OT - Laptop Trouble

Fred19Flintstone

My laptop has been in the shop for almost two weeks!  Using the smartphone is ok, but I got a serious jones going on here!  Maybe I’ll ask Santa for a new one.

ColtsFan

2 weeks? Sounds like you need a new PC shop. What's the diagnosis?

Fred19Flintstone

I wish I knew.  I went with a local guy. You know, supporting local business.  The next thing I know, I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole for a couple of weeks.

dmourati

Show up and ask for the laptop back. If they backpedal, give them four hours to fix it or you'll take it to someone else.

BugFreak72

dmourati said:

Show up and ask for the laptop back. If they backpedal, give them four hours to fix it or you'll take it to someone else.

Second this. Holding it two weeks means the guy has no idea how to fix it but won't admit it. Make sure he doesn't try to charge you for hours and hours of work. 

Also if it is anything but software just buy a new one. A laptop is basically a throw item because most of the hardware is one piece, the main board which means fixing a hardware issue costs nearly the same as buying a new one. If it was something simple like ram or drive it would have been an hour fix. 

BugFreak72

BugFreak72 said:

dmourati said:

Show up and ask for the laptop back. If they backpedal, give them four hours to fix it or you'll take it to someone else.

Second this. Holding it two weeks means the guy has no idea how to fix it but won't admit it. Make sure he doesn't try to charge you for hours and hours of work. 

Also if it is anything but software just buy a new one. A laptop is basically a throw item because most of the hardware is one piece, the main board which means fixing a hardware issue costs nearly the same as buying a new one. If it was something simple like ram or drive it would have been an hour fix which would mean a quick fix and pay day so he would have done it fast. 

Sorry for the multiple post. Not sure what I did there. 

Fred19Flintstone

dmourati said:

Show up and ask for the laptop back. If they backpedal, give them four hours to fix it or you'll take it to someone else.

I like your style!

Gulfcoastguy

Hopefully you have your files etc. backed up. Including all of your passwords. 

FlyOverCountry

haha someone’s been checking out pornhub and such 

smokingal

Two weeks is ridiculous.  I agree with @dmourati.  I upgraded my OS drive to an M2 SATA drive, installed additional memory sticks, Windows 10 and all the updates, all the device drivers and required software, plus all the applications I use day to day.  Took me an afternoon.  If what is broken can't be fixed with replacement parts or a software re-install, a new laptop might be in order.

johnkitchens

You are more patient than I am. Time to demand some answers! What problem did you have with it to begin with?

dmourati

Fred19Flintstone said:

dmourati said:

Show up and ask for the laptop back. If they backpedal, give them four hours to fix it or you'll take it to someone else.

I like your style!

Mikee

Upon dropping it off the computer shop should have given an idea of what: they expect is the problem based on the symptoms, what they plan on doing, how long to fix, the potential price, etc... I can understand if they were busy that it may take 2 days for them to dig into it. If hardware related, it may take a couple of days to get the part(s). That should have been discussed when the laptop was dropped off; is the customer willing to pay additional shipping fees for expedited parts delivery. A quality shop will clone the hard drive prior to commencing the repair. While that may take some time to do, they do not have to babysit it; they'll start the process and start working on something else. 

Canugghead

We don't know what we don't know, the problem could be with the hard drive itself.

DoubleEgger

Fred19Flintstone said:

dmourati said:

Show up and ask for the laptop back. If they backpedal, give them four hours to fix it or you'll take it to someone else.

I like your style!

That style might get you a virus. Don’t piss off the guy that’s working on your computer. Either let the guy work on it or take it somewhere else. 

Fred19Flintstone

DoubleEgger said:

Fred19Flintstone said:

dmourati said:

Show up and ask for the laptop back. If they backpedal, give them four hours to fix it or you'll take it to someone else.

I like your style!

That style might get you a virus. Don’t piss off the guy that’s working on your computer. Either let the guy work on it or take it somewhere else. 

Ahh.  Like don’t be a PITA at a restaurant sending food back to the kitchen lest it comes back with some hidden booger sauce.

fishlessman

just had a new hard drive done, upgrade of windows 7 to 10, and all my stuff transferred and it was done overnight. its always been done and ready for the next morning. you need a new guy. i did lose my hillary in russia screen saver though

Fred19Flintstone

I called the repair shop this morning and said I’ll be by after work to pick it up.  They said it was on the bench and it has a defective data cable.  That’s fine but it was not letting me in and seemed to be locked up with something passing itself off as an anti-malware program.  Take that out and clean any viruses and malware.

I pick it up and they did wipe the viruses and malware stuff out.  They were pushing for this data cable fix.  “What’s involved with that?”  They tear it apart and find the cable so they can order it.  It will be something like $100.

”Gimme the laptop and I’ll call you about that.”  

Then they said the funniest line:  “Well, okay, but you will have to go to the back of the line then.”

I’ll take my chances.

caliking

Wow. What’s the wait time for the back of the line? 6 months? 1 year? Are they the Shirley Fab of laptop repair?

jaydub58

Another thought; just toss the laptop and buy a mid-range tablet.
I've had a Samsung Tab4 for close to two years now, and I don't even know where my laptop is. 

FearlessTheEggNoob

Diagnosed a $100 bad data cable that they still need open up the laptop to find?

Yeaaaah...right.

Fred19Flintstone

Like a good mechanic, a good computer repair guy is always good to know.

BugFreak72

That's funny considering there really aren't data cables in laptops. Most hardware is hard mounted to the motherboard if not soldered directly to it. 

Photo Egg

BugFreak72 said:

That's funny considering there really aren't data cables in laptops. Most hardware is hard mounted to the motherboard if not soldered directly to it. 

Doesn't every hard drive connect to the computer with a data cable?

BugFreak72

In a desktop yes but in a laptop the mount is usually soldered to the motherboard.  Saves on space

ColtsFan

Photo Egg said:

BugFreak72 said:

That's funny considering there really aren't data cables in laptops. Most hardware is hard mounted to the motherboard if not soldered directly to it. 

Doesn't every hard drive connect to the computer with a data cable?

M.2 SSD's install into a socket on the MOBO more like RAM does. No longer SATA cables in most instances

Photo Egg

BugFreak72 said:

In a desktop yes but in a laptop the mount is usually soldered to the motherboard.  Saves on space

I don't believe most normal laptop drives are hard soldered to the board. Only some of the newer, very compact models and tablets. Data cable takes virtually no space unlike memory slots. Lots of memory boards are soldered in now and not upgradable.
But more and more stuff is built to toss and not fix, agree.

Fred19Flintstone

He called it a data cable, but it is what connects the monitor to the computer.  The monitor flickers and is fiddly unless you get the position just right.

BugFreak72

Yes I've seen that go bad. Honestly unless this is some high-end laptop I would buy a new one. If you use it for mostly web surfing and email get a tablet (with a keyboard case if you prefer) but either way they are too cheap these days to waste money repairing an old one.

https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?N=100006740%20601286796%20601286800&Order=BESTSELLING  has plenty of options. You could even go real cheap and get a refurb but I prefer new when buying laptops.

FearlessTheEggNoob

$100 to R2 a display cable sounds about right depending on how far its buried in there. 

kl8ton

That is all labor.  Good price.  You have to decide if it's worth it.  I've soldered back lights in LCD screens and DC jacks etc.  I would charge 75ish per hour and not charge extra for the screws I couldn't find where they go back in.  😀