It happens! The laptop gets left on the floor and someone steps on it or it gets dropped! The screen either cracks or has a liquid leak! It could be that you are getting lines through the screen or the picture is flickering! Can the screen be replaced? Yes the Screen can be replaced and a new one installed!
All we need to know is the make and the model number of your laptop; we can give you a quote within the hour and have the screen on order for next day delivery. Installed the same day of delivery and returned to you. Having you back up and operational in no time at all. Most laptops now on sale in the U.K market have LED screens, clarity is better and images are crisper. Older laptop screens tend to be LCD and a bit more expensive and are harder to acquire. The graphics on most laptop and notebooks are called a GPU (graphics processing unit) it is in the case of a laptop a manufactured soldered chip on the motherboard.
The chip converts the images from your hard drive or internet into pictures and video on your screen. Older laptops have an invertor as well. Graphics chips can fail! No screen picture, but the computer is on? It does happen. If it’s diagnosed as the GPU chip then one of the only options is to replace the motherboard if one can be sourced, depending on the age and the initial laptop cost, it is better in the long run to consider the repair cost as an investment for a new laptop. The GPU issues seem to mainly run in the HP range of laptops in my experience as a technician. This may be because HP outsources most of their parts to other countries and companies, they are mass produced and the components are cheaper, so they tend to fail more or just fail past the warranty date!!!
Do you need help with your printer? Do you require it to be set up to your home or business network? Help sharing the printer to all computer, laptops, tablets and Smartphone’s in your premises?
Most printers being brought within the last few years, will have wireless capabilities, this enables you to have one central printer that networks through your router (home/business internet) and print out from every laptop, desktop, tablet & mobile phone within the premises. This is all great when it’s working! BUT Every now and again there’s a gremlin in the works! It could be the network? It could be the software? It could be the printer? It’s a mine field!!!
All you want to do is print a document, children’s homework, holiday itinerary, receipt or invoice! It happens to the best of us, just when you need it most!
Why not give us a call 07888 644915 and let us do the solving to get you back on track as quick as we can without the hassle and aggravation.
Is your computer running slow? Does it take a considerable amount of time to boot up when your laptop is first turned on? New antivirus programs need a large amount of memory to run efficiently, this could be one of the reasons it's running slow, other programs pre install on the start-up queue extending your computers powering up time.
A memory upgrade may be all you need to bring your laptop back to life. Memory is the virtual thinking part of your machine, the larger the expanse of memory the more the laptop can do at once. No more freezing or timely waits for applications and programs to run. We can fix an appointment to your home or business and give you a quote on your existing machine and motherboard and give advice on an upgrade, order and install to maximise the efficiency of your machine.
The hard drive is the part of your computer that stores your files, documents, pictures, music, operating system and program files. Depending on the age of your laptop, the size might not be as adequate for your needs as it once was. Music, pictures and videos take up a lot of hard drive space. Upgrading the hard drive to a larger one may be what you need and can be an easy operation. We can clone your existing hard drive, making an image and then converting the image to a faster and bigger drive, your computer drive stays as it was with folders, programs etc but with a lot more space.
Occasional your drive can fail, hard drive age, electronic fault, or bad clusters. We always advise to regularly back up your important data; a hard drive can be replaced, but we are not always able to retrieve the data that you store. We do have software that can retrieve information, but this will depend on the severity of the hard drive fault.
Hard drives can be replaced and operating systems reinstalled along with hardware drivers and programs, to get you back up and running. All drives replaced are 7200rpm rather than the slower models of 5400rpm (which has a slower data transfer speed), ready to Make your computer faster & efficient.
Why not give us a call on 07888 644915, email me if you prefer at glen@pc2it.net or through the website under the contact us button for some friendly helpful advice or book us in to call round.
Reinstallation of the operating system (Windows) can sometimes be the only option with a bad virus or Trojan. It’s the last resort!
We at PC2IT can back up all your important files; reinstall your operating system with official service packs; re activate your licence with Microsoft and all the essential programs that your system requires can be put back in place. Disks and keys that are provided from previously bought software can be reinitialised and antivirus software re- registered. Your computer & laptop can be reunited with your pictures, music and data files. Usually with a complete over haul your machine tends to work more efficiently, due to not being clogged up with unused programs and old system files, more free space and clean registry mapping.
There is nothing more frustrating when a program or software you install doesn’t work; especially antivirus which is a vital application on every computer! The program might have been working for years hassle free! It’s now producing errors or the software fails to run!
Rectifying the problem in most cases is the hard part, trying to diagnose where the initial fault lies can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack!
It might not be the fault of the program; it may be another program doing a similar job, using the same system files! It might be the operating system! (Windows)
If you feel like you’re going round in circles, and losing your hair quickly, then it might be time you gave us a ring and let us take that worry and stress away. We love problem solving!!
