#computer Repair

[allthecanadianpolitics]

When you need to drop off your tech devices for a repair, how confident are you that they won't be snooped on? CBC's Marketplace took smartphones and laptops to repair stores across Ontario — including large chains Best Buy and Mobile Klinik — and found that in more than half of the documented cases, technicians accessed intimate photos and private information not relevant to the repair. Marketplace dropped off devices at 20 stores, ranging from small independent shops to medium-sized chains to larger national chains, after installing monitoring software on the devices. In total, 16 stores were recorded. (At four stores, the tracking software didn't log anything, or the stores didn't appear to turn the devices on.) Technicians at nine stores accessed private data, including one technician who not only viewed photos but copied them onto a USB key. "These results are frightening," said Hassan Khan, associate professor in the school of computer science at the University of Guelph. "It's looking through information, searching for data on users' devices, copying data off the device.... it's as bad as it gets."

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[domdelore]

Sharing about my new computer #upcycle business!

Taking classic and vintage macs and giving them a second life!

Good for the environment and easy on the wallet 😃

[mama-mystery]

Fixed my second monitor. My portrait fits it perfectly. 🤣😜

[mrmemefellow]

[aviyinglet]

For being a silly little creature, Myno is remarkably single-minded when working on computers. (Especially yours! Don't worry about it.) This is the seventh yinglet commission I've done in this style! Details and price sheet can be found here. Patreon - Ko-Fi Myno! the yinglet belongs to Mynotaurus, and rendering her was an honor -v- Bonus sketch here Yinglet species created by Valsalia

Posted using PostyBirb

[ineffable-yaoi]

tumblr please help

hiiii!

so I’m an actual dumbass when it comes to fixing technology and require some help

background: I have this really shitty Inspiron n7010 dell laptop that is currently running windows 10. it was my dad’s work laptop for a few years and I wanted to use it for burning cds. so I crack it open to use and works perfectly for a few hours! then it randomly shut down at one point so I went to turn it back on. and it got to that one screen that says “repairing drive or smth, this may take over an hour” and then shows a percentage. it got to 100% pretty quick, but nothing was happening. then it randomly shut down.

ever since then; the cycle goes

I turn on the laptop

it boots up

it loads for a bit

blue screen of death

boots up again

loads with “preparing automatic repair”

loads with “diagnosing your pc”

wait wait wait load load load

“Automatic repair couldn’t repair your pc” then buttons for either shutting down or advanced options.

Then it lets me either; turn it off, troubleshoot, or continue to windows ten.

(I can’t reset the pc, use the recovery tool, system restore, system image recovery, or uninstalling updates bc my account isn’t an admin account and my dad can’t remember the password to his)

I have tried using startup repair; it leads to a screen that says “startup repair couldn’t repair your pc”

I’ve tried booting in safe mode in every way possible it gives me, it still won’t work.

I’ve tried disabling driver signature enforcement, I’ve tried disabling automatic restart on system failure, but it still won’t boot up.

The recent downloads are just audio files from a yt to mp3 converter called “cobalt”

Is there anything I could possibly do?

Anyone with tech knowledge please look at this post

I’m sorry if this is a complete rambling and is unfixable, but if anyone has suggestions please drop them in the comments or reblogs.

[nattarthetimedragon]

Emergency My computer is having some serious issues and will need to be repaired. It is kind of working for the time being but I do not know how long with will last if I do not get it fixed. my work depends on me having a computer

[unironicallyahomestuck]

https://t.co/DFkJ7ERuie Update to previous post : Sera needs 100 dollars for the diagnostic on her computer, around 50 for drive recovery. She's still waiting on the computer store to call her back, but I'd say she needs something like $200. Boost or donate if you can!

[kitkatmelon]

ok i need help heres my last posts tags fhseirhfitr

what do i dooooooo

[computerrepairservices-post]

Computer repair services that are highly rated in Miami.

We are your one-stop electronic store; whether your smartphone screen is worn out or your gaming PC is in need of a performance boost, or your laptop is not responding, our team of certified technicians is here to diagnose, repair, and get you back in the game, and for passionate gamers seeking the ultimate edge, we offer customized Gaming PCs. Don’t settle for a pre-built machine that limits your potential. Tell us your gaming needs and budget, and our technical experts will design and assemble a high-performance PC that perfectly fits your gaming style.

PC & Notebook Repair & Upgrades:

Whether your PC has stopped working completely, has become slow and frustrating to use, or is in need of upgrading, then we have the in-house expertise to help you. Please note, we do not work with Mac or other Apple products.

Networking Solutions:

If you’ve got several PCs at home or in the office and want to maximize their potential by sharing documents, files, and media, you probably need a network.

Photo & Document Recovery & Hard Drive Cloning:

We can recover lost documents, files, photos and any important data from a broken computer.

