New York Laptop / PC / MAC Repair

Archive for August, 2010

The hinge joins the LCD screen to the base of the laptop.  The hinge is under constant stress when the user opens and closes the LCD.  Some causes that can lead to this include dropping the laptop, grabbing it by the screen or extending it with extreme force which moves the hinge and screen back further than its intended position.  There are DIY guides that can be found with a quick google search, however those kinds of fixes are not meant for novices to perform.  Also you’d have to be comfortable with the ”aesthetic” outcome of DIY repair.

Usually the surrounding plastic parts  are more likely to break.  Repair is difficult because spare hinges are a rare find or it has to be custom made.  Whether deciding to bring the device to a repair shop (highly recommended) or to try the DIY method (done at your own risk), the laptop should be salvageable.

There can be many issues with audio.  Common issues include problems with the drivers the PC or Laptop use to recognize the device.  The audio jack can also fail.  Sometimes it has nothing to do with either.  For example, the browser (which was the case for IE7) won’t recognize the audio settings of you PC or Laptop device.  While trying to view a video on the internet your headphones won’t be able to register any sounds from that video.  If the above issues have already been troubleshooted (the browser or drivers recognition) and the user is still having problems, feel free to contact us for a diagnostic.

Overheating in Laptop/MAC/PC can kill your device.  Overheating damages the CPU, the graphics card, the motherboard,  and just about any major computer component of the Laptop/MAC/PC.

For the most part preventing your Laptop/MAC/PCs  from overheating isn’t a daunting task.  It does, however, require the owners of Laptop/MAC/PCs to be diligent with care and maintenance of their devices.  Following a few simple tips can preventing overheating in Laptop/MAC/PCs.  New York Laptop Repair recommends the following tips.  By doing so, the Laptop/MAC/PCs will perform optimally and function for its allocated lifespan (as long as there are no other problems with the device).

Do not block the vent.  By blocking the vent, the user is cutting off the the vital opening needed to get rid of the heat generated by the computer components throughout the Laptop/MAC/PC.  The heated air needs to circulated out of the Laptop/MAC/PC otherwise the system will overheat and automatically shut down.  The automatic shut down is the last ditch effort of the Laptop/MAC/PC trying to prevent itself from destroying the computer components.  If this is something that has already happened multiple times to the user, it’s already likely the computer has sustain some amount of damage from overheating and the user has unknowingly cut the lifespan of the Laptop/MAC/PC (that is if the Laptop/MAC/PC is working).

Always clean the PC or laptop making sure it’s not dusty.  This is a Laptop/MAC/PC killer.  Dust is not the only thing that applies here.  Pet fur falls into this category.  Dust/fur builds up inside the computer.  Dust accumulates around the vents there by blocking it (see above!).  Also dust gets inside the computer which will settle onto the computer components and will eventually trap in heat onto the device itself.  This is incredibly bad for any computer component but it’s doom for the CPU which is the part of the Laptop/MAC/PC that runs and gives off the most heat.  If the CPU (or motherboard) is the Laptop/MAC/PC component that fails due to overheating, it would cost more to fix that device than it would to simply replace it with a Laptop/MAC/PC.  But considering how much money was spend in the first place to buy the Laptop/MAC/PC it makes more sense to just keep the Laptop/MAC/PC clean from dust or fur so that the device can function for its entire lifespan.

Leave space between the bottom of the laptop and a hard surface.  Yes, you read that right–space between bottom of the laptop and every hard surface!  It’s not enough to just place the laptop on a hard surface that may or may not produce heat.  Depending on the type of laptop the user owns, the vents can be either on the sides of the device or on the bottom.  Again, by placing the laptop onto a  hard surface, the user is blocking the vent.  Even if the vents are not located on the bottom of the laptop, all of the major computer components are located there.  If the laptop stays on the surface long enough, it will heat up the space below it and the heat now coming  from that space will cause the laptop to overheat quickly.  The user should invest in getting a laptop stand or even better, a cooling pad for the laptop.  A cooling pad is a laptop stand with extra fans that blow cool air onto the bottom of the laptop.  When buying a cooling pad, do some research.   The user should get a cooling pad which had fans positioned strategically.  For example, if the laptop has vents on the bottom, then the fans of the cooling pad should be around or away from the vents.  You don’t want to end up with a cooling pad that is blowing air into the vents that is trying to get rid of heated air.  It defeats the purpose and you will probably cause the laptop to overheat.

Do not place laptops on bedding or pillows.  This should be a given however, New York Laptop Repair has seen plenty of cases where this is the reason for a laptop to overheat.  Bedding and pillows trap heat!  Working on your bed may be comfortable but this practice will overheat you laptop.  Get a cooling pad or laptop stand if you are going to use the laptop on the bed.

