Cary Computer Service & Repair Award

Some company tried to sell us this plaque (via spam email for $100). While we would probably win the award if there was one, this is just one of those companies that is selling a vanity award. It looks neat enough for a blog post though, so here it is. =)

HP ZE4145 vs. Super Glue

We had a HP ZE4145 laptop come in for our backlight repair service this week. Our customer told us that the machine worked fine one day, then the next it had no display. They could slightly see what was going on but the backlight was not lighting up.

Note: Most of the machines we get in for backlight repair actually do not need a backlight.

Anyways upon inspection we noticed the hibernate button was stuck down. Well, it wasn't just stuck down but it was glued down with some super glue.

Fortunately on this model the little hibernate button resides on it's own little board. We had the board in stock @ $29. We charged our customer our minimum labor charge and got this one back out the door. When our customer came to pick it up they told us that their 10yr old had been playing with the glue near the computer the night before it quit working which explained everything.

For more information on backlight repair please see our backlight FAQ.

iMac 24" Repair

We had an iMac 24" in this week for Data Recovery. This customer lives all the way up near VA but couldn't find anyone to work on the machine. Even with the OS corrupt we were able to retrieve the requested data from the GPT partition.

The iMac is a neat machine. We can't say we'd recommend it for everyone- it is stylish and worth around $1,900, but very proprietary. If you want to add the latest video card or DVDRW to it- it isn't going to happen- but that is not what the machine is meant for- it is just supposed to be a neat looking computer with a huge screen- or at least that was our impression of it- we're not really Mac experts over here.

Getting at the hard drive was a task- we should have documented it but didn't. If you are reading this and need disassembly instructions, well, we don't have them. Just go out and buy some suction cups prior to working on the machine.

July 4, 2008

Happy Fourth of July!

We'll be open again Monday morning (7/7/8).

What is inSide919.com?

inSide919.com is a community resource for business people working and living within the 919 Area Code of North Carolina.

Our profile on inSide919 can be viewed here.

Dell Registered Partner AbsoluteRaleigh.com

Dell has updated it's reseller program and we can now announce that we are a Dell Registered Partner. We'll primarily carry notebooks; we'll start with some Vostro machines.

Simply due to our cost being nearly the same as yours, they'll likely be cheaper to buy directly from the manufacturer and we will attempt to add some value. This will be some added memory and the convenience of being able to buy it right away. Many people have to wait two weeks (or longer) for the manufacturer to get a machine built and shipped.

Another Bad AC Adapter

Someone from up near Virginia was referred to us the other day. They drove all the way here, spending $40+ in gas. We signed the machine in and told them it would be a few days before we could get to it and that we would be giving them a call. We told them we'd ship the unit back to them for $15 so that they wouldn't have to spend $40 in gas and 4 hours on the road.

They were referred here by another computer store who told them they would have to bring the machine here for a power jack repair.

We went to check the unit out and to our surprise it simply had a bad AC adapter. We had exact replacements in stock @ $49. They were thrilled that the repair was a third of what they thought it would be. Return S/H to them was $15.

MacBook Pro Repair 90% off

To be perfectly honest, we have almost avoided Mac laptops for years. None of us here are Apple "fanboys". At the same time, we do see why many people like the machines and why some of those people would have no use for a Windows machine- and that is fine.

We still offer free diagnostics on Apple laptops. While we do not know a whole lot about the software troubleshooting and repairing a Mac is nearly the same as many other laptops.

Anyways, the other day "Matt" brought in a Mac. He had spilled some juice on it. Apple told him the repair was a flat rate of $1,200. What the heck?! Again, we are not very familiar with Apple, so if anyone knows what is going on PLEASE let us know. Lately we have been hearing all kinds of horror stories like this. The mainboard was a fraction of $1,200. Better yet, we simply opened up his machine, cleaned up the spill, put it back together and it worked fine! (There was a little luck involved here). Anyways Matt's bill was $120. Even if it needed parts, Matt's bill would NOT have been over a thousand bucks.

Does apple not have access to their own parts? Are they abusing customers? Are the customers making this all up? Do they just want to sell more stuff? I have no idea still. We'll have to run some of our own tests and try to figure out what is going on.

Download Day Certificate for AbsoluteRaleigh.com

Yay, we got a Download Day certificate.

Thanks Mozilla! =)

FireFox 3 set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloads in 24 hours. There were 8,002,530 downloads.

ThinkPad R40 problems

We've been getting a lot of IBM ThinkPad R40 laptops in for repair lately. Some of the issues are easy fixes, some mean the end of the road for the old R40.

