Reliable PC repair business in (West) London
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Components
Last response: in General UK & Ireland Discussions
malcolmthejester
August 14, 2011 11:00:39 AM
Hey all,
I was wondering if anyone can recommend me a good PC repair place to get in touch with in West London?
I have a computer that I built some time ago break on me recently. I've done a few tests (and part replacements) but I can't figure out which component is causing my computer to fail to boot. I am quite busy at work at the moment and I would like to send the computer to a good repair shop where they can test the components for me and tell me which one is failing, so I know what I really need to replace.
I've visited a few shops in the Ealing area, but I got the vibe that they wouldn't really know what they are doing. Any recommendations would be great! It doesn't have to be in the Ealing area, but it would be very convenient if it was in West London.
Thanks in advance!
I was wondering if anyone can recommend me a good PC repair place to get in touch with in West London?
I have a computer that I built some time ago break on me recently. I've done a few tests (and part replacements) but I can't figure out which component is causing my computer to fail to boot. I am quite busy at work at the moment and I would like to send the computer to a good repair shop where they can test the components for me and tell me which one is failing, so I know what I really need to replace.
I've visited a few shops in the Ealing area, but I got the vibe that they wouldn't really know what they are doing. Any recommendations would be great! It doesn't have to be in the Ealing area, but it would be very convenient if it was in West London.
Thanks in advance!
More about : reliable repair business west london
Hello and welcome to Tom's Hardware Forums.
I can't help you in West London but I think you'd be better off with a visiting one-man-band PC fixer if no shops are available. Look in Yellow Pages or on Yell.com and make sure you pick someone with a landline telephone number as well as a mobile. Pick one from your own exchange or an adjacent one if you can and if they want to take your machine away, get a receipt and the registration number of their car.
I fix PCs for a living and am far cheaper for not having premises to pay rent on, three months in advance. Which parts have you replaced? The power supply unit is a good place to start. Are you hearing any noises from within when you try to fire it up?
Does anything show on the screen at all? If yes, is there a CD in the drive which might be confusing the boot process? You can save a packet by fixing this yourself and there's lots of help available here.
malcolmthejester
August 14, 2011 10:37:21 PM
Heya,
Thanks cipu, I'll add these guys to my list and will give them a call over the week, see if they are available.
I'll also check yellow pages, thanks for the tip saga lout! I actually described the exact issue on these very forums some time ago: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/310279-10-motherboa...
After I never got a reply I checked the PSU with an old Dr Power PSU tester and it looked okay (given the circumstances I very much doubted it was a PSU issue). Never had any noises or problems with the PSU! I bought a refurbished version of my motherboard on ebay and an old AMD AM2 CPU (Athlon 2650E) which I checked worked on my motherboard. After I put it all together I still got the same issue
. I discovered my previous CPU had signs of thermal paste on the side-most pins and did not want to plug it in the new motherboard in case that caused trouble. Having hit the same dead end, I don't want to throw away money at yet another CPU or motherboard (I have no more spare parts to plug in/out), and I'd rather get someone else's opinion. I already did some tests on the motherboard by removing everything except the CPUs and... no beeps! but then again my previous motherboard never beeped either, not even after POST!
Thanks for the advice guys! If anyone else has more suggestions they'll be much appreciated. Sending the machine off somewhere locally would be preferred as I am not around home most of the daytime!
Thanks cipu, I'll add these guys to my list and will give them a call over the week, see if they are available.
I'll also check yellow pages, thanks for the tip saga lout! I actually described the exact issue on these very forums some time ago: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/310279-10-motherboa...
After I never got a reply I checked the PSU with an old Dr Power PSU tester and it looked okay (given the circumstances I very much doubted it was a PSU issue). Never had any noises or problems with the PSU! I bought a refurbished version of my motherboard on ebay and an old AMD AM2 CPU (Athlon 2650E) which I checked worked on my motherboard. After I put it all together I still got the same issue
. I discovered my previous CPU had signs of thermal paste on the side-most pins and did not want to plug it in the new motherboard in case that caused trouble. Having hit the same dead end, I don't want to throw away money at yet another CPU or motherboard (I have no more spare parts to plug in/out), and I'd rather get someone else's opinion. I already did some tests on the motherboard by removing everything except the CPUs and... no beeps! but then again my previous motherboard never beeped either, not even after POST!Thanks for the advice guys! If anyone else has more suggestions they'll be much appreciated. Sending the machine off somewhere locally would be preferred as I am not around home most of the daytime!
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Uther39
August 15, 2011 10:41:57 AM
OK silly question time...
Did you have the little mini speaker connected to the MB during testing?
Have you tried swapping out the RAM modules?
OK i have just read your original post and from what i can work out, you are saying the new ebay bought MB and CPU both work together, yes ?
But the new ebay CPU does not work on your MB, and the Old CPU does not work on the new ebay bought MB ?
If you used the same RAM modules to do all the tests this then counts them out as being the culprit, as they work in one system but not another.
If all my statements above are correct, then by a process of elimination we can establish that both your old MB and old CPU are dead.
By the way if the above is true then all is not lost as you can replace your old AMD system with a new AMD AM3 system for £100.
Did you have the little mini speaker connected to the MB during testing?
Have you tried swapping out the RAM modules?
OK i have just read your original post and from what i can work out, you are saying the new ebay bought MB and CPU both work together, yes ?
