Desktop Computer Cooling Options

Scott our lead Computer Repair Engineer gives a brief overview of the options for you to consider when looking at improving the cooling in your desktop or home theatre computer.

If you are looking cooling components for your own build, check our our computer component web store and don't forget that we also offer a customer design and build service for high end computers

Christmas Lunch At PC Repairs Perth

Computer Repair Engineers Choice of Christmas Lunch

We have been so busy repairing computers, laptops, iPads and iPods that we have not had time to have our usual staff Christmas lunch.

All we could manage was to grab some pizza which to be fair is computer repair engineer's favourite food!

A Chance To Win a 1TB Ext Drive!

It's Christmas Eve And A Chance To Win a 1TB Ext Drive!

To go into the draw for a 1TB External Hard Drive all you have to do is LIKE our Facebook page and then share today's picture.

Day Eleven of Our Christmas Give-Away Competition

DAY ELEVEN OF OUR CHRISTMAS GIVE-AWAY COMPETITION

To go into the draw for one of 2, of the coolest ways to personalise your laptop or iPad worth £34.99 each, all you have to do is LIKE our Facebook page and then share today's picture.

To find out more about this new service checkout our laptop & iPad Skinning page

Day Ten of Our Christmas Give-Away Competition

DAY TEN OF OUR CHRISTMAS GIVE-AWAY COMPETITION

To go into the draw for one of 3, of our legendary computer health checks worth £59.99 each, all you have to do is LIKE our Facebook page and then share today's picture.

Day Nine of Our Christmas Give-Away Competition

DAY NINE OF OUR CHRISTMAS GIVE-AWAY COMPETITION

To go into the draw for one of 4, bumper 3 title PC Game Packs, all you have to do is LIKE our Facebook page and then share today's picture.

Day Eight of Christmas Give-Away Competition

DAY EIGHT OF OUR CHRISTMAS GIVE-AWAY COMPETITION

To go into the draw for one of 5, very cool ASUS Computer Toolkits, all you have to do is LIKE our Facebook page and then share today's picture.

Day Seven of Christmas Give-Away Competition

DAY SIX OF OUR CHRISTMAS GIVE-AWAY COMPETITION

To go into the draw for one of 6, professional Microsoft keyboards, all you have to do is LIKE our Facebook page and then share today's picture.

Free Christmas Mincemeat Pies & Coffee in Perth

Free Christmas Mincemeat Pies & Coffee at PC Solutions

If you are in Perth between now and Christmas, why not pop in to PC Solutions for a free coffee and mincemeat pie??

Free Coffee & Mincemeat Pies

We love to see you!!

PS Hot chocolate is also available and free

Day Six of Christmas Give-Away Competition

Day Six of our Christmas Give-Away Competition

To win one of 7, Bullguard Internet Security 13 Packages, all you have to do is LIKE our Facebook page and then share today's picture.

Day Five of Christmas Give-Away Competition

DAY FIVE OF OUR CHRISTMAS GIVE-AWAY COMPETITION

To win one of 8, ASUS Computer Cleaning Kits, all you have to do is LIKE our Facebook page and then share today's picture.

Day Four of Christmas Give-Away Competition

Day Four of our Christmas Give-Away Competition

To win one of 9, USB Webcams (with mic), all you have to do is LIKE our Facebook page and then share today's picture.

Day Three Christmas Give-Away Competition

Day Three of our Christmas Give-Away Competition

To win one of 10, 15" laptop bags, all you have to do is LIKE our Facebook page and then share today's picture.

Day Two of PC Solutions Christmas Give Away

Today's prize for the draw is 11 * 8GB memory sticks.

Memory sticks are always useful especially at 8GB!

All you have do to be entered into the draw, is to LIKE and SHARE the picture on our PC Solutions Facebook page

Day One

Day One Of PC Solutions Christmas Give Away

Today we have 12 of these very nifty Republic Of Gamers key rings to be won:

All you have to do , to be entered into the draw is to Like us on Facebook and Share today's picture and you could be a winner!

iPad Repairs in Perth

Since we started repairing iPads in our computer repair facility in Perth, we have been surprised by the number of iPads that have suffered smashed screens.

