Generally, computers have 3 parts that can make noise: the speakers (duh), the hard drive, and the fan or fans. We’ll assume that you have already determined that the noise you’re experiencing isn’t coming from the speakers. This leaves the hard drive and fan, the two components in computers that have moving parts. Noise coming from either could indicate a problem, so here’s a few tips to figure out what it might be:

If it’s a quiet clicking or grinding noise, its probably the hard drive. Most computers have a flashing light that indicates hard drive activity, and if the noise is concurrent with this light it  is most definitely the hard drive. In this case, you should shut down the computer immediately and take it to an expert. Continuing to use the computer increases the chance of data loss drastically, and therefore should be avoided at all costs. When you bring your computer to an expert, such as the ones at South City Computer, he or she will generally copy the data from the old drive to a safe place, and then install a new one. Hard drives can’t really be ‘fixed,’ but replacements come at a reasonable price.

If the noise you hear is a louder clicking or fluttering, and it goes on constantly for the entire time the computer is powered on, it is most likely the fan. This poses a danger to your computer too, as a defective or obstructed fan can cause the computer to overheat. This will result in unexpected shutdowns, and can possibly permanently damage the CPU, by melting it. Shut down the computer immediately to prevent possible damage. If you can access the fan, make sure that no wires or dust is obstructing it. If this doesn’t solve the problem, or if the fan is inaccessible, take the computer to an expert to have the fan replaced. Fans are generally inexpensive, but an improper installation could cause the same problems as if the fan hadn’t been replaced at all.

In either case, the best solution is to shut down the computer right away and bring it to South City computers for a professional diagnosis. South City Computer can offer you wholesale pricing on parts that you might not otherwise be able to find at all, and of course, all installations will be done by one of our expert technicians.

When lithium-ion rechargeable batteries first hit the market, they were a big deal. They opened a whole new door to portable electronics, because even though the battery could only power it for a few hours, they could be used over and over again.

Unfortunately, this use cycle was not unlimited, and they could only be charged and discharged about 300-500 times. The number of charge cycles has greatly increased since then, mainly due to intelligent charge controllers in the electronics, however, it is still not unlimited.

Chances are, if your laptop is a few years old, the battery has undergone cell oxidation. Cell oxidation is when the battery loses electrons. This is normal, because the battery outputs electrons in order to power the device. The degradation of battery life is caused by the fact that not all of the electrons can be recovered every time the battery is recharged, so, each charge cycle you put the computer through slightly reduces the battery life.

Eventually, once the process gets far enough, the charge controller will notice and send a message to the device. This usually shows up as a notification in the lower right corner on Windows systems. Unfortunately, due to the nature of lithium-ion batteries, there is no way to reverse the process. The battery will need to be replaced.

If this has happened to you, consult the experts at South City Computer to find a reliable replacement battery at a good price.

South City Computer offers remote support over the internet for when you don’t want to bring your laptop or desktop into the store. Here’s the process of getting connected:

1. Call us to schedule an appointment

Call us at 314-400-7918 to schedule an appointment. Appointments can often be made for the next day, and same day appointments for critical cases are possible.

2. Change your power settings

Your computer must remain powered on for a technician to work on it, so change your computer’s power settings like so:
Go to Start > Conrol Panel

Click on System and security

Click on Power Options

Click Change plan settings for the plan that is currently selected

From the drop down menu, select Never. If you’re using a laptop, you may have additional drop downs for options such as “Put the computer to sleep” and “Hibernate the computer”. Make sure these are also set to Never.

Click on Save Changes

3. Download the remote support software

Before your scheduled appointment time, go to http://remote.pinkasterisk.com. A technician will call you at your scheduled time and ask you to enter a 4 letter code. Enter this code into the box on the webpage, and press join.

After a few seconds, you will be prompted with this dialog:

Press the Run button to dismiss the warning. After this, the application will download, and you will be presented with another security warning:

Make sure to press Yes to allow the software to run on your computer.

4. That’s it!

If everything was successful, you should see this message:

The technician should now be able to see and operate your computer and can begin fixing your problems.

You found us! We changed our brand to South City Computer. After several years of people asking us “how do you spell/pronounce IVANHOE?”, we decided to make our name easier. You can expect the same great computer repair service and expert computer support you have always enjoyed, just with a new name. Thanks so much for your business!

Someone recently dropped by our computer repair store in Lindenwood Park with an X-Box 360 that was experiencing the infamous red ring of death.

The red ring of death is an indicator of a boot failure of the X-Box 360. This could be caused by a number of things, but the most common by far is an issuinside of xboxe that results from overheating.

The X-Box 360 produces a huge amount of heat, and sometimes the fan system isn’t enough to handle it all. Over time, the heat can cause the silicon motherboard to warp out of shape. As a result, it can’t make good contact with the CPU anymore and therefore cannot boot, resulting in the RROD.

So how do we fix it?

Well, first, let’s say how not to fix it. There’s a rumor going around on the Internet that wrapping your X-Box in towels will fix the problem. This is definitely not true. When you wrap your X-Box in towels, it just keeps the heat in, and bends the motherboard even more. This may make the board make good contact with the CPU again, but it lets the CPU and other parts rise to ridiculous temperatures. Like this, you will end up basically melting the components of the unit, and it definitely won’t work then.

The real way to fix it is to re-seat the CPU and GPU, and tighten down the heatsinks so that they can make a good connection with the motherboard. Unfortunately, this really has to be left to a professional. The parts that you have to deal with in there are pretty sensitive, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s possible to break them just by touching them.