But the new ebay CPU does not work on your MB, and the Old CPU does not work on the new ebay bought MB ?
If you used the same RAM modules to do all the tests this then counts them out as being the culprit, as they work in one system but not another.
If all my statements above are correct, then by a process of elimination we can establish that both your old MB and old CPU are dead.
By the way if the above is true then all is not lost as you can replace your old AMD system with a new AMD AM3 system for £100.
malcolmthejester
August 15, 2011 3:54:11 PM
Hey Uther39,
Did you have the little mini speaker connected to the MB during testing?
I should have mentioned this: I also bought a speaker for the MB from ebay (£1), because, surprisingly, neither my original MB, nor the refurbished one had an internal speaker. I connected the speaker to the new motherboard and even turned it around (in case it was plugged in the wrong way around) - still no beeping, even when I take out all the RAM. I haven't got another machine to test the speaker on so for all I know the ebay speaker might be broken!
Earlier today a colleague was throwing away a computer so I ripped out its internal speaker (I tested and saw this one definitely worked) before he disposed of the machine. It will however be at least the weekend before I can try and see if this one beeps at all.
Have you tried swapping out the RAM modules?
I tried removing either of the 2 RAM sticks and keeping the other one in, and then both (to see if MB beeps). No luck! I don't have any extra DDR2 RAM lying about to test further.
This lack of components to test is the main reason why I'd like to send it to a repair place.
OK i have just read your original post and from what i can work out, you are saying the new ebay bought MB and CPU both work together, yes ?
Nope, the newly bought (refurbished) MB and CPU give the exact same problem as the previous ones
. So
Old MB + Old CPU = the problem described in the post I linked to
New MB + New CPU = same problem
Old MB + New CPU = same problem ( Didn't test this one thoroughly).
But the new ebay CPU does not work on your MB, and the Old CPU does not work on the new ebay bought MB ?
I haven't tried installing the old CPU on the new MB. As I mentioned above, I noticed the old CPU had some thermal paste on its side-most pins, and I'd rather not plug it in if the new MB's working - I don't want to damage the MB or get paste in the socket. I decided to try the new CPU on the old MB however and it did not work.
My guess is that both my old MB and the refurbished one are dead, but I do want to confirm that. Would I be correct in saying that if I plug in a speaker that I know works and remove all the RAM and hear no beeps, then the MB is dead?
By the way if the above is true then all is not lost as you can replace your old AMD system with a new AMD AM3 system for £100.
The problem is that if the MB itself is okay I can easily buy one of the new Phenom IIs and they will work fine on the AM2 socket. If I buy a new MB I will also have to buy DDR3 RAM. I think the biggest problem is that I have 2 Radeon HD 4870s in crossfire, and I think the MBs that support this kind of configuration are more expensive.
I haven't had a chance to call any potential repair people today but will try and make some time to do so tomorrow!
Uther39 said:
OK silly question time...Did you have the little mini speaker connected to the MB during testing?
I should have mentioned this: I also bought a speaker for the MB from ebay (£1), because, surprisingly, neither my original MB, nor the refurbished one had an internal speaker. I connected the speaker to the new motherboard and even turned it around (in case it was plugged in the wrong way around) - still no beeping, even when I take out all the RAM. I haven't got another machine to test the speaker on so for all I know the ebay speaker might be broken!
Earlier today a colleague was throwing away a computer so I ripped out its internal speaker (I tested and saw this one definitely worked) before he disposed of the machine. It will however be at least the weekend before I can try and see if this one beeps at all.
Uther39 said:
Have you tried swapping out the RAM modules?
I tried removing either of the 2 RAM sticks and keeping the other one in, and then both (to see if MB beeps). No luck! I don't have any extra DDR2 RAM lying about to test further.
This lack of components to test is the main reason why I'd like to send it to a repair place.
Uther39 said:
OK i have just read your original post and from what i can work out, you are saying the new ebay bought MB and CPU both work together, yes ?
Nope, the newly bought (refurbished) MB and CPU give the exact same problem as the previous ones
. SoOld MB + Old CPU = the problem described in the post I linked to
New MB + New CPU = same problem
Old MB + New CPU = same problem ( Didn't test this one thoroughly).
Uther39 said:
But the new ebay CPU does not work on your MB, and the Old CPU does not work on the new ebay bought MB ?
I haven't tried installing the old CPU on the new MB. As I mentioned above, I noticed the old CPU had some thermal paste on its side-most pins, and I'd rather not plug it in if the new MB's working - I don't want to damage the MB or get paste in the socket. I decided to try the new CPU on the old MB however and it did not work.
My guess is that both my old MB and the refurbished one are dead, but I do want to confirm that. Would I be correct in saying that if I plug in a speaker that I know works and remove all the RAM and hear no beeps, then the MB is dead?
Uther39 said:
By the way if the above is true then all is not lost as you can replace your old AMD system with a new AMD AM3 system for £100.
The problem is that if the MB itself is okay I can easily buy one of the new Phenom IIs and they will work fine on the AM2 socket. If I buy a new MB I will also have to buy DDR3 RAM. I think the biggest problem is that I have 2 Radeon HD 4870s in crossfire, and I think the MBs that support this kind of configuration are more expensive.
I haven't had a chance to call any potential repair people today but will try and make some time to do so tomorrow!
Uther39
August 15, 2011 4:02:50 PM
Uther39
August 15, 2011 4:11:51 PM
!