It's not that they are being dropped from any great height or onto hard surfaces but it would appear that the iPad screens are susceptible to any heavy or sharp blow.

The iPad that features in this video, was dropped from a couch onto a carpeted floor:

During the course of repairing iPads, we have noticed that a smashed iPad screen can splinter into very fine shards of glass so be very careful when handling an iPad with a smashed screen.

The good news is that most components in an iPad are repairable or can be replaced so if your beloved iPad is broken, then we can repair the vast majority of iPad problems across all generations of iPads

Customer Feeback

Customer feedback is always a good thing especially in the form of wee treats from happy customers

Yesterday was a good day:

But I fear for the computer repair engineers waist lines!

Festive Frolics

Our computer repair engineers thought it would be funny to 'dress' my car in something seasonal.

Photo Caption Winner

The winner of the Photo Caption Competition, Douglas Eadie collecting his prize from Donald

The Boss Is Going Soft

As it's heading towards Christmas and ONLY because there is snow on the ground, the Boss has kindly let us put the new workshop heaters on.

A Very Unusual Sight

Our young trainee computer engineer has managed a rather impressive feat.

He has injected some style into our computer repair workshop by sporting a very trend hair cut.

We salute young Andy for having the guts to get such a hair cut!

Facebook Photo Competition Winner

Today we announced the winner of the best clean caption for this photo:

And the winner is Douglas Eadie with "Even Donald's back passage was dull and uniform"

Well done Douglas as you have won this box of biscuits:

Computer Repair Engineer Reward

As a reward for keep up with the flood of computer repairs that suddenly appeared this week, our delightful Boss bought us lunch!

FBI Asking You For Money?

FBI Asking You For Money? Don't Fall For This Computer Virus That Can Lock Your Computer!

It's called the FBI MoneyPak virus and it has been infecting computers left and right. The ransomware virus infects computers using various methods like email or even just from visiting certain sites. When infected, the computer is locked and rendered useless.

Fear Tactics
One reason the virus has caused such a stir is because it plays on users' fears. The virus claims to be the FBI, stating the user has been caught using their computer for illegal activity like violating copyright laws or distributing illegal material. Sometimes the virus even activates the user's web cam, as if they are being watched.

The virus claims the FBI is fining the user 200 dollars, which must be paid online via MoneyPak; only then, the threat states, will the computer unlock. It gives the users a time frame to pay, usually 72 hours, before criminal action will be taken.

Unlocking the Computer
Individuals with infected computers have found ways to unlock their computers, although this doesn't get rid of the virus. One way is to restart the computer and press F8 to enter Safe Mode. On computers with multiple accounts, it is possible to switch to another account.

Removing the Computer Virus
The best way to remove the virus from your computer is to seek professional help. Even if you're a computer whiz with a dental assistant degree, users attempting to remove the virus on their own often make the situation worse.

Hold On To Your Money
Most importantly, do not pay any money to this virus. The FBI has released a statement about the virus warning people they do not and will not conduct business in this way. Anything that may appear on your computer claiming to be the FBI requesting money is fake.

Sadly, many people have sent money from fear of involvement with the FBI. Once the money is sent, there is no way to get it back or file a claim, and your computer will still be infected with the ransomware.

Avoiding Infection By A Computer Virus
To avoid this and any other virus from infecting your computer, follow these Internet safety guidelines:
• Avoid unfamiliar and suspicious looking websites
• Do not initiate downloads from websites you do not trust
• Always check the format of downloads (audio files are usually mp3, images are usually jpeg, etc.)
• Do not open emails from unknown sources
• Do not publicly distribute your email address
• Use a recognised internet security solution
• Make sure that your computer is kept up todate

Any time you have a virus, the best idea is to use a professional computer virus removal service. Often, if you remove a virus on your own, you can miss hidden factors that could harm your computer or even be used to access your personal information.

Author: Michelle is an aspiring writer with a passion for blogging. She enjoys writing about a vast variety of topics and loves that blogging gives her the opportunity to publicly voice her thoughts and share advice with an unlimited audience.

Edited by Keith B Fergie, Director of PC Solutions, Perth Scotland

Customer Gaming Builds

Another of our custom gaming PC builds heading South. This one is going to Devon

Microsoft Patch Tuesday 13th Nov 2012

Microsoft issued more patches last night for most of the Windows operating systems with an average of 20 updates |@ 180 megs for Windows 7 machines.

