Hard Drives - Why they Fail

Bit of a different approach to this blog as we replace dead hard drives nearly on a daily basis we thought it would make sense to explain what causes them to fail and what you can look for as a user to know when something may not be working correctly.

There are man reasons for them to fail ranging from the circuitry to a mechanical failure of the components that store and access your data. These failures vary and as a result so do the resolutions. Data recovery must be handled with care to ensure optimal outcomes as there are many variations in drives and failure type.

Difficulties faced as a user is knowing what’s going on inside our hard drive. Operating systems we use whether it’s Windows or Mac OS X generally won’t tell us anything about our hard drive until it’s too late but certain tell-tale signs can be help identify hard drive issues.

If your machine hangs up a lot or inexplicably freezes for long periods accessing files or programs could point to a hard drive on its way out, other times you may have blue screens, errors on boot, such as a missing registry file, corrupted drivers or missing MBR. Your hard drive may also make more noise than usual or feel it generating more heat.

Here are most common causes of failure:

Most hard drives will fail gradually due to wear and tear.  ( older the hard drive more chance of failure) 

Many will also fail from overheating. ( if you use the hard drive intensively could cause this issue ) 

Some will fail suddenly because of a physical shock.  ( they are very fragile even the smallest knock can damage them )

On occasions hard drives fail because of manufacturer defects or quality control issues.  ( out of your control and lightly to happen inside of warranty if the case )

Leeds Computer Laptop Repairs specialise in the repair of hard drives, data recover and free advise. If you require a reliable, cheap and friendly laptop repair service then call us now FREEPHONE: 0800 907 0025 | MOBILE: 0759 9585 666

Laptop Key Replacement

A fairly common job I encounter on a weekly basis singular or multiple laptop key replacement. Sometimes the customer has managed to keep the keys to one side and not loose them or the clips that go with them, other times the keys have come off and got lost. Either way it's a very small job and very straight forward the majority of the time.

In this particular scenario the laptop keyboard was fully functional but had 2 keys missing. The keys themselves are usually very easy to source if it is a fairly common manufacturer. I ordered the keys along with the clips that come with them to attach them back to the keyboard. It can be a little fiddly at times as the clips are very delicate and easily damaged so it's best to take your time doing it. Once on the keyboard was fully functional and laptop repaired.

Laptop Screen Replacement

Another laptop screen replacement today. I have covered this topic before but diagnosis was slightly different. This laptop hadn't been smashed or dropped but simply the screen had developed white vertical lines running down it. This is typical of LCD screens of a certain age and simply indicated a laptop screen replacement.

There can be other issues when it comes to lines running down or across the screen, vertical lines usually means the LCD is at fault, horizontal lines could be either the video harness or the GPU. The simplest way to diagnose what's at fault is to use an external monitor and see if any lines display that way you can narrow down what part  is at fault.

Leeds Computer Laptop Repairs specialise in the repair of all technical device problems such as laptop and computer repairs, laptop screen repairs, ipad and tablet screen repairs, computer upgrades and more. If you require a reliable, cheap and friendly laptop and computer repair service then call us now FREEPHONE: 0800 907 0025 | MOBILE: 0759 9585 666

Laptop Keyboard Replacement

It's a surprise that I haven't blogged about this problem as of yet as it possible is the most common problem I encounter behind cracked laptop screens. I'm talking of course about laptop keyboard replacements, 90% coming from spillage to the keyboard causing irreversible damage to the part.  Should the spill be limited and dried out quick enough there is some hope it could function and work as before but most of the time if it does temporarily work then cease to.

A busy mum whose son was eating his dinner while using the laptop knocked his drink over onto it causing the very problem described above. After sourcing the part and fitting the new keyboard all for £40 she was happy with the work and turn around time. Laptop keyboard replacement is a very straight forward job and relatively cheap but the best course of action is to try hold off having that cup of tea while on facebook!

Laptop Motherboard Replacement

Half way to the weekend and had an unlucky chap with a laptop that would turn on but not output any display. After swapping out the usual (ram, hard drive, cpu etc) trying external display hook up with no luck it has come down to the motherboard. Any time a motherboard dies its a question of cost effectiveness and whether or not due to the age of the laptop would it be worth while investing it a new one.

I try to keep my fitting cost low for motherboards unlike alot of other companies as sometimes people make out there is more to it than there actually is. Alot of the time I've fitted a motherboard as quick as a screen so I see no reason to charge more based on the type of part we fit. Managed to get a new motherboard and fitting for under £90 needless to say the chap was chuffed to bits!

Laptop Hard Drive Replacement

New week and back on with the laptops are per usual. A young lady had a problem getting past the windows splash screen which immediately I presumed to be a corrupt system file. Infact it was a curve ball and something out of the ordinary for a laptop of its age as it was only just a year old!

After attempts to get into windows, re install and format the drive all which caused the laptop to hang and crash I removed the hard drive and plugged it in my caddy. It turns out the hard drive had died along with some uni work she had on there! After many attempts to retrieve anything to no avail I suggested I forward an email to her that she could take to get any extension with her work. It's a shame when parts die on a laptop especially one that is so new but it seems hardware is no longer built to last. Parts get cheaper but I guess quality in this situation had suffered for it. I replaced the hard drive with a solid reliable brand and hopefully she'll back up her work in future.

Laptop Screen Inverter Replacement

Back on with the blog again what with it being a new week. Slight variation to a previous blog relating to laptop screen replacements. Basically there are two types of laptop screens, LCD and LED. Without getting too technical LCD laptop screens require an inverter to power the backlight and allow us to see the screen image. Without this extra power the screen would be faint as seen below:

Very straight forward job. Simply remove the screen bezzle detach the inverter board from the laptop and replace it with the new board. Great thing about a replacement like this is the inverter boards are quite easy to get hold of and are very cheap in comparison to a full laptop screen repair or replacement itself.

If you need alaptop screen repair company or need a laptop repair specialist in Leeds then contact Leeds Computer Laptop Repair now.

Ipad Screen Digitalizer Repair Replacement

Well this Wednesday morning I had a job book in for an I pad. Basically the touch screen was unresponsive in parts as well as being smashed. I have only repaired the ipad LCD screen itself and not the glass digitalizer which sits above the screen. This can often be misdiagnosed if the Ipad screen damage is not visible visible.

After removing the screen digitalizer it was clear that the LCD screen was fully working and didn't need any ipad screen repair work carried out. The digitalizer above was replaced clipped back in and was now fully functional. I was surprised by the cost of the digitalizer as it was significantly cheaper than the LCD screen. This is a good sign for future touch screen devices and allows Leeds Computer Laptop Repairs to branch out to more smart phone and tablet screen repairs!

If you have suffered the same sort of problems or require any Laptop or Computer repair work then do call Leeds Computer Laptop Repairs now! FREEPHONE: 0800 907 0025 | MOBILE: 0759 9585 666

Computer Screen Replacement

Weekend is again fast approaching and jobs are booking in as always. An individual has asked us to diagnosis and repair his PC Computer. He was having an issue where his computer would turn on but then not have a display on the screen. After getting it back to the base I hooked up one of our displays to which it came straight on!

His CRT screen had died and was a very straight forward screen replacement. I advised his the correct type of screen for his gfx card and went and collected it for him from a local supplier. Once it was all hooked up he was very happy as he went from an old 15" CRT screen to a new 19" widescreen LCD screen.

Leeds Computer Laptop Repairs specialises in all aspects of computer and laptop screen repairs as well as all other computer, desktop and laptop repairs so if you have a problem with your device, call us now on FREEPHONE: 0800 907 0025 | MOBILE: 0759 9585 666