Friday morning & we are off to a flying start on some repairs to a client’s website. It’s an E-Commerce Website that has not been sending emails correctly for a couple of day’s, which can be a pain! After some input from Microsoft Office 365 Team (which wasn’t really helpful), checking all the plug-in’s, nothing seemed out of place. However, it has now just started working again ?!?! And now there’s an update available for the Website Mail Plug-in….. Look’s like they have found an error and sorted it on the quiet.
Next up is a client who’s having issues with Microsoft Teams & Zoom meetings. He’s also had a bit of malware playing with his drivers for the microphone on his laptop, making things worse. After a quick clean-up of the malware & installing the proper “Teams” & “Zoom” app’s, instead of using his browser, thing’s started to work correctly.
Then it’s some laminated A3 & A4 posters for the Newtown Amateur Boxing Club.
Another client drops in with more problems on MS Teams…….. Hmm, Beginning to smell a rat here! Re-installing “Teams” does the trick again. Methinks Microsoft have been having a few bad day’s of late.
Tracey, from Affinity Home Care Group over in Market Street gave me a call about Flyer Printing this morning. After a brief chat & a couple of emails, all was sorted without a problem. Good artwork means fast turnarounds!
Then, after a run of “Brain Picking” from a few folks passing by, and sorting out a clients email problem, It’s time to see what’s going on with a little red Acer laptop that’s not playing ball.
It’s very slow to boot (about 10min), and is crawling along once it has finally loaded. A quick inspection of the Hard Drive, and everything becomes clear. Poor thing is flat out doing nothing, meaning the hard drive is on it’s last legs.
As the machine has only had reasonably light use over it’s 4 year lifetime, I would have expected better. However, my clent advised me that the laptop has travelled extensively throughout Europe, in a Camper Van.
Thousands of miles of vibrations, knock’s & bumps would explain the damage to an older style “Mechanical” hard drive. No problem though, In with a nice new “Solid State Drive”, Transfer client documents & files, and a fresh installation of Windows 10 to finish.
It’s booting up in about 20 seconds now, and behaving itself pottering around the net, and dealing with everyday tasks with ease.
And we are off with a high speed turnaround on some A5 Flyers, for a local Autioneer, that are needed by this Friday (Wed’s Today!).
Not a problem for Bluesdigital….
After a final edit @4pm, they are off to my commercial printers & should be with my client by 3pm on Friday, Phew!
Next job is for a local newsletter.
630x Double Sided pages later, and we’re done. (Poor Printers were steaming after that lot)
Last job for today is a Windows 7 Zoostorm PC that is suffering with a dodgy hard drive. As it’s got a decent CPU & 6Gb of RAM, It’s a good candidate for refurbishing.
In goes a nice new SSD & fresh install of Windows 10, and it’s turning out to be a snappy old fella!
Should keep the client going for a few years yet, and it’s good to recycle too….
Kev “the taxi” popped in to grab his latest batch of Business Cards.
Just needed to add his new email address, “Disability Transport” message & tweak the design a little to fit it all in.
Then off to my commercial printers, to be reproduced on his usual Premium 450gsm matt laminated card stock. Such a lovely finish on these, with the highly tactile matt lamination. They leave a great impression with clients, are highly durable & waterproof too!
See what you think……..
Next up, Paolo (La Terrazza) is back again with a few updates to his drink’s & pizza menu’s. All completed in just 30min.
Then to finish the day, a client has dropped off a nice little Acer Aspire laptop that’s freezing up badly, after upgrading to Windows 11. Turns out to be some corrupt partitions after upgrading from a “Factory” installed Windows 10. A clean installation of an original Windows 11, (as opposed to Acer, Dell, HP etc’s version), a pile of Driver & Windows updates, and the little Acer is flying along nicely.
The client will return in a few weeks to upgrade the RAM from 4Gb to 8/12Gb, when funds allow!