Fan Error. We've seen hundreds of R40 laptops over the years but something must be in the air as we had several of these in last week for a "Fan Error". We normally have the fans in stock and they're typically around $99 installed.

Scrambled video, no video or distorted video. This seems to happen most often to the Celeron or P4 versions of the R40. The problem is the ATI graphics chip and it requires a replacement of the motherboard. When the boards are available they're normally around 369 installed. Most people do not opt to get their motherboard replaced but we still replace them to people who need them or want them replaced.

The above two issues are the most common on the R40. Other little/less common issues include: no display, bad AC adapter, missing keys, broken CDROM, bad Ethernet port, touchpad (mouse/cursor) problems, cracked screens, etc.

Wii Laptop

Below: A "Wii laptop".. Basically it is a Wii that looks like a laptop. Not sure how many people want to play video games on an 8" screen but it is kind of cool...

FireFox 3 is here!

If you haven't tried FireFox, now is the time. IE is still required for pages that aren't correctly published, for sites that require Active X controls and for a few other things but FireFox is definitely a great browser. This could be the best thing to come since Lynx.

Now, participate in Download Day 2008 and download FireFox 3 on June 17 here.

Download Day 2008 is JUNE 17

Download FireFox 3 on June 17, 2008 to help set the Guinness World Record for the most software downloads in 24 hours. To participate visit:
http://www.spreadfirefox.com

Petaflop!

The world's first petaflop is upon us.

No, it isn't a new wrap.

To see what a FLOP is visit the Wikipedia page here (NOTE: the Wiki page is slightly out of date.)

To read more about the world's (current) fastest computer "Roadrunner" visit the CNN story here.

Macbook / G4 LCD Replacement

We have had quite a few Mac laptops in lately for screens.

One of our last customers called back three times after she received her quote. She couldn't believe what she had heard. Before she found us she went to Apple and 2 other computer stores. Apple had quoted her around $850 for a new screen for her G4 13.3" WXGA laptop. She said the other stores quoted her a few bucks less. Then she got our quote- $299 installed. Yes, $299 covered both parts and labor. Yes, the screen is new. Yes, the computer will work again. She had given up hope on her laptop until one of her friends told her about us.

Right now, we're still not sure why Apple quote this person so high.. We replace LCDs here daily and $299 is the going rate for a brand new screen. $850 is completely insane- we have no idea why a company would charge one of their own customers an extremely outrageous sum. You would think they would be cheaper than us. Anyways, we don't want to jump to any conclusions. Once we figure out he answer, we'll post it here.

We also have a 17" MBP coming in this week for a screen. This guy was quoted $1274 by Apple. We expect his to be $249 - $399 max- just have to get it in first.

Dell 6000, 6400 & E1505 laptops with No Display

We have seen a surge of Dell 6000, 6400, E1505 and other laptops coming in for repair with no display. The display suddenly goes dark and nothing can be seen on the screen. Or, the LCD is very dim, making text and images barely visible.

The display can not be seen due to any of a few different problems. But, lately we have had several come in with a bad backlight. Most of these laptops require our backlight repair.

For more information on backlight technology please visit our backlight repair FAQ. For more infomation on other Dell 6000 problems visit our Inspiron repair page .

Raleigh is smokin

A couple of days ago, June 12 to be exact, the air was very smoky here in Raleigh & Cary. Customers came in with headaches and runny noses. Cars had soot on them and smoke was in the air. Air quality was poor and a Code Red was issued for Wake County. This is due to the wildfire burning 150mi away from here, where 40,000 acres are burning or smoldering. Attached is an image taken by the local news.

Moved in!

Many of you know that we've been moving. Finally, finally all of our STUFF is here in the new shop. Our sign is up and we have about 1 more month of renovations and then we'll be back to 100% again.

Happy Father's Day 2008

Happy Father's Day from Absolute Computers!

The image is the Google logo for Father's Day 2008.

Paul Jones

Paul Jones, a local Baptist minister and computer technician, passed away May 6th, 2008.

If you were one of Paul's friends please consider donating to the Jones Family Memorial Fund at Hope Chapel in Apex.

The obituary is available at CaryNews.com here.

We're Moving

We're moving! Over the next several days there will be some changes to our website. We will be in both locations for a while, but our shop is moving.

The new address is:
2436 SW Cary Parkway
Cary NC 27513

It is just a quarter mile move from our current location. We'll be in the Parkway Pointe Shopping Center / Food Lion Plaza.