Need Computer Help

I'm in need of a new computer guy, mine has retired. I just looking for someone that "does it as an hobby" is cheap. My laptop just went out and I need someone to check it out and the big guys charge more then it is worth. I live in Lyndon and would like to stay as close to home as possible.

Any suggestions?

[Robin Garr]

Any suggestions?

You're not a Mac guy, are you? Mary has a good tech "on staff," but he does Mac, Mac and only Mac.

Any suggestions?

You're not a Mac guy, are you? Mary has a good tech "on staff," but he does Mac, Mac and only Mac.

Afraid not.

I'm thinking it is a hardware vs software issue. PC powers up like normal, cd will run/spin, fan is running, but the screen is totally black.

if your screen is totally black it may very well be the backlight has gone bad. they only have so many hours of life before they burn out. this is not a cheap repair. on my one of my macs, the cost was $600.00 + thankfully apple was kind enough to chip in on the repair bill.

Kind of my fear. Why spend $600 to fix an 5 year old PC when I can buy a new/better one for much less.

my mac was only 3 days out of warranty and apple paid for everything but $125.00. so yes it was worth the repair of $125.00 out of my pocket. but not $600.00 +.
but i must say. i had it repaired and then sold the laptop for $800.00 and bought myself a new mac with my out of pocket of only $200.00 on a new macbook pro after negotiated discounts.

$125 is about the max I'd pay to fix mine.

If it's the backlight, whoever fixes it properly is worth what they charge its complicated

http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2 ... ccfl-lamp/

Just thinking out loud here . . . Can you rig the laptop up to a regular monitor? If the display works on a monitor, would that tell you that the system works but the display's shot?

Might give you the opportunity to burn important files onto a CD to make it easier to transfer to a new system.

It seems to me that if the backlight was out you would see something on the screen. Try shining a flashlight on the screen when you turn it on.

You can test if it is the screen by hooking up another monitor like the previous poster said.

Laptop deals for Christmas should get near $300. Laptops can be had all day for $400. Netbooks go for around 225.

I use old Pc's all the time, i dint think i have a desktop that is younger than 4 years, but a 5 year old laptop is pushing it. good luck.

Have you tried turning it off then turning it on again?
(Old PC tech joke, sorry)

It's sad that we can add laptops to the list of items that are cheaper to replace than fix, but that seems to be the case these days, especially when you can get a replacement for $300 or so. I've taken a few apart myself, and generally the problems are either the fragile ribbon cables (they tend to get brittle and crack) or board-level specialty parts that are difficult to get your hands on and more difficult to replace.

And to echo what Art T said above, a 5 year old laptop is pushing it.

Just thinking out loud here . . . Can you rig the laptop up to a regular monitor? If the display works on a monitor, would that tell you that the system works but the display's shot?

Might give you the opportunity to burn important files onto a CD to make it easier to transfer to a new system.

I tried that, but had no luck. I've read that some laptops have a setting that has to be changed in order to send the display to an external moniter. Hard to do when I can't see anything.

I'm going to try to hook it to another computer with transfer cable and see if I can save anything.

Thanks to everyone for the help.

Just thinking out loud here . . . Can you rig the laptop up to a regular monitor? If the display works on a monitor, would that tell you that the system works but the display's shot?

Might give you the opportunity to burn important files onto a CD to make it easier to transfer to a new system.

I tried that, but had no luck. I've read that some laptops have a setting that has to be changed in order to send the display to an external moniter. Hard to do when I can't see anything.

I'm going to try to hook it to another computer with transfer cable and see if I can save anything.

Thanks to everyone for the help.

Justin, Fn+F7 is usually the key stroke to switch displays from your laptop to an external monitor.

Hope this helps.
-Pete

Let me know if you need help getting your files off of the hard disk, Justin. I have an adapter and cables that will let you connect the drive to another PC via USB.