Our current Prime Minister Scott Morrison introduced national safe workplace principles which included working from home where possible. We don’t know about you, but, recent restrictions that affected all of us including our young teenage children could not be dealt with without the use of computers laptops Apple iPads and internet.
Because laptops are the focal point of everyone’s life not just for work but for entertainment, education and everything under the sun (and the Sunshine Coast :-). When a laptop stops working or starts creating problems, it can be very troubling especially if you aren’t sure you have the time or funds for a full-fledged repair service.
Serious malfunctions aside, there are several simple hacks that can give your laptop a boost and troubleshoot minor issues.
The Preliminaries
Make sure you have attempted to transfer all your data to a hard drive as opening up your laptop’s internals is risky and damage can always occur.
Laptop transformers typically run on 15 to 20 volts but LCD screens utilise more voltage, and can give you a shock. Make sure you are wearing rubber gloves, have turned off the laptop entirely, unplugged it from the power point, and ideally have left it for a few days to dissipate any stray and remaining electrical charges in the unit.
Now you can unscrew and remove the back cover to get inside the internals.
Utilise Plug-Ins and USB Options
Standard laptop troubles can be the keyboard or mouse pad related issues as these aspects can get affected with wear and tear especially if a laptop is purchased while ago. If you don’t want to spend money on an expensive replacement, simply use the USB ports in your laptop for external keyboards, mouse or webcam. Each of these components (when you buy a generic version) is very inexpensive and can be bought from almost any Australian retailer like JB Hi-Fi.
This means that you could at least get bit more life out of the laptop causing basic issues which could be overcome using external computer peripherals. However, keep in mind that you should still consider other options to remedy the laptop issue, or talk to us (07) 3613 0029 for more options.
Laptop Spare Parts
Most laptops have different service flaps at the back for various components. Oftentimes many people will pay a repairman’s fee simply for the installation or removal of a component that they could have done themselves. If you can isolate the origin of the problem and it simply requires a simple part replacement, then, take out the blueprint of your laptop’s model and figure out which service flap belongs to which component.
The same applies to other parts such as the laptop screen replacement. In many older model laptops, the LED screen often has a malfunction while the rest of the machine works fine. Screens can be ordered from our Brisbane store and we can install it for you at most competitive rates anywhere in Australia
Consider Retiring The Dead Tire
Laptops age very much according to usage. Similar to car tires wearing out quicker by mileage, same is true with laptops (the more you use it, more prone it is to cause problems). Most Australian professionals whether they work from home or at the office use a laptop at least 10 hours a day. Bearing this in mind, even the very best cannot be expected to retain maximum functioning past four years.
Some people purchase laptops on eBay and other online marketplaces for spare parts or to refurbish and resell. At all times you must calculate the cost of repair against its resell value. Unsure as to where you stand with your laptop? Talk to our friendly team by calling (07) 3613 0029
Upgrade Your Operating System
If your laptop model can handle it, you can always update your operating system by installing the latest version of Windows (currently Windows 10). Often an older version may be slow in downloading from internet, and general user interface and re-installation can greatly improve matters.
It is very straightforward to purchase the newer version of Windows and run it yourself without involving a laptop technician.
Talk to Laptop Specialists With All Your Laptop Questions
Whatever the question regarding your laptop, we most certainly have the answer for it. Repairing and fixing computers and laptops for many years in Brisbane Australia has taught us to resolve all types of problems you can imagine.
With our unmatched and friendly customer support coupled with upfront honest prices for all types of repairs means that we can fix your laptop affordably and usually in less than 30 minutes.
Affordable Laptop Repairs in Brisbane
We Proudly Have Served Valued Customers Throughout Brisbane Suburbs
Living in any of these suburbs in Brisbane? Simply visit the links below to learn more.
Common Laptop Faults and Their Fixes
As you know that Laptops have given us the freedom to travel and we cherish them like one would a small child, without them we feel like we have lost one of our arms. Our precious portables are subjected to a lot of abuse and no doubt, they are prone to wear and tear. Despite their substantial construction – upgrade in power, size, capacity & memory – laptops are subject to diverse problems. While most issues can only be fixed by expert professionals, some common issues can be fixed by the user. As your go-to experts, we have summarised some of the most common problems that may arise and some basic checks to try solve the issues.
LCD Display issues
If you can’t see anything on the screen, this could be a driver issue that has occurred after a windows update came through and automatically installed on your laptop. Windows 10 is notorious for causing issues with perfectly working laptops as it gives driver updates and this can cause this type of problem, older laptops that came with Windows 7 installed tend to have issues with drivers in windows 10
Fix: Install and boot from a repair disk or windows 10 disk and troubleshoot the problem. Under troubleshoot there will be an option to do a system restore and this will take you back to a date before the update occurred fixing the problem for now.
