Typical Problems

Computer won't turn on

This problem can have many causes:

• Faulty charger
• Damaged power jack
• Damaged cables
• Defective system board components

The price for this repair can range from $20 to $150

Computer turns on, but no picture

Possible causes: Defective screen Broken cable Defective video chip (GPU) Repair price can be $50 to $300

Broken Screen

A replacement screen can cost $50 to $300. New and used screens are available.

Liquid Spill

If you spill something on the computer, the most important thing is to turn it off immediately and remove the battery. Then bring it to us. Liquid causes damage in two ways: 1. It conducts electricity and damages the microchips. 2. It causes corrosion, which can destroy electrical connections and damage components. The sooner you get it to us, the greater the chance of recovery. And that urban legend about putting it in a bag of rice? Forget it. You'll just ruin a perfectly good bag of rice.

Liquid spill recovery can cost $50 to $200

Random shutdowns, computer is hot or slow

Often these symptoms are caused by overheating due to dust build-up between the fan and heat exchanger. These pictures show a typical scenario. This computer was overheating severely.

	This picture shows the fan and heat exchanger assembly.	This picture shows the fan removed. The heat exchanger is completely blocked by dust.
	This picture shows the heat exchanger after we cleaned it. Now the computer works fine.	Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

We recommend that you bring the computer to us once a year for this specialized cleaning. This is especially important if you have pets, or if people smoke near your computer. The pet hair and cigarette tar make the problem much worse. It can destroy your computer.

The price for cleaning the assembly is $50. We completely disassemble it in order to do a thorough job. Beware of repair people who merely blow air into the fan without taking the computer apart. That will only make the problem worse, and possibly prevent the fan from rotating.

Missing or broken keys

Individual keys can be replaced at a cost of $10 each. If you have more than two keys missing, we recomend a new keyboard. We can replace your keyboard. The price ranges from $20 to $50.

Hard Drive Problems

A faulty hard drive can cause many symptoms:

Slow computer Random shutdown Blue screen Missing files

We can replace your hard drive with a new one and re-install Windows or Mac OS. We can also transfer your files to the new drive in some cases.

The price of a new hard drive can range from $100 to $300. We don't recommend used hard drives. Hard drives fail more often than any other component.