Patch Tuesday from Microsoft

Keeping your computer or laptop up to date with all the operating system patches is vital for the computer's security.

If you are having issues with getting updates for your computer, it could be a sign of other fundamental issues that could be resolved with one of our Best Value Computer Health Checks.

Have questions, then give us a call and speak to one of our specialist computer repair engineers

Laptop and MacBook Screen Repairs

Nearly everyday, a laptop is brought into our laptop repair workshop in Perth with a screen looking like this:

Laptop Screen Replacement

Our laptop repair service also includes screen repairs and replacement on MacBooks

MacBook Screen Replacement

These due to the construction of these laptop screens, they are not repairable and have to be replaced.

In this state, the laptop is unusable but you could connect a monitor to the VGA port or in the case of newer laptops to a TV via the HDMI port.

Usually the data is safe unless the damage to the laptop screen was caused by the laptop being dropped or knocked off a table/ counter top.

Believe it or not, apart from dropping a laptop, one of the most common causes of a cracked laptop screen is a result of it having been stood on!

So if you have the misfortune to be suffering from a cracked or  smashed laptop screen, bring it along to our Laptop Repair Centre in Perth and we'll do our very best to get the laptop repaired ASAP

New Minecraft Server

PC Solutions New Minecraft Server

Part of daily life here at PC Solutions is to tend the the animals. We are keeping cows and chickens on our farm.  Donald and myself have had the fun of setting up and running a Minecraft server. So far we have manage to keep the Creepers and Arrowmen at bay but more information later on public access soon...

If you are a Gamer, check out our custom design and build service for gaming systems

A Scoobie Thank You

A customer brought in a pile of biscuits to say thanks for some laptop repair work we did for him.

We just love a wee Scoobie Snack on a Friday afternoon in the laptop repair workshop.

iPad Repairs

iPad Repairs in Perth

Over the last couple of months, our computer repair engineers have been training in all aspects of iPad repairs.

With the final specialist tools now in place, we are proud to announce that PC Solutions is now offering the following iPad repairs across all generations of iPad (1,2 &3)

Description		Retail inc VAT
iPad Touch Screen		£119
Battery		£89.99
iPad LCD Screen		£109.99
Dock Connector		£69.99
Headphone Jack		£69.99
Front screen and rear case		£179.99
Front screen and LCD		£134.99
Power, Volume buttons & lock switch		£69.99
Loud Speaker		£69.99
Front or Rear Camera		£69.99

  The same care, attention and dedication will be given to your iPad repair as we do with laptop repairs.

If you have any questions about our iPad Repair Service in Perth, please call us on 01738 700700

 'ipod', 'iPhone' and 'ipod mini "iPad"' are registered trade marks of Apple Computers

Laptop Repair Horrors

For some strange reason and perhaps because today is Halloween, lots of troublesome and difficult laptops have been brought in for repair.

Laptop Repairs In Progress

The laptops are suffering from smashed screens, lost BIOS passwords, liquid spills and stripped screws to name but a few of the faults we are currently working to repair.

A Halloween Visitor To Our Computer Repair Workshop

That is a 10p piece not a 5p !

PC Solutions Practical Joker

Our computer repair team are highly skilled, highly focused and very creative with find solutions to folk's computer problems.

We encourage the work hard play hard philosophy but sometimes this can spill over into practical jokes when we have a very rare break from repairing computers.

Our Chief Engineer Donald is the leading culprit with respect to trolling the Boss.

Can you tell what is wrong with this picture and it's not the liquid or the lid:

The answer is:

He very carefully and skillfully used a hot glue gun to permanently fix the bottle of water to the computer hard drive.

There is no visible indication of the 'connection' until you pick the bottle up

Nice one Donald but the Boss will be much wiser next time!! 

Why This Desktop Computer Is Struggling

Computers are hard working bits of equipment that if looked after, should provide you with good service.

However if they are mistreated as in this case:

All bets as to the stability and reliability are off

You MUST make sure that the computer has plenty of room for heat dissipation and air circulation. If you don't, then the system will be slow, unstable and you could be risking a fire.