Have a nice Weekend
🙂
For more computer services, pop in to see us at Frolic House ( between Newtown Medical Practice and Newtown Driving Test Centre )| Call 01686 610 106 | Message 0783 222 7823
After yesterday’s rail strike, today’s early trains were cancelled, so I didn’t get to work until nearly 11am. However, I was ready to get stuck into some printing jobs. There was also a tricky virus getting up to mischief.
Thankfully, none of my clients needed me first thing!
Photo Printing on Glossy Paper
First little job of the day was a straightforward duplication of a few photos onto some nice 260gsm glossy paper.
Document Printing & Full Bleed Work
Next up was an urgent print job for a new client. It was a simple single print of a document on 80gsm standard paper.
However, the other document had a solid blue background and also needed to be full bleed (borderless). As standard paper will not hold that amount of ink without bleeding through to the other side and looking fuzzy, I used a nice smooth 120gsm matt paper instead. This can accept high-resolution prints easily.
Menu Updates for La Terrazza
Then Paolo, the owner of La Terrazza Italian Restaurant here in town (damn good food!), popped in to update his menus.
After about 15 minutes of editing, they were ready for proof-reading and printing. He had to run off and get prepped for tonight, so I’ll drop them off once I’ve closed for the day.
Virus Removal & System Clean-Up
Last job for today was a virus scan of a local hotel’s main reception PC. This had to be done sharpish, as all the other PCs in the hotel depend on it.
There were a few traces of malware and the remnants of a Trojan Horse that had snuck aboard. I upgraded Malwarebytes from the free version to the Premium paid version to enable shielded protection. That should minimise any more nasties!
I finished up with a couple of Windows updates after a quick service, and we were good to go in two hours flat.
Now I’ve got the print jobs out of the way, it’s time for some computer repairs. Today, it’s an HP EliteBook battery repair.
One of my very first clients is back with a laptop that won’t hold it’s charge.
It’s a HP EliteBook 840 that he bought refurbished from Amazon, on my advice, about 4 years ago.
I really like the EliteBooks. So easy to work on, as the back panel just unclips in a few seconds. This way, you have access to pretty much everything.
As I’ve had a lot of problems with after-market batteries in the past, I only supply OEM batteries. These can cost £75-£150+. However, as he’s a pensioner, it’s a bit pricey for his budget. So I pointed him to the correct battery on Amazon for just £25. He’ll bring it back next week for me to fit.
The service went easily, as it’s got 16Gb of RAM, an i5 CPU & fast SSD.
A quick virus scan, bunch of Windows updates, clean-up of start-up programs, disk clean-up & optimise the SSD, and it’s ready to collect in about 45mins.
Modern computers, with solid state drives are so cheap to service. Last week, an almost identical machine only had 4Gb of RAM, a Celeron CPU and a traditional mechanical HDD. It took me nearly 3hrs to do the same job.
🛠️ Expert Repairs Without the “Big Brand” Price Tag
There is a lot of life left in older machines if they are treated right! This HP EliteBook is a perfect example of how a quick, professional service and an honest approach to parts can keep you up and running for years. This can be done without breaking the bank.
Whether your laptop is struggling to hold a charge or has become “painfully slow,” we provide straightforward, jargon-free support. Our goal is to get it back to its best.
Why bring your tech to Bluesdigital?
Honest Advice: If a part is too pricey, we’ll help you find a reliable, budget-friendly alternative.
Fast Turnaround: Modern SSD-based machines can often be serviced and optimised in under an hour!
Local Trust: We look after your tech so you don’t have to worry about “big brand” upsells.
Your Local Digital All-Rounder 💻🔧
From reviving tired laptops to building affordable web design in Mid-Wales, we make technology work for you. If your computer needs a “spring clean” or a hardware boost, pop in and see us at Frolic House.
Get your tech sorted today: ☎️ Call: 01686 610 106 📱 Text: 0783 222 7823 📍 Visit us: Frolic House, Newtown (Between the Medical Practice & Driving Test Centre)