How can I make my wireless network more efficient? My wireless signal is poor? I don’t always get a signal when I’m in another room?
If these sound like questions you might be asking yourself, then maybe you need to get in contact with Glen at PC2IT.
There could be a few complicating issues with wireless strength! It could be a cheap router and it could be the wireless device on your machine is not working or an older model. Depending on where you live and the house construction! Older houses tend to have thicker walls reducing the signal strength; rooms could be too far away from the router to receive a signal.
If this is the case we can make an appointment to come round to your home or business (no call out fee) we can assess your equipment and premises and put together a plan of action to increase your wireless coverage to enable you to surf efficiently in every room, the garden, even the shed or garage!
Networking is the term used for connecting a series of computers or devices with a router on the premises or at your home. The “network†can be used to share files, pictures, music, printers from machine to device within the same building without the need for complicated wiring.
This might be an area you have thought about but not had the time or knowledge to set up?
You may have a network in place, but can’t join all the devices to each other, the printer doesn’t link or is intermittent, you haven’t got the right permissions to access certain files or want to restrict access to important folders and files or even machines? This is sometimes caused by conflict in IP addresses.
What’s an IP address?
Every device that wants to connect to your router must have an independent address, just like your house address is independent to you. Your router sets these to give individual access to the internet and network. On occasions these can conflict, i.e. two computers may be assigned the wrong number or have no address assigned at all. This is when the network breaks down, the devices stop talking to each other and you can’t print or communicate with the computer. It’s a stressful situation! It could be caused by antivirus, firewall or a running program! Worst case scenario, it could even be a virus, malware or even a Trojan!
So as you can see it’s not always an easy job to rectify?
All modern routers will have wireless capabilities. This allows the router to stream the internet connection to your devices without cables. Most routers come with the encrypted password already set. This is usually printed on the bottom of the router, attached to the router as a plastic card or paper card. You will need this if you wish to join any device to the router to allow internet access and communication with your network.
What problems could I incur? When we first set up the router/hub, we can usually set our own password; usually to a word or phrase we remember so they are less difficult to install on our devices.
This is set inside the router along with your broadband log on and password. We write the information down, somewhere in a book or on a piece of paper! When we require the password we can’t remember! Where did we write it down! We can’t get onto the internet!
PC2IT can visit your premises at a time and day that’s convenient to you and get you back up and running and organise a way for you to remember it for next time!
What’s a motherboard? A motherboard is the electric circuitry board or main body of the laptop. It has the processor attached (the heart) memory attached (thinking part) and links via cables to all the hardware (hard drives, DVD/CD drives) The motherboard also allows the laptop to make USB devices, such as keyboards and mice to work as well as printers.
On occasions, this can fail, capacitors may leak, or an element might pop, making the motherboard inoperable.
Why would this happen? This could be down to the age of the machine, the computer overheating causing chips on the board to fry! Power surges or spikes through the electric mains due to power cuts or faulty hardware attached to the computer can be another reason the motherboard may short circuit!
All is not lost; we at PC2IT can analyse the motherboard, replace capacitors and trace the short circuit!
If it’s found to be dead (burnt out or frazzled), we can give you a quote on a new board, or a refurbished board, with fitting and testing.
There are so many types of antivirus programs and names it can become quite daunting. There are free ones and costly ones the list is endless. Rule of thumb is you should only have 1 antivirus on your machine; this isn’t the same as a firewall or internet security. Just because everyone has Norton or McAfee and it’s a household name it doesn’t mean it’s the best! These bigger type programs tend to use a lot more of the processing power that can inevitability lead to slowing the computer down or use a lot of memory space which doesn’t allow other programs and processes to run at their full potential. If you’re having problems deciding what’s best for your computer then why not give me a ring for a free quote.
Sometimes installing some antivirus programs or reinstalling causes problems. If not all of the program has been removed it can cause conflicts and problems with the program. With antivirus you want to know that you’re fully protected.
Due to upgrades and infection, system operation changes and occasional program conflicts, Antivirus programs don’t always work as they should. They won’t update properly, won’t protect you efficiently and are unable to fix themselves. You tend to go round in circles. We at PC2IT like problem solving; we might have seen your dilemma before, if not we can certainly help.
Removing an infection is only a small part of the task, Viruses can hide your profile, denying you access to your files, corrupting your login features and tampering with the operating system, also having the ability to modify the antivirus modules with its program. We will strive to get your laptop or desktop computer back to a full working, clean, safe and useable operating level as well as give you advice on preventing future infections, making sure your windows updates, service packs are installing properly, along with suitable protection against future viruses, Trojans and malware.
Heat is a major killer for laptops, especially in the summer. The processor on the board produces heat which it needs to expel through the fans. Over a period of time these get clogged and bunged up with dust, dirt, pet hair, creating a film or skin over the fans, thus trapping the hot air, heating up the chips and eventually the computer shuts down. If this continues over a period of time, the chips burn out or the board short circuits!