So please give your computer room to breathe.

If you think your computer is running slow or you want some upgrade options or advice, why not call us or pop in for some free advice over a free cup of coffee?

A Pink Laptop The Perfect Present.

Just in thus morning, a very very nice Asus K53E Limited Edition Pink laptop.

Good specs with 3 GB RAM, 500 GB hard drive, wireless, webcam Windows 7 Home Premium

£349.99 inc VAT

Only available in store

Computer Engineers Like Their Food

Dare I say it but we are heading towards the Christmas season.

The plus side is that we have our first box of Mince Pies for our 11's snack :) :)

Why Change Your Browser

Once again, another serious exploit has been found in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser.

In fact it's so severe that the German Government has taken the unusual step of recommending that the German public STOP using   Internet Explorer browser and switch to either Google Chrome or Firefox.

We prefer to use Google Chrome because it is more secure than Internet Explorer and it integrates so nicely into everything Google. It's not to everybody's taste and I call it the Ikea of browsers but it just works and is very secure.

Others swear by Firefox but it's all down to individual taste.

Which ever one you choose, do it now because although Microsoft is working very hard to issue a patch to plug the hole, until they do, you are at risk

Download Google Chrome
Download Firefox

Seasonal Virus Activity

We are noticing a marked increase in the amount of virus infections that are being brought into our computer repairs facility in Perth.

This is probably a result of folk spending more time on their laptops as the nights start to draw in, however we have also noted increasing sophistication in  Phishing attempts that are being sent via email and social media.

Examples from just this morning:

New email spam variant as folks thinks about Oct hols KLM SALES & SERVICE CENTER

 Yet another Facebook email spam "Your friend wants to share photos and updates with you

"Vodafone Europe: Your Account Balance" from Vodafone Europe (account@online.vodafone.com) contained a virus or a suspicious attachment

So be on your guard and if in ANY doubt, delete it!!

If your computer is running slow or you think you might have an infection,, check out our Best Value Computer Health Check which also includes 12 months Bullguard Internet Security

How To Improve Your Home Broadband Part 1

Is Your Router A Network Choke Point??

In the first of a new series of articles, we'll be looking at some ways and options to improve your internet connection at home.

The recent innovations with iTunes, iPlayer and all the other media streaming services such as Spotify etc, home broadband connections and home networks are have to handle and stream much more video and audio content.

Many people have not looked at updating their router since it was first connected and as a result, their router is a choke point on their network.

Check out this review of the TP-Link Dual Band Wireless router that is not only dual band but is gigabit and has Bandwidth Management and Traffic Shaping tools built in!

We gave the router to hard core gamer to see what he thought of the router and specifically from a on-line gaming perspective

If you want to know more,give us a call for for advice and check out our web store for more routers

Do You Use USB Pen Drives For Back UP?

If you use a USB pen drive for backup, then you had better have a very understanding Boss / Partner.

As you can see, they are somewhat fragile:

At best, they should only be consider as TEMPORARY storage nothing else and most certainly NOT for backup.

Every week, without fail, we get a customer asking us to recover what data we can from their memory stick as it the only copy of their most valuable data or backup or pictures or school work etc etc 

Sometimes we can recover the data from the pen drive, in other cases it's a total loss so please make sure that you have a real backup and multiple copies of your data. We recommend that you keep at least three copies of your data in different locations at all times.

That way you have three chances of recovering your data. Remember its a fact that most people DO NOT have adequate backup

If you need help or advice or a computer backup solution, give us a call or pop in to see us

How To Protect Your Laptop or Mobile Phone

How much do you depend on your iPhone, tablet, iPad, Android device or laptop??

I bet you depend on them a lot, probably much more than you would care to admit.

So check out this great free app that lets you track & protect all of your mobile devices (limit of three) for free.

If you are not sure, we'll install it for free the next time you bring your computer or laptop in for a health check or a virus removal in Perth.

Computer Cooling With Fans

While fans play a vital role in cooling and airflow in a gaming PC, then can also significantly improve the look of a gaming computer.

A Gaming PC Light Show

 Remember that the fans have to be balanced. You must consider the logic of the air flow through and over the components that generate the most heat. 

It is not as simple as just populating the gaming case with as many fans and pretty lights as possible. 

