Best place to fix laptop
 

Hey guys,

My acer travelmate laptop crapped out awhile ago but I still have some important files in it I would like to recover. Can you guys recommend me to some place that would be able to fix it up for me at a decent price? I prefer it to be in the Vancouver area but am open to everything.

Thanks

Depends on how it's fucked up. If you just want to get the files stored in the HD, and the HD is fine, it's a simple matter of sticking it in an 2.5" enclosure.

get an enclosure usb it to another computer see if the secondary computer sees the drive. If it does DONE, if not well there's still ways but it's hard and costly.

really depends on how valuable that information is.

What do you mean by crapping out? Doesnt power on? O/s corrupt? Do you know if its you hard drive itself causing the problem?

It powers on. It won't get to Windows. I gives me this blinking underscore in the top left corner and that's it. I don't know why it is doing that.

put your ear on the laptop (close to hard drive if possible) to make sure there's no strange clicking sound. If there is no grinding or clicking sound, then your drive might be ok...

If you don't want to troubleshoot it, then probably NCIX is the most popular place. I would venture to guess that most computer shops would offer this type of service if you're far from an NCIX.

ncix has a long turn around, if you don't plan on troubleshooting it your self, take it to powersonic they do same day(if in early enough) or next day service.

actually, the cheapest place to diagnose is bestbuy or futureshop. as soon as they tell u what the problem is, take it back and fix it yourself i.e. replace harddrive

unless u really have no idea what you're doing then u can shop around and ask specifically i.e. how much it is to replace harddrive

the guys at BB/FS would be just as good as if you asked on here, to be honest. the battery of tests they run are pretty rudimentary and the software ones come from their 'company' which is just a compilation of the ones on the web we'd point you to i.e. UBCD, BartPE

in fact, most (if not all) repair places do free estimates

Ok well I'll try bestbuy/fs and powersonic and see if they can tell me what the exact problem is and go from there. Thanks for the help!

hey man save your self some time and money and go somewhere other than BB/FS.
I don't mean to slam their service or what not (i've never used them so i don't know personally) but what i do know is this, if you need to replace any component of your laptop(harddrive,ram etc. parts for it will be much cheaper at the specialty computer stores like NCIX, Powersonic, a-power etc.
not only that but if you need info on your drive they help you find the cheapest way of doing it. AND showing you how to do it.

just my 2cents

^ don't let BB/FS actually fix anything. I (essentially) have their "A+" certification and it's bullshit, all they do is run some basic diagnostic software and then start swapping out parts til it's fixed.

When does the underscore show up? After the BIOS screen or after the Windows loading or right as you turn it on?
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hence diagnose is italicized --> reading fail

i recommended FS/BB because they're cheap. at maybe $30 for diagnosis? many places are $70/hr, and diagnosis is min. one hour to them.

As bullshit as their stupid diagnostic tools (that i already said are free and readily available) seem, if the OP is not running them, and you're not running them for him, let a store that will take responsibility help him.

so to the OP. go to any store you like, make sure you get a complete idea of how much a diagnosis will cost. i completely agree that NCIX etc. will do a much more thorough job as i know someone working in tech personally, but if it's a simple problem like a hd/ps/ram failure, it only takes couple minutes to tell you.

I believe right after the Windows screen. I haven't checked it out in awhile.

Sorry guys, I know how to use a computer but when it comes to problems like this, I don't know shit. So I appreciate all the help I'm getting :thumbsup:

Check to see BIOS sees the HD. If it does, run fixboot/fixmbr from the Recovery Console of a Windows disc.