can also transfer your personal files from your old computer to a new one so that you don’t lose anything in the process.
  • Upgrade your current computer’s software
    Some computers that currently run Windows XP are capable of running a newer version of Windows. These computers are generally ones that were extra powerful when initially purchased, or computers that were purchased towards the end of the Windows XP era. If you’re wondering whether or not your computer can be upgraded, just give us a call or drop by our store in the St. Louis City Lindenwood Park neighborhood.

Some other Windows End of Support dates to consider:
Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows Vista on April 10, 2012. Microsoft will end mainstream support for Windows 7 on January 13, 2015. Also Microsoft Windows Vista end of extended support will end April 11, 2017. Learn more about the end of Windows lifecycle here.

There are bigger and better things than Windows XP today. So, this is the end. If you’ve stuck with XP until now, you need to get upgraded. Because, trust me, you don’t want to be there when support ends.

« Previous Page — Next Page »
// //
//