The primary focus MUST be on cooling and the expulsion of the hot air not the looks although the two can normally be combined!

Check out our range of cooling fans and don't forget that we offer a custom design and build service for high end gaming computers

A Computer Virus Most Foul

As Perth’s top computer repair shop, we remove a lot of viruses from a lot of computers.
Some computer viruses are straight forward to clean, others are tenacious and then you have the Royal Pain In The Butt computer viruses.

Recently, we have noticed a marked trend towards malicious computer virus infections. Some computer viruses are happy to use your computer or laptop as a host for sending spam, others steal your contacts, others attempt to steal your identity and bank details etc.

Last week we had a battle royal with a previously unseen computer virus that defied all normal attempts to clean and remove. 

It’s a variation on what is known as the Encryption Virus but this time it’s a much harder nut to crack. If it is not possible to remove a virus from a computer cleanly (some turn septic during the cleaning process), then a fresh Windows build followed by a data transfer is the ultimate solution.

However the Encryption Virus is a particularly foul in that it encrypts EVERY file on the victim’s hard drive. This means that even when you copy the user’s files to a brand new Window’s installation, the files are locked, encrypted and totally useless.

I believe the asking price from the virus developer for unlocking the data is £150 to £200!!

We bang on about how vital a three generation backup strategy is and this is exactly why. Alas, as is the case with most consumers, they are not backed up.

In one case, we managed to retrieve a picture (file) from a digital camera and use that to decrypt the key by comparing the file from the camera with the encrypted file on the hard drive. That client was very very lucky as the hard drive contained the only digital photographs of their children.

Bullguard the internet security that we use and recommend comes with 5GB of online backup so really there is no excuse for not being protected with a backup.

If you are having computer problems, need some computer help or think that your computer has virus, then pop in for a chat. Our advice is free!

Thought Hairballs Were For Cats Not Computers

While working on gaming desktop we came across what can only be described as a computer hairball!!

Computer Hairball - not good

This is a large mouse so the hairball is chunky!

I've included a computer mouse in the image to give you a reference for the size of the hairball.

We removed the computer hairball from the front air in-take of the gaming desktop and no surprise that the gaming computer now runs significantly better in that it is now stable and the cooling fans are not running constantly at full revs.

So if your computer is a wee bit under the weather or just plain sick, bring it in to our computer repair shop in Perth for a free consultation.

Water Cooling For Gaming Computers

We like water cooling in gaming rigs for a whole host of reasons:
Cooling efficiency
Whisper quiet
Over clocking
Loads more

You can have all the water cooling possible in your gaming computer but if the cooling radiator looks like this

It's not going to work!

For a full range of water cooling gear for all modding & gaming builds, check the cooling section on our web store.

Treat Your Graphics Card With Respect!

A Graphical Tale of Woe

As keen gamers and computer engineers, we take a great deal of interest in anything that is special, cool, different or unusual.

As I have said before, a large part of the skill of a computer engineer is problem solving coupled with tenacity and determination to solve a computer problem.

Big J, a particularly large gaming rig which I have feature before in a blog post, was brought in as a non-boot. The owner of Big J told us that he kindly let his nephew have a shot on it one Saturday afternoon as it was a miserable day and his nephew had been nipping the owner’s head for a gaming session for a while.

So to set the scene, the gaming rig was functioning perfectly and all the nephew had to do was install his favourite computer game.

The Uncle returned later in the afternoon to discover the side panel off the gaming computer and the nephew reporting that it ‘just died’ while he was installing the computer game.

Nothing was spotted as being obviously wrong internally and indeed the nephew was correct in reporting that the gaming PC had in fact died.

Big J was brought into our computer repair workshop for examination. On test the computer was powering on, but refusing to display anything at all.

Memory tested and passed

The power supply was tested and passed

Processor was tested and fine

On a hunch, Donald our Chief Computer Engineer removed the twin graphics cards and replaced them with a lesser graphics card just to test the theory.

Damaged Twin SLI Grpahics Cards

Voila, the system booted so the problem was with either of the graphics cards.  A close surface inspection  of the computer graphic cards revealed nothing but then the eagle eyed Donald noted some damage to the DVI port as can been seen below.

