Frequently Asked Tech QuestionsGet the answers to all your burning questions right here! This can happen from time to time, and is a kind of limbo state that notebooks can get into. Start by holding down the power button for 10 seconds, or until the power light turns off. If the light still doesn’t turn off, try taking the battery out and then restart the machine. If the battery is not easily removable you will need to bring the machine for us to diagnose. First, check cables going to both monitor and the computer. If they are all connected properly, try a different wall power outlet. Failing this, there could be a problem with the AC transformer. These can be damaged especially if you have had a power outage recently. In this case we would need to diagnose the machine. In most cases this is either a memory or video card problem. Changes in weather, or a sudden jolt to the machine can cause the memory or video card to not sit in their slots properly. If you bring the machine to us we can clean the offending parts and make sure that are seated securely. We can also run hardware diagnostics to make sure there is nothing more sinister going on. Power outages and surges can destroy computers, that’s why using surge boards and Uninterruptable Power Supplies (UPS) are a good idea. Usually when the computer receives a surge of power, the power supply (transformer) part of the computer is damaged. In most cases this is the only part that is damaged, and replacing the power supply will get you up and running again. Yes! LCD panels on the majority of notebooks can be replaced for considerably less than replacing the whole machine. We can even repair MacBook glass that has been cracked. Individual keys are generally not repairable, or economical to repair. The whole keyboard on most notebooks can be replaced fairly inexpensively. Both of these issues are usually referred to as The Blue screen Of Death. The cause of a BSOD can be one of many things, such as a faulty power supply, bad drivers, viruses or other faulty hardware. The best course of action is to let us run diagnostics over the machine to pinpoint the cause. After this a solution is not far away! It depends on the type of drive failure. Operating system faults and file system corruptions have a fairly high chance or being able to be recovered successfully. If the drive has developed bad sectors (physical defects on the disks surface,) we can repair and recover the sectors (and data) as long as the number of failed sectors is not too high. If the drive is ticking or not spinning, then there is generally nothing we can do in store. These types of problems usually need to be sent to a Data Recovery Specialist such as Payam Data Recovery. Note that this type or recovery is usually quite expensive, so you will need to weigh up how much your data is worth to you. With the last few major updates for Windows 10, a lot of older computers(and even some newer ones) have slowed down due to the increased horsepower required to run it well. We have found that a lot more disk operations are required with the latest updates, and older mechanical drives are having trouble coping. A solution to this problem is to upgrade your drive to an SSD (solid state drive), which will allow these disk operations to happen much faster. Obviously, processor and RAM can also factor into the equation of slowness, but we have found that the drive is the biggest culprit. Total Microsystems can service, repair and fix macs – especially many of those considered too ‘vintage’ by Apple to even bother repairing. From hard drive replacements or upgrades to screen repairs and memory replacements – we can help get your mac back up and running. Call us, email us or drop us a message on our Facebook page to find out more. Total Microsystems repair computers in Beerwah and have been for 20 years! With a fully equipped workshop in the heart of Beerwah, you can either bring your computer in or we can visit your home or office. Alot of repairs can be carried out professionally in your home or business with minimal disruption and down time for you. We are 2 doors down from Subway, on Peachester Road in Beerwah. We repair PC and Mac computers, plus a range of phone and mobile devices.