You can read more about it at electronista.com who says this the second recall in two years for Sony when they were a part of a massive battery recall that included many other major vendors last year.
Our lab is fully equipped to handle all of the component level laptop notebook repairs you need. To get your broken laptop fixed visit our site or call today.
Recently Microsoft released a television ad featuring Jerry Seinfeld. It was generally considered to be a dud and not too funny. They've recently released another series of ads featuring a man dressed like the "PC" featured in Apple's advertisements. Apple tends to make many claims of superiority over the Windows operating system. While the claims are mostly based in truth there also seems to be a large amount of information the average computer user is unaware of. Mac OS runs entirely on Apple designed hardware. There are little-to-no third party drivers. Most of the applications required for the average user are included on a Mac out of the box. Comparing a brand new Mac to a brand new Dell yields a simple result - the Mac is superior. But when you find yourself with an advanced need or an interest in gaming your options become somewhat limited (for your average user) on Mac. Don't get me wrong, onCALL 25/8 Loves Apples and we enjoy repairing Macs. We just don't think it's fair to make such a bold claim that Apple is entirely superior without all of the facts. On most Windows based PCs you've got a nearly infinite number of possibilities when it comes to the hardware and software installed. The fact that Microsoft was capable, with Windows XP, to make an operating system that runs relatively smoothly for relatively long periods of time on such varied hardware/software configurations is an impressive feat. While it should not be accepted it should be expected that you will inevitably run into the various errors that "plague" windows users - Blue Screens of Death (repaired in Virginia, Maryland and DC) and unbootable computers (repaired by onCALL 25/8). Conflicts are bound to eventually occur in such an open environment - like two gorilla's meeting in the jungle. But if you put the gorilla in the zoo and only put him with other, friendly gorilla's... well then of course he's going to be safe. Apple's claim that Windows systems are prone to virus infections are also true but not without need for explanation. Mac is generally more secure due to it's Unix roots. It's also not profitable for viruses developers and hackers to target Mac operating systems. There are fewer threats and so there are fewer infections. But a windows system properly configured is equally secure. We've got technicians who have never had a legitimate virus infect their system. The reason so many computers need virus and spyware removal in Virginia, Maryland, DC and the rest of the world is because they are tricked by clever hackers into allowing the viruses onto their system. If there were more Apple users and it were equally profitable hackers would spend their time figuring out how to trick them into installing malware on their system as well. I'm of the opinion that when virus makers do target the Mac OS we will see a flood of virus infections because Mac users have been goaded into a sense of complacency that lead them to believe their system is safe from viruses and infection-proof. Well, when you start to see bogus system messages tricking you into installing a virus on your computer, and you aren't prepared to second guess the message you're going to forge on without abandon. Mac users are used to regularly being prompted for their user name and password whenever system-wide changes are made - they're not going to suspect anything fishy. And while I own and use a Mac daily (in addition to my Windows and Linux based PCs) I am well aware of the fact that the biggest issue for all computers (hard drive failures/dead hard drives) applies equally to any Mac as it does to any PC. This extends into those other types of accidental failures or hardware failures, as well: cracked LCD repairs, liquid spills on laptops, broken keyboard repairs, and overheating laptops. And while that Apple care warranty you have sure was a good value try finding a local genius bar that's going to be able to repair your broken macbook in Virginia, DC or MD - or any other place for that matter. Feel free to send me an email with your thoughts.
And just for your viewing pleasure I've included the new Microsoft "I'm a PC" advertisement:
We do a vast amount of data recovery work in the Washington D.C. area, and felt it would be a good idea to share some tips to help you keep yourself from ending up needing a full data recovery. If it's too late and you need help with Data Recovery in Washington D.C., Virginia or Maryland contact us today.
Backup your data regularly - in more than one location if possible. External hard drives are pretty affordable these days and there are lots of free backup applications that will outperform expensive, enterprise level software.
Maintain up-to-date virus scanning software. We highly recommend AVG free edition - it tends to do a better job than the expensive software you're already familiar with. Viruses can sometimes wreak havoc on a system, deleting data.
Keep an offsite copy of your data - you may experience theft, fire, flood, or other natural disasters. While these experiences alone are much to bare it does not make it any better when you realize you've lost email, photos and videos of loved ones or thousands of dollars worth of data. Many businesses will close shortly after a data loss due to a natural disaster if they do not have a backup from which they can restore their data.
The four tips above, when followed, should keep you from losing your data. If you've got multiple computers, network backups and residential-level data-servers may be appropriate. Chances are you can get setup with one for less than you'd think.
If you need help with any of these things, please visit our main website and request a service call.