Fuzzy screen or a screen with lines on it or cracked lines
Fix: The LCD screen is broken or faulty and this will need replacing by one of our techs, but don’t worry it will only cost you $200 to have this fitted with a 12 month warranty.
Laptop looks like it is not coming on as there is no screen or display showing
Fix: Open the laptop and remove the memory or Ram if you have 2 x slots remove one at a time this will eliminate which stick is faulty.
If you only have one stick then borrow one from your friends laptop and test as this will not break his laptop but rather verify if you do have a memory problem.
Laptop screen goes off when you move it around or touch the lid.
Fix: There is a cable that goes from the motherboard to the back of the screen this is called an LVDS cable and there are a few occasions where this has needed replacing, the other problem with laptop LCD screens is the bottom of the LCD has a circuit board attached and this gets damaged or has a faulty component on the board and when you flex the screen it will flicker due to this.
In the above two scenarios you will have to replace the broken parts. This is something that the electronic fix we can do for you.
Overheating Laptops
Laptops are a small piece of magic if you think of what they can do for you and what you have to do when they breakdown. Overheating is a big problem on a laptop as it is processing millions of calculations per second and displaying intense graphics to your display and this is where the heat comes from.
The CPU (Central processing Unit) and the GPU (Graphical processing Unit) generate all of the heat and you will notice that when you are doing any intense gaming or number crunching with your laptop then the fan will start to get louder as it spins faster to cool the CPU and GPU down.
After a few years there will be a build up of lint in the cooling vents of the laptop and there is little you can do to prevent this, this will affect the ability of the cooling fan to cool the laptop as the vents that are used for cooling no longer function.
This will also cause the silicone paste which is used to assist with cooling the CPU / GPU to dry out causing even more heat to be generated to the point that the laptop may even switch itself off as it does have a safety built into the chip of 115 degrees.
Fix: The Only way to fix this is to open up the laptop and remove the heat sink, re grease the CPU / GPU and clean out the lint. Reassemble and hopefully you will be good for another few years.
Laptop does not charge
OK This is something that we see all of the time and we obviously fix this problem as well. Your laptop all of a sudden does not switch on but it was working fine then switched off and you have had it on charge overnight but it still does not power on.
The 1st thing to look for here is are there any lights coming on the laptop when it is plugged to the charger, if not then you have narrowed the problem down to the charger or the charging port on the laptop.
The chances of it being a faulty battery are ZERO as the laptop will run off of the mains or charger without a battery and if there is a problem with your battery you will notice that it does not hold its charge for as long as it did when new and this will tell you that you need to replace the battery soon.
There might be cases where you might require adjusting the plug in order to charge the battery or the battery might not charge at all – a case of a loose DC jack.
Fix: The laptop may need to be stripped down to the motherboard and the DC jack removed and replaced, this is a service that we offer.
Hard Drive Issues
A serious hard drive failure can get your laptop on its knees. You might witness loud clicking sounds every time you want to access data from your hard drive. It is always wise to have a good backup solution against a hard drive crash. There are plenty of options available online for the purpose of backup.
Slow working of hard drive is a common issue. Disorganized information can sap performance because the computer requires more time to sift through data fragments and bad sectors on the drive.
Fix: You can find step by step directions for replacement and backing up on various manufacturers’ sites. Take for example – Lenovo, which is going an extra mile with its detailed videos of replacement process. With various packages including cloning and backup software available in the market, replacing your hard drive has got less painful. In cases of slow working of hard drive, the problem can be cleared up easily (but not especially quickly; defragging can sometimes take a lot more time) with the help of the built-in Windows tool called Disk Defragmenter.
Additional issues include stuck pixels, where you might want to massage away the dead pixels with the right pressure applied; virus or spyware infestation, which require installation of anti-spyware programmes and virus free scans etc. Alternatively, in most complex cases, a professional help can extend the life of your laptops. We are your go-to experts with the most affordable and effective laptop repair options.
Affordable Laptop Repairs in Brisbane
The Electronic Fix in Brisbane and surrounding suburbs offering laptop computer repairs, upgrades and part replacement as well as fixes game consoles. To learn more visit: Alderley, Arana Hills, Ashgrove, Aspley, Enoggera, Everton Hills, Everton Park, Ascot Brisbane, Bridgeman Downs, Carseldine, Clayfield and Services section.
