April 2015 Lenovo Battery Recall
Lenovo and the Consumer Product Safety Commission have announced a battery recall for the battery packs of certain notebook computers. Affected notebooks are eligible for a free battery replacement due to the batteries posing a risk of fire hazard. The recall affects approximately 148,800 batteries in the US and 17,700 more in Canada. Models potentially […]
What is a computer virus or malware and how did I get it?
There are three terms that get used for unwanted software that is on your computer: junkware/bloatware, viruses, and malware. There is also social engineering scams that I will discuss in the section on viruses. People usually will bring us a computer because it is “running slow”. Many times it is bloatware or viruses that are […]
Refurbished Thinkpads on sale now!
We have many laptops that have come off corporate lease but the most popular are Lenovo Thinkpads including the X210, T420, T430, T520 and usually several other models.
What do I do when I have spilled wine, coffee, soda on my Apple Macbook, Lenovo Thinkpad, Dell laptop or HP computer?
What do I do when I have spilled wine, coffee, soda on my Apple Macbook, Lenovo Thinkpad, Dell laptop or HP computer? In this article, I will try to describe what happens when you have a spill. How different models of laptops are better or worse for spills. And what you should do if you […]
Can laptop hinges be replaced / fixed?
Can laptop hinges be replaced / fixed? The simple answer is yes. Sometimes laptops fall and the hinges are broken. We do repairs for a local police department. Sometimes officers get in their car and swing the shotgun to attach it behind their seat. Unfortunately sometimes they knock the lid completely off the base. We […]
How much does a new laptop computer cost? – 2015 Edition
We often are asked how much does a computer cost. Many times it is in reference to if it makes sense to do a repair or “just buy a new computer”. The simple answer is that laptops typically range from $300 to $4000 for a new laptop. The reason for the range in price has […]
LCD Replacement
We replace many LCD’s in laptops. Sometimes you will hear them referred to by the name liquid crystal display or liquid crystal screen. Most LCD replacements will cost between $129 and $199 depending on exactly what screen is used on your laptop. We offer free diagnostics, since we have to disassemble the lid of the […]
Macbook Pro A1278 with a hard drive not working
A customer came in with the hard drive on their Macbook not working. The typical situation would be that the hard drive had failed and needed replaced. However during our diagnostics, we determined that the only problem was the hard drive cable had gone bad. So replacing this low cost part allowed us to save […]
Laptop running hot or shutting down?
Laptops have a sensor near the CPU (microprocessor) that measures it’s temperature. If the CPU gets too hot, the laptop will shut down. Desktops have the same feature. When laptops are getting too hot, it can be caused by several different issues: 1) Fan needs replaced – the fan has a mechanical bearing that can […]
Liquid spills on laptops from leaky roofs to spilled coffee on the keyboard
We see many laptops that have spill damage. We also sometimes see desktops with spill damage but that is more rare. Recently we had a Lenovo All in One that had been damaged due to rain from a leaky roof. However I will focus this discussion on the more common laptop spill damage. We have […]
Laptop running hot. Does your house have pets or people with long hair?
Laptop running hot in a house with pets? A customer thought his Lenovo IdeaPad Z560 was running hot. As part of the free diagnostics, we checked the temperature of his microprocessor. It was running hot. He had pets at home and he had pet hair inside the laptop blocking the air flow and not allowing […]
Satellite P75 with a broken lid
Sometimes a customer will drop his labtop and it looks badly damaged. Recently we repaired a Satellite P75 that had both a broken LCD and a broken lid. The repair made the machine look like new and was much less than the cost to replace it. As always – we offer to provide a free […]
Dell XPS 13 turns on then turns off
Both laptops and desktops will start to power up and then will power themselves down after a few minutes. We had a Dell XPS had that symptom this week. With our free diagnostics, we determined the fan had failed. It is simple and inexpensive to replace a CPU fan. Modern microprocessors generate a significant amount […]
Important data on your old computer
We had a customer that was ready to retire their Dell Inspiron D410. However it had important data on it that several people in the office all wanted to have copies . Many times we will transfer customer data from their failing hard drive on the old laptop to their new laptop, but in this […]
Apple Macbook Pro Glass , LCD repair and video cable replacement
We get asked frequently if we can repair Macbooks. The answer is yes and that is why we have a special site just so people know we offer these services at www.raleighmacrepair.com . Apple Macbook Pro laptops do have a unique feature. Instead of just the LCD, Apple then covers the LCD with “glass” to […]