26454EU IBM ThinkPad 600X
Friday, May 20, 2005

This one just came in for a new keyboard, which is in stock.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 6:28 AM, ,


Internet Filtering in China

Well, after the last post, I just bumped into this which explains (the disturbing) Internet filtering in China.
http://www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/china/


Len
Absolute Computers

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 6:24 AM, ,


Blogging in China

Most of China has not yet heard of blogging. Of course, it is just a matter of time though. The beginning of it is here: http://www.blogkumedia.com/. It is being monitored by the Chinese government and as long as there are no "heated discussions" they will not throw the blogger in prison. (There are some strict rules to using the Internet in China.)

Here is a link to the China Internet Information Center:
http://www.china.org.cn/english/

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 6:14 AM, ,


HP ZE4500 DC Jack Repair for a blog fan!
Thursday, May 19, 2005

A customer named Keith from Mechanicsville, VA has just had his laptop repaired here. He sent along a note with his laptop that mentioned he has been reading our blog and noticed that we have had very good success repairing HP laptops! Thanks Keith!

It turns out a store in his area has already performed the DC Jack repair, but the repair had not lasted very long. We noticed this when we took the unit apart- this time we installed a new jack and applied extra solder to help keep it in place.

The HP notebooks have jacks on them which are easily broken. No repair is permanent but the one we did will make it as strong or stronger than when the laptop originally left the factory. We recommend that HP laptop owners take extra care not to tug on their power cord since the DC Jacks are so fragile.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 12:54 PM, ,


RSS Advertising

Google's AdSensse for feeds is now in beta:
https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/answer.py?answer=20012

Many are opposed to Google's move although I believe it is just another innovative step in the rapidly growing advertising market in cyberspace. =)

Len
Absolute Computers

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 12:49 PM, ,


IBM G40 2389-3HU w/ 15" LCD
Wednesday, May 18, 2005

One of these just came in w/ a cracked LCD.

It had jumped off of the table!

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 9:59 AM, ,


Notebooks sold daily

Here at Absolute Computers we sell laptops daily.

Today the locals have been coming in from Morriseville, Raleigh, Garner, etc.

Sold so far today:

IBM ThinkPad T23 2647-2TU (26472TU. 1Ghz, DVD, 256MB, 20GB, 14.1" LCD, 56K NIC, Etc., $499

IBM ThinkPad 600E W/ DVD & WiFi, $299. The 600E was a 366Mhz machine w/ a 13.3" TFT LCD.

Dell C610, 1.2Ghz, Internal WiFi, DVD, 14.1" LCD, Ethernet, 56K, etc. $499.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 9:54 AM, ,


NO-1802.COM on a T41

Today we used NO-1802.COM succesfully on an IBM ThinkPad T41.

The newer ThinkPad laptops have a MiniPCI slot which only accepts certain cards sold by IBM. Using the NO-1802 registry hack allows the ThinkPad to use any Wireless MiniPCI card.

The T41 is a little tricky because you need to create a bootable CD to boot from in order to run NO-1802.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 9:16 AM, ,


Desktop Computer Repair- SPYWARE
Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Well today out of nowhere we had 5 desktops come in for repair. 1 has a bad hard drive but the other 4 have 200+ spyware packages installed.

To rid systems of spyware, we generally use Microsoft Anti-Spyware, Spybot, Ad Aware and a few other tricks...

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 11:52 AM, ,


IBM ThinkPad T40 (2378-D1U)

This laptop came in because it was randomly shutting off.

A new system board fixed this issue. The T40 is now a happy and reliable machine again.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 11:51 AM, ,


Dell 8100 Laptop Repair

Another 8100 came in today.

This one had a broken DC Jack which needed to be replaced.

This generally takes around an hour and a half. The laptop must come apart, the motherboard is taken out. Next, we reseat or replace the DC jack w/ new solder.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 11:48 AM, ,


Dell 5150 Laptop

Well another 5150 came in today.

This one will only run on battery power and is need of a new motherboard...

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 11:47 AM, ,


Dell Inspiron 3800 Notebook
Wednesday, May 11, 2005

This one came in with some bad memory.

Replacement memory was in stock.

The repair was under $100.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 1:22 PM, ,


IBM ThinkPad A31 2652-C5U

This notebook came in and just needed a $25 AC Adapter

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 12:48 PM, ,


Video Search
Friday, May 06, 2005

Here we go. This is just the beginning!

http://video.search.yahoo.com/

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 8:40 AM, ,


IBM ThinkPad T30 2366-61U
Thursday, May 05, 2005

This notebook was just sold to an Organic Bakery that we work with.

