Case Studies

Recently, there was a gamer. This gamer was having a hard time playing games when their computer was always crashing for no good reason at random times. I could sense the frustration when they dropped off the computer. There was no way I was going to return this rig without knowing for sure the problems were completely resolved. Since the pc only experienced problems randomly, it took longer than I'm sure we both would have preferred. I was putting this PC through it's paces, at times running stress tests, torture tests, and a benchmark, all at the same time. This rig was not showing any signs of weakness; Much the contrary. It was chewing up, and spitting out everything I could throw at it. At one point during the testing, it even went to sleep! I couldn't believe it. Then, out of desperation and reaching for answers, I ran the Windows memory diagnostic and Boom; Right away it revealed a problem with the DDR4. Understanding where my client was coming from and knowing how hard it is to be away from a gaming PC like this, I offered to let them borrow some DDR4 from me. Also I took charge and handled the RMA for them at no additional charge. I know how much of a hassle it can be when needing to return parts for replacement. Without this, my client would have waited 3 more weeks for their RAM replacement from the manufacturer. This particular manufacturer has not been very responsive and took several attempts at contacting them to get a response. Also, at no additional charge, I made some minor tweaks to the rig. In particular, I noticed the RGB was not synced. Upon inspection, I noticed the CPU RGB fan was not connected to the motherboard, and corrected it. Now all the fans can be controlled to create a seamless RGB experience. I also noticed the hardware used to mount the motherboard was not the correct hardware. I switched the screws out. Some of the expansion card covers were missing and I replaced those. The wiring management was good, but it could have been a little better. I rerouted the wiring leaving little trace of any visible wires. All this I would do for anyone who employs my services. That's just what you get when you choose Pocket Pro Tech.

Laptop hinges are notorious for being a high stress, use, and neglect component often overlooked until it's too late. Once one hinge goes, it's not long until the next will fail. Laptop manufactures must have a reason for mounting these heavy duty steel hinges to weak and fragile plastic chassis components. I'm assuming they would rather have the body break before the hinge similar to how cars have crush zones. But this doesn't make sense either. When laptop hinges fail, it's never due to the hinge itself. Instead what fails, is whatever that hinge is mounted to. Usually it's the plastic cover housing the LCD. Most of the time, that is a metal nut set in a plastic foundation. And most of the time, it is this plastic that breaks and fails, never the hinge itself. Working for a local theme park I discovered how they mount nuts for bolts in a life or death situation on amusement park rides. It's also used for aircraft and jetliners to mount hardware to fiberglass hulls. I searched for this same adhesive that they were using, but I'm unable to purchase at this time because they want corporations to purchase mass quantities. Never deterred, I searched for a suitable equivalent. Found many that would do the job, but one in particular stood out from the rest. This epoxy adhesive is called "Toughened epoxy". How it is toughened is by infusing it with rubber. This makes the cured product very resistant to impacts, along with being strong enough to use architecturally. This is what I use on any situation in which the plastic has failed yet again. This is no quick set epoxy that you get at the local automotive store. It's price alone sets it apart from the rest. Additionally, there is 30 minutes of working time to allow me to set, check, reset, rebuild, and mold it to the form needed to make the necessary repairs. So far, it has helped me perform miracles. I've had laptops split into many pieces. Others have 8 out of 10 motherboard mounts completely sheared off. Some simpler fixes on lower cost laptops that super glue just would never hold.

Most commonly we deal with computers that won’t boot or randomly crash. Many computers we deal with have had ransomware or malware installed by mistake. The most thorough method of dealing with bad programs is to backup your personal files, then wipe the hard drive, and reinstall Windows. This is necessary due to the fact that most trojans are designed to hide from view. Some sophisticated malware have the ability to reappear, even after being deleted.