Networking Solutions:

It is not just inexperienced users of a PC or laptop that can fall prey to the effects of a computer infection. Even the most experienced user can inadvertently allow a virus or other malicious software to enter and spread.

Our Services:

Virus/Spyware Removal

Hardware & Windows Repair

Booting Issue Repair

Slow Computer Tune-Up

Hardware Installation

Home Networking

Laptop Screen Repairs

Keyboard/Touchpad Repairs

DC Power Jack Repair

Booting Issues

Power Button Repair

Wi-Fi Connection Issues

Network Management

Network Cable Installation

Website Development

Data Backup Management

All Computer Services

All Laptop Services

Rapid Response Time:

One of our main advantages over most companies is our quick response time. Most on-site computer repair companies make you wait days for service, and if you drop it off at a shop, they make you wait days to complete the repair. Why does it take them so long? Because they do not prioritize every single customer! We consistently offer same day or next day service, with most repairs being finished on-site that day. For the repairs that need to be taken back to the shop, we prioritize those too. We boast an average turnaround time of only 2 days, and we drop it off to you when it's done, or you can pick it up.

Full Service On-Site Support:

Don't touch a thing. We come directly to your home or business, and perform the repair right there. We handle it all, from start to finish, without you having to lift a finger. We provide on-site computer repair in most cities and towns in Miami Dade including: Miami Gardens, Aventura, Golden Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, North Miami Beach, North Miami, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Indian Creek, Surfside, Biscayne Park, Miami Shores, El Portal, North Bay Village, Opa-locka, Miami Lakes, Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens, Medley, Doral, Miami Springs, Virginia Gardens, Sweetwater, Miami, Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, West Miami, Coral Gables, South Miami, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, Homestead, Florida City.

Website: Computer Repair Mia

[illuminatedleopardslug]

I NEED HELP!! i got my beautiful baby boy in the mail but he was DAMAGED!!!! and won’t boot. the person i bought it from is paying for repairs but i may have to tap into my own pocket too…. it is not like, outside damage but rather inside damage. if i can fix him myself someone pls tell me ☹️

a little info dump abt him under image

i am thinking it is his ram. i took him apart and removed it, cleaned it with a cloth, and put it back in properly. i thought maybe it could have been jostled but unfortunately it didn’t do anything. i came to the ram conclusion because of the flashing led power button, and the three beeps he does every-time i try to boot him up. i am at a loss and like. no one knows what to do online. idk if the heat could have damaged his insides or what?? it’s been rly hot as he was shipped. i don’t think it’s anything more intense than a ram issue. he was running legit 3 days before i got him. should i get new ram ?? should i try trouble shooting even more ?? or do i just take him into a shop ? idk what to do !

[roseverdict]

hey who wants to look at the innards of the laptop i've been tasked with repairing and help me figure out whether i can safely unplug a ribbon cable that's blocking the connection i actually need to switch out for a new one

it's an acer aspire vx5-591g if that helps. or vx 15. idk why there's multiple model numbers. the hard drive replacement was simple enough but i've been connectionblocked here wksjaizhajzhaha

also here's the replacement i wanna put in there. ik it's not completely identical but it looks like it'll fit in the same spot without issue and it's not quite as high wattage so it wouldn't burn anything out so. yeehaw

[gadgetzoneplus01]

Gadget Zone is committed to provide affordable, quality and timely services. We are professional and certified technicians ready to resolve all of your computer problems. We are equipped and ready to serve residential and small business with excellent computer support. We offer the most affordable price along with guarantee with all of our services. We will meet and exceed all of your expectations.

[techav]

So I have this printer ...

Not that one specifically, that one is beautiful and in great condition, but one like it — Apple ImageWriter II. Specifically mine is the ImageWriter II/L variant, the last revision of the ImageWriter II line, but it looks like this one.

Or at least it did once upon a time.

My family acquired this printer second-hand in the late 90s along with a Mac Classic. It got used regularly for school reports and letters and business documents and tax forms for a few years until we finally were able to get a new computer with a color inkjet printer.

Long story short, like the computer that went with it, ultimately this poor printer ended up sitting in storage without air conditioning in East Texas heat and humidity for nearly twenty years. It's a sad story of slow decay.

My ImageWriter is now yellowed and scuffed and scraped and rusted and missing a piece or two; just a dim reminder of its former beauty. Given the state of it, what hope do we have of ever again hearing it sing the song of its people?

Well, I'm not going to let it go without a fight. Time to dig in and see what we can ...

... oh. Oh dear that won't do at all.

A good rule to follow when working with these 30+ year old systems, is to (carefully!) open and inspect before applying any power. In this case I'm very glad I did. Three large filter capacitors on the power supply have very obviously swollen and burst, spreading their corrosive bile all over the neighborhood.

The back side of the power supply circuit board was a wasteland of rotting solder mask, corroded traces, and displaced silkscreen. The electrolyte has eaten its way down the leads, through the solder, and left carnage in its wake all across the bottom of the board.

