FAILED HARD DRIVE We finished a service call yesterday that was initially scheduled as a virus removal and speedup. Before we could get there, the hard drive stopped working altogether. We arrived to find that the hard drive had failed, and that we were in for more than we expected. Our client was advised to …
TECH SUPPORT SCAMS AND POTENTIALLY UNWANTED PROGRAMS “Some scammers call and claim to be computer techs associates with well-known companies like Microsoft or Apple. Other scammers send pop-up messages that warn about computer problems. They say they’ve detected viruses or other malware on your computer. They claim to be ‘tech support’ and will ask you …
POWER JACK REPLACEMENT We responded to a service call today to replace the power adapter port on a Dell Inspiron 15 (model 7568). Upon initial inspection, it was clear that the power port had broken off inside the laptop case and was dangling loose. Any attempt to plug in the adapter just pushed the adapter …
WHO NEEDS DATA BACKUP? Have you considered what would happen if you suddenly lost all the data on your computer, laptop or phone? Years of family photos, taxes and bank documents, personal videos and even your iTunes account could be gone in an instant. Many of us have already experienced the displeasure of an unexpected …
HACKER TRACKER ‘HackerBoxes’ is a monthly subscription box sent to aspiring hackers, nerds and tinkerers alike. Of course, when we talk about hackers, we’re not talking about the hood-wearing, bank-account-emptying type. When we talk about hackers, we’re imagining the bygone days of soldering EEPROMs onto circuit boards, bypassing long-distance telephone charges and tinkering with computer …
RING VIDEO DOORBELL As part of our Smart Home series of blog posts, Elijah is installing every device we offer to our customers in his own home. Today, home security is the name of the game with the Ring Video Doorbell. Although there are several models of Ring doorbells, such as Ring 2, Ring Pro …
DANGEROUS DUST When your electronic devices are allowed to collect dust and grime, performance suffers. Reduced airflow leads to increased temperatures, slower performance, an increased risk of component failure and general frustration. Keeping them clean is important – we recommend you get your computer cleaned and checked out once a year to maximize its value. …
COMPUTER DETAILING I dubbed this pile of cables and dust bunnies the ‘Spaghetti Monster’ for obvious reasons. Not only did it look terrible, it also posed a fire hazard and ran the risk of component failure at any time. Performance was notably slower than usual and the temperature was notably higher. I had the pleasure …
SPILL DAMAGE MITIGATION I recently completed a work order to repair and detail a gaming rig that had a glass of milk spilled into it through the top fan grates. You can imagine the extent of the damage: flaky white stains covering every single component inside the oversized tower, a faint smell of dairy and …
#NetNeutrality is a slogan that has been gaining traction lately, but it’s not new by any definition. On the surface, Net Neutrality carries a basic premise: All data should be treated equally. That’s all well and good, but data is not alive, per se, so why should it be afforded the same protections as a …