It is a Pentium 4 Mobile 1.6Ghz w/ 512MB, DVD/CDRW, WiFi, XP Pro, etc. - loaded.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 1:52 PM, ,


IBM ThinkPad T23 1Ghz 2647-8MU

We just sold this unit as a gift.

ThinkPad laptops make great gifts.

This particular T23 was a 1Ghz, 256MB, 20GB, WiFi, DVD/CDRW, Win XP. It sold for a little over $600.


posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 1:48 PM, ,


KDS Valiant 671XH Notebook

This laptop came in with no display from a Knightdale, NC customer.

While diagnosing it we noticed a missing peice on the LCD inverter.

We were able to repair the inverter and get the unit back to the customer in around 24hrs at under $100. =)

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 1:41 PM, ,


IBM ThinkPad R32 2658-CXU Video Problem
Wednesday, May 04, 2005

This notebook came in today with a video problem. The unit has a bad system board which is not that uncommon with the R32s... New boards are around $500 from IBM and appear to last around 2 to 3 years under normal conditions. We thought that was a little too high and put the customer into a ThinkPad T30 for around $550 more. The T30 is still under IBM's great warrantee until the end of 2005. It is a Pentium 4 Mobile 1.6Ghz, 512MB, DVD/CDRW, WiFi and more.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 1:00 PM, ,


IBM ThinkPad A20m 2628-41U

This notebook came in today with no power. It ended up needing some cards reseated.

The customer had tried to install a system board but it didn't quite work out- he did a good job, it just needed the finishing touches.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 12:56 PM, ,


New $100 laptops?

MIT Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte and some MIT colleagues are trying to create rugged, internet- and multimedia-capable laptop computers at a cost of $100 apiece as a solution for "kids in need" although, we can think of endless uses for such machines...

Full article:
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,67115,00.html

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 7:13 AM, ,


Customer saves $1260 + Tax!!!

Best Buy quoted one of our (new) customers on his laptop repair. He had a very nice P4 Compaq laptop with a 16 or 17" LCD.

They said he needed a new motherboard ($700) and a new LCD ($650).

He brought his laptop here for a second (free) opinion. We repaired a switch inside and repaired his LCD inverter in 1.5hrs, totalling $90 in labor.

The customer and his father's jaw hit the floor when they saw their laptop running again. They said we had saved them over $1300. They had almost purchased a brand new unit at the store.

It pays to take your laptop to the laptop experts.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 5:48 AM, ,


IBM ThinkPad R40e 2684-KAU

This laptop came in with a cracked LCD. New LCDs for this laptop are in stock and are under $200. The unit had been dropped. Nothing else is wrong with this laptop.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 5:46 AM, ,


EMachine Desktop
Tuesday, May 03, 2005

We had the pleasure of working on a desktop today.

The power supply and motherboard both needed to be replaced. The parts were in stock. The ATX power supply was $29 and the P4 motherboard was $89.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 1:57 PM, ,


Alienware Area 51-M 7700

This is a really cool laptop... (We still call these "desktop replacements" laptops?)

Read about it here: http://www.alienware.com


posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 1:47 PM, ,


ThinkPad T23 2647-JU1

This unit came in w/ a cracked LCD.

A good LCD replacement was in stock at $119 plus labor.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 1:46 PM, ,


Dropped laptop - DELL 8000

This one came in after it was dropped off of a table. The laptop was taken apart and put back together. Misc peices of metal were lying on the motherboard preventing boot. This unit was 1hr labor.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 1:10 PM, ,


IBM ThinkPad i-series 2621RR3

An i-series came in which has a password lock, a broken power jack and only 32MB of ram.

The unit is very old and has multiple other problems. We're purchasing it here for $25.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 8:42 AM, ,


Data Recovery for Department of Wildlife

A Dell Inspiron 8100 just came in with a bad hard drive.

We’re currently in the process or retrieving the salvageable data.

It looks like it will be a success. =)

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 8:34 AM, ,


Compaq Presario 2100 Laptop

This laptop came in on Friday with a bad DC jack.

A broken power jack is very common on Compaq laptops.

We charge $20 for the jack and labor is usually $90 - $120.

We can repair about 95% of Compaq / HP power jacks.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 8:32 AM, ,


Sony Vaio GRV680 Laptop
Monday, May 02, 2005

This notebook came in to be diagnosed...

The motherboard is bad.

The exhaust was very clogged with dust and the unit is likely defective due to overheating.

Sony boards are very expensive and Sony does not offer any cost effective solutions so this laptop may be out of luck. It will be returned to the customer at no charge and we will also offer to purchase the unit.

posted by AbsoluteRaleigh @ 9:33 AM, ,