First order of business is getting those old capacitors removed from the board so cleanup can begin. If you've never worked with hardware of this vintage, a fair warning — make sure you're working in a well-ventilated area. Sure the solder has lead and the flux ain't great for the lungs, but the big concern here is the unholy stench of heated capacitor electrolyte hitting the nostrils like the revenge of Poseidon's refuse bin. The local fish market has nothing on these things.

The old solder, especially when mixed with the electrolyte, tends to behave in a very un-solder-like fashion. It will refuse to melt and when it does it will slump around like wet sand rather than flow like liquid metal should. While it may seem counter-intuitive, the best way to get rid of it is to add more fresh solder to it. On these single-sided boards with large components like this, a spring-action solder pump works well for getting the old parts removed, and then some solder braid will clean up the pads well.

Once the old parts are out, I like to thoroughly clean the area with isopropyl alcohol to remove the electrolyte and years of grease and dirt and pet hair that may have cemented itself to the board. In this case I also needed to use a mild abrasive to remove that damaged solder mask where it had bubbled up off the corroding copper traces. I was lucky here that none of the traces were actually broken or corroded through completely. Clear nail polish works well for protecting the now bare copper (just make sure it's not the UV-cure gel stuff).

From here I turned my attention to the case, because the power supply is the last item removed and first installed when conducting a complete tear down of this printer, and it didn't make sense to put my newly cleaned power supply into a dirty old case.

I'm not really a fan of retrobrite, and these large case pieces would be a real challenge anyway. So all I want is to clean up the dirt and rust and as many scuff marks as I can. As far as I'm concerned, the rest is just part of the history of the item. Each mark tells a story of how this item was used, not just put up on a shelf to be looked at. And if I didn't have any interest in using the machine until it completely falls to pieces, I wouldn't be bothering with going fishing replacing old capacitors.

This is a good point to do some testing. There may still be more wrong with that power supply. Output voltages could have drifted out of spec from other components aging, or maybe I installed capacitors that don't quite match the originals. The ImageWriter II/L power supply has three outputs — +5VDC, -5VDC, & +26VDC. With no load on the power supply, I measured the outputs at around ±7V and 30V. That seems high, but it's not outside of what I would expect for a power supply that's not actually driving anything. This would be a good point to use an adjustable test load, but since I don't have one of those, I'll just have to move forward with my "well it seems fine'

Spoiler: it was not fine.

As part of its startup sequence, the ImageWriter exercises all of its stepper motors to get everything to a known state. This high current draw immediately after power on was more than its old power supply could give. There's clearly more than bad capacitors on the supply, but identifying what exactly is still beyond my current skill level.

So in the interest of getting the machine working (because I have plans for it), I opted to try replacing the power supply with something more modern. The catch here is the odd assortment of voltages the original supply provided. It's easy to find a ±5VDC supply, but 26V is virtually unheard-of.

Apple's documentation for the printer mentions the +26V supply is for driving the motors. I suspected that the 26V supply was less carefully regulated and probably targeting something more like 24V. Sure enough, the stepper with the highest voltage rating on its label was 24V. With a little extra current capacity available, I figured the printer would function just fine with a 24V supply.

The catch is, 24V & ±5V is not a common configuration. There are plenty of 12V & ±5V supplies, but that won't do here. I settled on a Mean Well 24V & 5V supply with a -5V inverter ... And promptly ordered the wrong part. I had a nice new 12V & 5V supply. That's ok, once I got it in hand it was a bit too large to fit in the space I had anyway.

So I got a different Mean Well 24V supply and a separate 24V-5V DC-DC converter. It's a bit of a mess all crammed into the bottom of the case, but it should give all the right voltages (or near enough).

I did have to remove the power switch from the old supply though. That particular part has long since been discontinued, and compatible replacements proved difficult to find.

Now that it's all assembled, it's time to test. This is the part that always makes me nervous, especially when dealing with mains voltages. There's so much that can go so very horribly wrong.

I started out with a smoke test — switching on power briefly to make sure there were no direct shorts that might cause an explosive failure. No smoke is a good sign, so check the voltages. With no load, the new supply rails read 23.99V, 5.00V, and -5.55V. That's about as good as I could ever ask for. So now there's only one thing left to test … does it actually print?

Success!

It's not perfect. Every once in a while it will stutter while printing and get stuck with the carriage on one side or the other. It really needs a complete disassembly, thorough cleaning, and relubrication. That kind of mechanical teardown is a bit beyond what I'm comfortable with at the moment, but I'll happily settle for mostly working over not working at all.

[cjbolan]

Really bummed that my laptop screen is flickering , and after trying everything may have to switch to a new device. I hope that doesn’t happen. I’ll miss being able to color quickly and comfortably lie in bed with a computer.

[rabid-dog-steve-horn]

If you don't get this joke, then...