This is when it gets expensive! Processors are not cheap, neither are motherboards!
If your laptop or keeps turning off unexpectedly? Seems to be getting overly hot? The interior air fans are making a terrible noise or not moving? Then what your laptop needs is to be thoroughly cleaned, the processor resealed with a good silicon conductor base, fans need to be greased and cleared and airways reopened.
This has become an increasing problem with laptops! Due to the mobility of the laptop, they tend to be placed on laps, beds, carpets, blocking the airways underneath! Hair, fluff and dust get sucked through from the materials and over a period of time a thick dusty wall builds up on the heat sink grill, eventually not allowing the dispersion of heat. The chip cooks and bingo the computer dies!
Are you backing up your valuable data? If your hard drive should seize or become corrupted are your files saved? PC2IT can install a low cost program and set up a low maintenance system to save your valuable files and pictures to a safe drive or if you prefer back up your data to the cloud (an online storage folder on a server).
In the event of a drive fail you may want your Laptop back up and running in a short period of time, not only having your files saved but your programs and operating system too. In other words you want your laptop back to normal as it was before. No problem with a full drive backup we can set an overnight and weekly schedule and a synchronised file backup as too! You won’t lose any vital data that you have amended between each backup.
This can occasional happen when the system is taken back to factory settings by using the hidden partitioned drive set by the manufacturer. The drive gets over layered with the new operating system mapping. If this should happen, all is not lost as only a small amount of data on your drive has been over written. Using software we can extract from the formatted partition and transfer the recovered data to an external drive.
Need a bigger hard drive as yours is getting full and/or you’re having problems adding new programs and data to your laptop; you’re getting messages from the operating system? And you don’t want the inconvenience of having to reinstall everything.
That’s where mirroring/ghosting/cloning comes into play. We can supply a larger compatible drive and create an image of your old drive and place it onto the newly purchased one. This will expand the image, taking up the free space on the new fitted hard drive and allowing you to perform your everyday tasks again without having to re install everything, saving you time and money.
Sometimes out of the blue, your old hard drive might fail. This could because of age, a mechanical or electrical issue on the drive itself, if it is a laptop it may have become knocked in the bag.
Sometimes a drive will give you tell-tale signs that it is beginning to fail.It might start with an unusual clicking or ticking sound. Other times it could be a warning from the BIOS when you turn on the laptop from a program that is integrated to the motherboard called S.M.A.R.T. This problem is usually down to bad clusters on the drive that become unreadable; the computer will flag up with a message if the hard drive is having problems and recommend that you back up your data.
It could be that your machine starts but won’t go into windows, continually going round and round in a continual loop, in some cases like this it could be a corrupted system file or the mapping section on the drive that windows needs to be able to read before it can continues its operations.
All is not lost the date is retrievable; PC2IT has the software and equipment to recover your data from your drive. We will try to get the data back as soon as we can. The data recovery process can take from a couple of hours to 48 hours depending on the size of the drive and how corrupted the drive is. If we have to use a raw data retrieval it won’t necessarily come back in the proper folders as we have to search for particular data i.e. jpegs(picture files), word, excel documents, pdfs and these all get rounded up and placed in their search folders. If the data cannot be retrieved within the PC2IT workshop then there is another option.
PC2IT is affiliated with another company in Portsmouth. The drive needs to be sent away and the drive dismantled in a clean room. This is a very delicate operation, as one fragment of dust or fibre on the drive platter could make the data unobtainable. The company have a very high success rate, but it is an expensive process. They normally operate on a no data - no fee. Leave it all to us, we can sort all communication as well as provide all the postage & packaging out to make sure your drive gets there secure and safe.
Looking to purchase a new laptop? Worried how you are going to transfer all your old files and emails. Well worry no more! PC2IT provide just that service. You just need to let us know when you have brought your new laptop; we will come to you and do the rest. Email transfer and contacts, documents, pictures, videos and music can be safely moved across. Disks and keys that are provided from previously bought software can be reinitialised and antivirus software re- registered as long as it is compatible with the new operating system. This can be discussed before transfer. The old drive can be removed if you are recycling your old laptop, keeping your data integrity safe with you.
Customer service and data security has always been a high priority in our services that PC2IT provide.
We are always happy to give advice over the phone or by email, whether it's upgrading or buying a new laptop. Which makes models are hot and ones that are not! We will give you the right advice for tailoring a laptop correctly to your needs. We are able to come to your home & business and give you a free quotation on mostly all jobs. No call out fees. Yes that's right! No call out fees; we won't charge you for popping in to see you unless work is carried out, taking the worry out of the cost of your IT problems. Why not give me a ring on 07888 644915, email me if you prefer at glen@pc2it.net or through the website under the contact us button. If you feel we have provided a good service or given you great advice then why not send us a testimonial for the website, a review on the internet or even better tell your family & friends!
