A vital step in Laptop Repair concerning Data Recovery, Migration or Maintenance is having a solution in place before a critical situation arises. At our Boston Computer Repair shop we have all the tools and experience to recover your important data from a failed hard drive or crashed system in most cases. However, for the inevitable times where a hard drive has catastrophically failed and Data Recovery is impossible it is vital to have a secure backup solution in place.

Your Data is Irreplaceable

There are many reliable data backup solutions on the market for Desktop and Laptop PC users, as well as more complex data maintenance systems for enterprise level customers using server racks or computer-farms.

I personally use and recommend an external hard drive of at least 1 Terabyte configured to automatically back up your entire system. It is important to make sure your Laptop Hard Drive is large enough to store all of your files without spilling over onto the external - as the essence of backup is to keep two complete and separate copies of everything in case one of the drives fails.

USB or Firewire External Hard Drive

For most users this one hardware and software solution will be everything you need to secure your data and prepare to migrate to a new system in the event of an upgrade or a crash. However, there are a number of other ways to back up your data in case you need to have it on-the-go or access it over the internet. In another post I will review flash-based storage, cloud-based storage and RAID backup solutions for businesses.

Have you ever tripped on your laptop power cable? Or dropped your laptop and now your laptop will not charge? Or possibly you now need to wiggle the AC Adapter cable where it plugs into the female port (the DC Power Jack) in the back or on the side of your laptop to get at least (or in some instances, at most) intermittent connection allowing electricity to flow to the PC?

Any way you cut it, this can be very frustrating and can cause you a major inconvenience especially if the laptop is dead and you need to access files that are on that computer which can sometimes lead to a more expensive data recovery computer laptop repair service once your battery runs out just to access your files until you can get the DC power jack repaired. The fact that your computer is not getting power  is most likely due to one of two or two of two things:

1. The actual power cable and/or the AC Adapter Cable -that plugs into your laptop is damaged and it needs to be replaced
2. Damage has been occurred to the DC power jack, which is what the male port on the end of the AC adapter cable plugs into. The DC power jack actually resides on the motherboard and allows electrical current to flow to the laptop.

AC Adapter w/ Power Cable

DC Power Jack Repair

Most computer repair shops do offer some laptop repair services, however, many of these computer repair shops do not offer the DC Power Jack Repair services in-house as it is a more complex repair requires a high level of expertise with laptops since the laptop needs to be disassembled to access the motherboard, ability to solder and not your every day run of the mill tech possesses these skills.

Our Boston computer repair shop is one of the few locations that does offer DC Power Jack Repair in eastern MA, and we do all the work in-house, not sent out to another company or location. We offer DC power jack repair services for Toshiba, Dell, HP, Sony Vaio, Lenovo. Thinkpad, Gateway, Acer, Asus, Mac and all Apple laptops in Boston MA. Also, depending on your computer make and model and our available stock we can preform a DC jack repair on the same day or for next day pickup.

The idea of outsourcing your IT department usually scares a lot of people, first and foremost those that work in your IT department. This is for a good reason. IT outsourcing does cut overhead costs substantially when done correctly, which ultimately could threaten some of your IT staff’s jobs.

As a small IT services company, or sometimes referred to as a Boston computer repair & networking company, we have many clients both large and small that choose to utilize our Boston based service technicians on a part time basis for projects and/or multi-site management. An example of when this may be fitting for a company is when there is not a daily need for an on-site computer technician to be available to troubleshoot and repair every-day problems, especially when running in an environment using Citrix or cloud computing - which allows for most repairs to be done remotely (for example out of a company’s headquarters), but needs more of a break-fix / on-site troubleshooting and repair technician type of a local resource. And without having to endure the increasingly over-bearing travel costs of flying in a representative (and the time it takes for one to travel via plane) or having a “regional” rep travel half a day or more to get to one of their sites. We also see many times that the old expression “when it rains it ours” holds very true in IT in the sense that many times in multiple locations many things go wrong at the same time or within a day of each other, and for our clients knowing that they have a resource such as ourselves with multiple techs in every coverage area, we are able to handle the workload.

Another example would be for project type work such as regional upgrades, or data center migrations, management and/or build-outs for data centers. In these instances it also proves to be more cost effective to outsource your IT staffing on a temporary basis to another company that has the computer repair technicians already on staff and ready to staff your project with very short notice for shorter or longer-term projects rather than hiring new employees, having to insure them, and then when the project finishes having to either terminate them (possibly leaving bad blood in your wake) or keeping them on staff increasing your overhead when you perhaps do not have enough work for them.

These are just two small instances that allow larger companies to focus on bigger picture items and move their company forward while relying on cost-effect computer service solutions by using IT outsourcing.

Words from an experienced Boston computer repair IT services technician. Not a Geek!

If you have any questions for our Boston computer repair service and networking tech support team, we would be happy to discuss how our IT staffing and IT outsourcing solutions can work for you and your company to deliver a positive ROI by majorly cutting down on your overhead without cutting back on your IT infrastructure. Give us a call at 617-723-1986.

Also, you could head to our Boston Computer Repair & Networking, Virus Removal page on Thumbtack.com, a company that promotes local services. We have found Thumbtack.com to be a reputable site and advocate what they are doing to deliver quality content to the general public.

Cape Cod computer repair

A+ Mobile PC Doctors is number one for Cape Cod computer repair services, because WE come to YOU. Our specialty is onsite computer repair because it’s the most convenient option for our customers. Summer is a busy time for business owners and residents on the Cape, and the slightest glitch on your computer network or laptop computer can cost you time and money. Make the simplest choice and call A+ Mobile PC Doctors who has been in business on Cape Cod since 2002. The following are a few of the areas we regularly operate in on the Cape.

Barnstable Computer Repair
Buzzards Bay Computer Repair
Centerville Computer Repair
Cotuit Computer Repair
East Falmouth
Falmouth Computer Repair
Hyannis Computer Repair
Mashpee Computer Repair
Osterville Computer Repair
Sagamore Computer Repair
Sandwich Computer Repair

Chances are, you’ve seen at least ONE news story about people deleting their Facebook accounts after new privacy settings were unveiled at a recent Facebook conference. It’s more than likely that people are talking more about it than actually doing it. Why? There are ways you can protect your privacy that don’t involve such drastic measures as deleting your Facebook account.

A new YouTube video by Larry Magid, technology analyst for CBS news, shows an easy way to shut off Instant Personalization. You can view the Facebook Privacy video here. The newly revealed ‘Instant Personalization’ allows Yelp, Pandora, and Docs.com to mine your public Facebook information for a more “personalized experience” — a fancy word for a hidden marketing agenda. The video also shows how to customize basic privacy settings such as making certain photo albums viewable by only your friends. Hopefully by now you’ve already configured these settings, but if you haven’t I’d suggest taking action.

Facebook security is only one facet of computer security. You should have computer security software installed on your laptop or desktop computer. Never ignore the update or renew messages — failing to update your security software is like sending your son or daughter to college with a laptop from 1995. It’s just a bad idea. Keep in mind that computer security software isn’t completely infallible — so have a trusted computer repair company in mind if you suspect a need for virus removal in Boston or in any of the twenty-two states where we operate. Call us at 1-617-723-1986 to speak directly with a computer technician, and visit A+ Mobile PC Doctors on the web to check out a full list of computer repair services. For Boston computer repair, we’re one of the most referred companies and have even been recognized by The Boston Globe for our excellent customer service.