We get numerous requests to downgrade PC's from Windows Vista to Windows XP in Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia. I call it more of an upgrade... but I guess that all depends on your opinion. We've captured a video of the process and sped it up by 1000% (so it won't be so boring to watch!). In the video below the Dell inspiron desktop PC was easy to repair. Dell provided all of the drivers for this machine to run properly on Windows XP.
Please don't be fooled - the process is often quite involved. Some times the manufacturer does not provide drivers for XP. But with a bit of research we're able to figure out the proper chipset or original part number and get the system to work. Of the several hundred Vista to XP downgrades we've attempted there has been only two which did not have all drivers available and in both instances we were able to determine this prior to uninstalling / formatting the Vista install.
If you've noticed a swarm of CNN messages in your inbox lately that's because it's the latest attempt of phishers to infect your computer with viruses and spyware. We've only had one affected customer, thus far. The attack leads you to a page that falsely indicates you have an outdated version of Adobe Flash Player, prompting you to upgrade. If you proceed with the upgrade your computer will become infected and your antivirus software may report it has found Cbeplay.a, a trojan which will phone home and install additional bits of malware on your system.
It seems microsoft will begin a second beta test for their latest version of internet explorer later this year. Their blog reports it will be available this month and will offer new features for IT professionals and web developers. Their's a rumor that the new browser may begin rendering web pages incorrectly - if you perform the upgrade and see some issues you'll know why and (barring any glitches) an uninstall should fix it.
We've had lots of trouble calls in the Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland area with Vista Antivirus loaded on the machine. This is rogueware attempting to bully the unsuspecting user into purchasing fake antivirus software which will not really be of much help to the user. There are many variants, some of which may be using rootkit/stealth techniques to prevent removal from standard antivirus software (McCafee, Norton, Trend Micro, Etc.).
It's been brought to our attention by one of our sources that there are many laptops (as many as 18 million) affected with faulty video chipsets manufactured by NVIDIA. It is reported that a BIOS update to these machines will "fix" the issue, but that does not appear to be the case - updating the BIOS simply turns the fan on more frequently and is likely to shorten your battery life and cause the fan to fail sooner. The proposed fix by the big manufacturers (Dell, HP, Apple, Lenovo, and others) is simply a band aid - likely an attempt to push your machine just outside of its warranty period. We've got these models on a watch list and will be performing extensive tests to verify whether the chips are or are not failing.
Dell laptops reported to be affected by the NVIDIA video failiure:
Inspiron 1420
Latitude D630
Latitude D630C
Dell Precision M2300
Vostro Notebook 1310
Vostro Notebook 1400
Vostro Notebook 1510
Vostro Notebook 1710
XPS M1330
XPS M1530
HP Laptops reported to be affected by the NVIDA video failure:
HP Pavillion dv2000 Series
HP Pavillion dv2100 Series
HP Pavillion dv2200 Series
HP Pavillion dv2300 Series
HP Pavillion dv2400 Series
HP Pavillion dv6000 Series
HP Pavillion dv6100 Series
HP Pavillion dv6200 Series
HP Pavillion dv6300 Series
HP Pavillion dv6400 Series
HP Pavillion dv9000 Series
HP Pavillion dv9200 Series
HP Pavillion dv9300 Series
HP Pavillion dv9400 Series
Compaq Presario v6400 Series
Compaq Presario v6300 Series
Compaq Presario v6200 Series
Compaq Presario v6100 Series
Compaq Presario v6000 Series
Compaq Presario v3400 Series
Compaq Presario v3300 Series
Compaq Presario v3200 Series
Compaq Presario v3100 Series
Compaq Presario v3000 Series
The other big manufacturers have not yet released what models have been affected but onCALL 25/8 technicians have been instructed to check all laptops for the purportedly affected chipsets and extensively monitor them so we can alert our customers whether or not they are likely to be affected by this issue.
onCALL 25/8 services clients in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Hear what some of our clients are saying about their experiences with onCALL 25/8 Computer Repair: http://oncall258.com/testimonials/
Check out some of our recent repairs. We've captured them on video so you (the prospective client) can see our work before your hire us, as well as for any DIYs out there that might need some direction on how to complete a repair.... videos coming soon: vids.oncall258.com
We'd like to share with you some pictures relevant to some projects we've worked on. These include data recoveries, laptop jack repairs, lcd replacements, virus removal, spyware detection, hard drive crashes, thermal problems, laptop keyboard problems, and more. We're a round-the-clock computer support company catering to home and business users in virginia, maryland, and washington dc. Check us out at www.oncall258.com and see our pictures here: http://flickr.com/photos/oncall_25-8_computer_repair_virginia_maryland_washington_dc/