Again, New York Laptop Repair recommends to follow these basic tips for optimal longevity for PC’s and Laptops.  Also New York Laptop Repair strongly encourages you to buying a cooling pad.

When a battery dies it almost always has to be replaced.  Working around a dead battery by plugging it into the AC adaptor doesn’t provide a long term solution either.  In fact, having the laptop plugged in constantly can leave the device vulnerable to other problems such as a power surges.  If the laptop becomes disconnected from the AC adaptor, it will automatically power down.  If enough incidents occur of a forced shut down, it can lead to hard drive failure and damage the other components of the laptop.  In buying a replacement part for the laptop battery, New York Laptop Repair recommends getting a genuine replacement from the same manufactures of you laptop that was design specifically to work with that laptop.

The risk of not buying a genuine replacement is that the laptop battery might not fit correctly into the laptop.  Laptop batteries are not similar and come in different shapes.  If the user searches for a laptop battery by model number for a generic brand, there is also the risk of what quality that particular laptop battery has.  Will the battery have a long lifespan?  How long will the laptop battery’s charge hold?

Each laptop battery is design differently for power usage.  The average charge for the different types of  batteries is affected by the computer hardware found in the laptop, what performance settings the laptop is set to (balanced, power saver or high performance) and what kind of cell battery is used by the laptop.  For example, some laptop batteries have 6-cells and others have 9-cells.  If describing a lower end laptop on the balanced power setting, a 6-cell battery provide on average three hours of charge whereas a 9-cell battery offers an average of six hours of batter life.  Those numbers change if describing a higher end laptop on high performance setting.  That 6-cell battery now provides an average of an hour and a half of charge and the 9-cell battery offers two or three hours of charge.

A unique feature of the 9-cell battery is that it protrudes outward from the base of the laptop (12-cell batteries also have this feature).  The shape almost acts as a laptop stand by putting space between the laptop and surface the battery and laptop is resting on.  Many laptops can upgrade to either the 9-cell or 12-cell battery, from whatever standard cell battery the laptop series comes with.  Another benefit of the extended life battery is that is has a longer lifespan.  For example, a 9-cell battery will outlast a 6-cell battery on average, one year.  A 12-cell battery will outlast a 6-cell battery by 18 months.  The slight disadvantage of the extended life batteries is that because of its design, it is heavier than the standard batteries.

For which ever laptop battery you use, keeping it alive for the complete duration of its lifespan is a skill of finese.  The user has to keep an eye out for when the battery is fully charge and when it’s about to die.  If the user let’s the battery completely die before charging it up again, the  battery’s lifespan will gradually decrease below its intended duration.  This is due in part to the process in the battery that alters over time because of the exhaustion of certain chemical resources.  So overcharging and letting the battery completely die depletes those chemicals from the battery.

New York Laptop Repair recommends following these steps for optimal laptop battery use.  In caring for one’s laptop try not to let the  battery completely die.  New York Laptop Repair suggest letting the battery drain  to 10% then recharge it.  Once it is recharge, unplug the AC adaptor.  By doing so, the chemicals in the laptop battery won’t dissipate as quickly and the battery will more like live for its anticipated lifespan.

The Samsung Captivate is the new Android Phone offer from AT&T.   With an 4 inch display, the Samsung Captivate has the thinnest display availabe in the market today.  It utilizes super AMOLED technology which uses less power than conventional phones, allows for wider viewing angles and provides a lightweight design for the phone.  One of the best feature of this phone is its audience voice-processing chip which cancels out background noise. 

Read more info about the Samsung Captivate.

The Dell Streak is causing lots of buzz but not for its capabilities.  At 5 inches, the Dell Streak is garnering attention for being oversized and its lack of  “pocketability.”  Marketed as a tablet, it’s suppose to replace the need for lugging around multiple devices such as your cell phone or other tablet PCs. 

The consensus is the Dell Streak doesn’t quite measure up.

Antivir Solution Pro may sound like a legitimate antivirus but in actuality it’s malaware dowloaded while surfing the internet.  Users are forced to view popups stating their systems are infected with a virus and to buy its software for removal.  The problem is once Antivir Solution Pro is download it could stop all programs from opening.  What makes AntivirSolution more of a hassel is trying to delete it from your computer!  Fortunately, there’s plenty of sites out there that offers removal procedures. 

The release of mozilla’s new browser (beta version) offers a peak at what promises to be a powerful and faster.

Here’s some specs of what’s being offered:

• HTML5 Support for HD Videos
• CSS3 updated
• Plugin crash protection
• Reload and stop button merge into one button
• Tabs are now on top of address bar (default position)
• New firefox button similar to window home button

Check out this link for more details.