Utah Computer Repair Service Ageeko

Hard Drive Failure and Repair – Utah

admin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:26:07 +0000

Hard Drive failure is the most common computer repair. Hard drives go out for a variety of reasons. Hard drives come in 2 sizes primarily. For desktop computers they are 3.5” in size and for laptops they are 2.5” in size. The hard drive and cdrom or dvd drives in computers along with the fans are the only mechanical pieces of equipment in a PC. The motherboard and all else is electronic on circuit boards and have no mechanical or moving parts. Hence it makes sense they are a common problem for computer repairs and failure.

Hard drives can fail in a variety of ways. The motor that spins them can stop working. That is easy to diagnose. Pickup the hard drive while it is on and you will feel the spinning action as you move it slowly side to side. It will feel like a gyroscope in your hand. That means it is spinning. The circuit board that is built onto the backside of the hard drive can fail. That would mean a complete failure also. Thirdly, the needles inside that are between the platters are called spindles. They are the reading heads of the data on the multiple platters and if they fail to read they cause a hard drive failure also. So, hard drive can fail in many ways.

Often Windows will not complete a boot because the file in needs is unreadable from the hard drive. Those boot up files are need every time you start your computer. Hence they have the most activity on that part of the hard drive, the most wear and tear like tires. So it makes sense that not booting up is often a result of that part of the hard drive being worn out. Unfortunately you have to verify that the problem is not a virus that has changed or damage the boot files. Virus or damaged Operating Systme files can be repaired by reloading Windows or resetting you computer.

Currently PCs that need new hard drives are caught by the doubling of prices in the last 4 months. Because of floods in Thailand (where most hard drives are manufactured) the price of hard drives has doubled and even troubled in some models. The price for PC repairs of hard drives will come back down with more time. I strongly recommend you not purchase a used hard drive or try and repair a broken drive. Some believe they can repair the sectors and set them aside and use the rest of the hard drive. I have found this to be false. The time it takes to install Windows and find the drivers, load your applications, install printers, antivirus and everything else is a huge investment that would have to be repeated. So don’t buy used hard drives.

Steve Morris
Owner – www.aGeeko.com Computer Services
Cedar Hills, Utah

Intel i3, i5, and i7 processors

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:36:50 +0000

The new Intel i3 processor is fast and cheap. The i3, i5 and i7 are all quad core processors. That means there are 4 processors working for you. Compare that with a Core 2 or Dual Core which have 2 processors and you can see this will add to your speed. In the Intel i3, i5 and i7 processors there are a variety of different speeds. So an i3 2.1 is slower than and i3 2.5 processor. So go for the fastest processor speed you can get. This is often hidden but can be found if you go the the device manager and click the CPU icon. It will show you the speed of the quad processors. Utah Computer & PC Repair

Utah Computer Repair – Cedar Hills – In Shop or On Site

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:31:10 +0000

Some problems are better handled in the Shop. When a virus is suspected it is best to take it to the shop because of the time required to scan and rescan to eliminate the virus. Sometimes a reformat and reset or reload of the OS (Operating System) is needed and this also takes time. Shops generally charge a set fee for reset or reformat. Our price is $125 to reformat and install drivers so it is like a new computer. If you did this onsite you could be looking at 2 to 3 hours of PC repairs and that can add up quickly. Our shop is located in Cedar Hills, Utah. www.aGeeko.com

HP Notebook Repair

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:23:54 +0000

In my years of repairing computers I have come across a reoccurring problem with the HP DV9000 notebooks. I have seen this motherboard go out more often than any other. The HPDV6000 takes a close second place. In researching it I have found that enough people have had problems that on the internet a group is considering a class action law suit. The symptoms I generally see are that the computer either will not start up at all or that it lights the LEDs above the keyboard will not put anything on the screen. Unfortunately the replacement motherboards seem to have problems too. So I recommend a new notebook when I see this instead of replacing the motherboard. Ageeko Computer Service – Cedar Hills, Utah

Windows 7 easier to View

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:45:35 +0000

Windows 7 has a new feature that makes looking at the screen easier. You can make the text larger without reducing the screen resolution and quality. It is done by right clicking on your desktop and selecting “screen resolution”. Now look below the boxes to the text that says ” Make Text and other items larger or smaller” – Click on this and you will be given the option to make it 125% or 150% larger. After choosing one it will require you to log off and back on to the new larger text version. This is great. Try it.

Windows Server 2008 – Utah Computer Repair – IT Services

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:24:37 +0000

A simple computer can be called a server. Many small businesses use windows XP on a regular desktop computer and share a folder from it and call it a server. This works until you try and put the 6th PC on the server. It limits you to 5 connections. Another problem is you cannot restrict access to the folders without having true server software like Windows Server 2008 or Server 2003. A real server needs special software and hardware. We are experts at it and would love to help you. This video tells more.

Utah Computer Repair – American Fork Utah – Lenevo Computers –

admin — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:40:53 +0000

I have had some great experience with Lenevo computers. Lenevo is the new name of the company that bought out the PC division of IBM PC. I find that they are good quality and very affordable. A good bargain for price vs. technology. The Lenevo brand seems to continue the quality that IBM was manufacturing. I recommend them. I have been using the Lenevo with i3, i5, i7 Intel CPUs. They don’t seem to bread down and seem very streamline and fast. Feel confident in purchasing a Lenevo. This video tells more.

Net Books – Utah Computer Repair – Lehi Utah PC Repair

admin — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:34:02 +0000

Net Books are cute and small but have some drawbacks. First they are very small. It can be difficult to type on the keyboard. Next the screen is very small which can make it hard to see. Often the screen resolution is very low because of the simpleness of the Netbook. Also Netbooks do not have DVD/CD drives. This makes it hard to load new programs. On the other hand, the battery life of a netbook is great. Also the price is great. You can get them from $249 to $349. You can get 7 or 8 hours from one charge. The netbook is really a hybred between notebooks and iPad type tablets. If you are on a plane a great deal of time, the netbook is better than a notebook.

Utah Computer Repair, Hard Drive Failure

admin — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:27:16 +0000

Hard Drives are the most common computer component that fails. Utah Computer Repair starts with reviewing the hard drive’s health. This can be done with a check disk test on your hard drive. That can tell you right up front if the hard drive is healthy. Some times the test results can be good and you think there is something else going on and it is not until latter that you find it is the hard drive. My advise is: If the check disk shows any error, replace the drive. You have to have some experience watching the check disk messages as they go by or you might think you have a problem when you don’t. I also recommend that people create the restore disks when they first get the PC because you cannot create them once you have real problems.

Highland Computer Repair – Computer Slow or Freezes

admin — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 22:59:37 +0000

If your computer is slow or freezes it probably has a virus of perhaps the hard drive is failing. Viruses can damage the operating system so that it cannot respond correctly to instructions. This makes it slow and non responsive. Viruses are small programs that do a variety of damage. There are more than 100,000 known viruses. If you antivirus program does not stop the virus then your best option can be to reformat the computer so that the Operating System is new and undamaged. Reformatting can take 2 to 3 hours to complete and find the drivers and do the updates. But that is a know quantity. Trying to patch the damage of a viruses can take forever and you won’t know how long if ever you can repair it. So reformatting is a good option. This video tells more.