Look closely 

Note that these very high performance gaming graphics cards have two DVI ports each so the Big J gaming computer has a total of four DVI ports.

Incredibly, four out of the four DVI ports were damaged beyond usability!

The nephew had been less than careful when attempting to connect Big J to the monitor and had mashed all of the ports!!

 With a bit of clever re-positioning, Donald managed to affect a cunning port repair which meant that the twin SLI graphics cards were still able to work as you only need one DVI out.

So the moral of this tale is never leave your pride & joy gaming computer unsupervised and be very very careful when connecting your DVI output cables!

Not wishing to blow our own trumpet, but it is rare to find a computer repairs workshop that has the skills to do such complicated work as required to move DVI ports on a high-end computer graphics card and the honesty not to just tell you that the cards are mashed beyond repair and that replacing them is the only option.

Of course, our on-line store carries a very wide selection of computer graphics cards from the very basic all the way to the very top end quad core graphics cards

What Happens When U Play Football Near A Laptop

The laptop in this video is less than 6 months old.

Watch the video:

Now make sure that your laptop is on your household insurance!

Back to School, College or University Laptops

Its only August, but the schools in Perthshire start back on the 14th of this month. The colleges and universities are not that far behind so perhaps it is time to start looking at getting things ready for the return.

It's a fact of the modern word and the education process, that students are expected to have access to a reasonable laptop or computer, broadband and a printer.

PC Solutions has the largest range of new and refurbished laptops and computers in Perthshire.

Back To School Laptops

The laptops start from only £149 inc VAT and go all the way up to the latest Core i7 with everything in-between.

All of our laptops come fully prepared, tested and updated. We also include a year's cover of the award winning Bullguard Internet Security as standard!

Feel free to pop in for a chat and free advice on a new laptop and don't forget our laptop trade in options

Our on-line store was almost everything that you will need to complement  your computer for the new term
  

A Very Fried Computer PSU

If Your Computer Smells of Smoke

A long standing client brought his non-booting desktop computer in yesterday.

The computer, the client explained 'been smelling of smoke for a while" but now it refused to boot.

A quick test confirmed the computer repair engineer's initial diagnosis that the power supply had failed.

However we were not prepared for the extent of the PSU failure which only became clear when we started the strip down / removal process.

A Fried PSU

Look closer:

The SATA channel has been melted down to the bare wire!!

We would have expected the other protection mechanisms to have been tripped long before this level of damage occurred. We are not fire experts but we honestly believe that this was very very close to starting a domestic fire.

The client was very lucky as his computer is now running perfectly and we suggested that he bought a lottery ticket as his luck is clearly in!

If you are having problems with your computer power supply or thinking about upgrading your PSU check out our full range of computer PSU's in our online store

Meet Andy our New Padawan

Andy Stevenson has joined PC Solutions as a Modern Apprentice or Padawan

Under the watchful eye of Master Computer Jedi Donald, Andy will be given full training in using The Force to repair, build and customise all manner of laptops & computers in the Millennium Falcon based in Perth.

His first mission is to hone his use of The Force to defeat the Dark Side's use of viruses to attack innocent's computers.

Pop in and say Hi to Andy if you are in Perth

How To Use Thermal Paste In Your Computer

Thermal Paste Horrors

Without getting too technical, thermal paste is a special compound that is used between the CPU or brain of the computer and the heat sink.

The thermal paste ensures a near perfect mating/join between the surface of the CPU and the surface of the heat sink to maximise the heat transfer away from the CPU. Computer CPU’s are very similar to the human brain inthat they are incredibly sensitive to heat. Any extra heat and they die!!

In this particular case, a gamer had been attempting to upgrade the cooling on his CPU but made the most unfortunate mistake of using too much thermal paste.

 If too much thermal paste is used, then instead of being a boost to heat conductivity, the extra thermal paste acts as insulation thus causing the CPU to over heat and this in this case regretfully die.

Thermal paste should be used like Tippex and applied over the entire surface of the CPU in a very very thin layer.

We use thermal paste everyday in the course of building or repairing computer systems, Our preferred brand is Arctic .

Our on-line computer components shop has just about everything you might need to build a computer

If you have any questions about thermal paste or any other aspect of building get in touch and we'll do our best to help.