anyone in San Diego area know a good computer repair shop?

[Brainonska511]

100C in bios? Sounds like the heatsink isn't mounted right. Or maybe the pump died on the aio (or something isn't plugged in). I doubt a bios settings alone could fix this; maybe something else going on there, but the better course for the bios should be to load the optimized defaults and start from there.

 

[igor_kavinski]

but the better course for the bios should be to load the optimized defaults and start from there.

This is the crux of the problem. The "optimized default" of this particular BIOS is to overvolt the CPU. I don't understand how lowering the voltage in the BIOS made the problem worse. Maybe she entered the wrong value or changed the value of the wrong voltage.

 

[Brainonska511]

This is the crux of the problem. The "optimized default" of this particular BIOS is to overvolt the CPU. I don't understand how lowering the voltage in the BIOS made the problem worse. Maybe she entered the wrong value or changed the value of the wrong voltage.

But maybe that isn't the actual issue. Why would this just suddenly crop up, unless the original tech undid those things during the first build but before the upgrade?

 

[igor_kavinski]

Why would this just suddenly crop up, unless the original tech undid those things during the first build but before the upgrade?

Very possible.

The waterblock could have been disturbed by transportation bumps too and now it is not touching the CPU properly. I wish Quebert would inspire this woman to get more adventurous

 

[Captante]

The only way this gets fixed is to get the machine into the hands of a person who knows what they're doing.

Focus on finding an honest PC repair place in San Diego... there HAS to be at least one!

(I can think of a couple right off the top of my head in my area)

 

[igor_kavinski]

Focus on finding an honest PC repair place in San Diego... there HAS to be at least one!

I hope it wasn't SD Bytes! If not, I say try that.

 

[QueBert]

Thanks to everyone who helped, she took it to a shop I found with 600 good reviews. They think it's the MB but need to do some tests. Definitely out of the realm of me helping over the phone. And I was the one who told her to put the wrong voltage, I don't know where my head was at. But I had her set it to 1100, It was 1058 before that (I thought it was 1200) but 1100 shouldn't make a 9700k overheat in seconds. There's definitely something wrong.

 

[Captante]

My recollection of those otherwise pretty solid Supermicro "enthusiast" motherboards BIOS's is that they were the "old-school" kind that was really scary to noobs and easy to screw up.

And don't beat yourself up over not being able to help her on the phone.

When I worked helpdesk 80% of the time remoting in to the users system to see the problem with my own eyes was the ONLY way to solve the it! (what came out of the users mouth was utterly useless!)

 

[igor_kavinski]

(what came out of the users mouth was utterly useless!)

Most recent example at my work:

The invoice isn't being displayed!
Have you selected the company?
Yes!
OK, give me remote access.
(Company is not selected)
I thought you said that you selected the company.
I did before but it wasn't working before when I selected it.
OK let me select the company. See? It's working.
Oh, thanks so much! (line disconnect)
(to myself: thanks a lot for wasting my time, dumbass)

 

[Captante]

My personal favorite was this one older lady who swore up, down and sideways that she was "pulling the power cord from the back of the modem" and it was making her "screen" shut down!

Long story short she thought the PC mid-tower was her modem.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Long story short she thought the PC mid-tower was her modem.

Why ma'am, that's one BIG modem you got there

 

[Captante]

Why ma'am, that's one BIG modem you got there

What gave it away was when she mentioned it was beige and under her desk!

 

[QueBert]

LOL I use to encouter a decent about of people who called their tower a modem.

 

[Captante]

Way back in the day of internal dial-up modems the "telephone" sound (lol) came from inside the case so I guess it sorta makes sense from a laymen's point of view.

I recall my US Robotics "Courier" ISA 56k modem had what looked exactly like the earpiece of one of those late 1950's black plastic "Ma Bell" phones and it got super-annoyingly LOUD! (although it could be muted)

 

[pcslookout]

Way back in the day of internal dial-up modems the "telephone" sound (lol) came from inside the case so I guess it sorta makes sense from a laymen's point of view.

I recall my US Robotics "Courier" ISA 56k modem had what looked exactly like the earpiece of one of those late 1950's black plastic "Ma Bell" phones and it got super-annoyingly LOUD! (although it could be muted)

I had the exact same one!

 

[Captante]

I had the exact same one!

I actually still have mine in a box somewhere too!

I bet it would function perfectly if only there was a working ISA-slot motherboard to stick it in!

 

[igor_kavinski]

I never went past a Conexant modem.

Probably never owned a real hardware modem.

sniff sniff

 

[QueBert]

Don't know how honest the guy was as I know a lot of computer shop people unfortunately take advantage of customers because they lack knowledge. S

He said the BIOS was messed up - so he reset it and change a few settings, no biggie.
updated drivers - no biggie
said the pump on the AIO was only partially plugged in, and the thermal paste was dry and crusty - halfway plugged in would mean it wasn't coming on (what I thought) he put new paste on which is good.

Seeing how she and most normal people couldn't do what he did, he did a good job. She wanted same-day service so it was $350, $250 for the work, and $100 for rush. Which seems kind of OUCH to me, but I don't know the going rate for tech work. It shouldn't have taken any competent tech more than an hour to do all that, and that's being generous. She asked about why her fan was so loud, and I don't like he told her "it's a server motherboard so it's always going to be loud" I think this got her to drop another $50 for him to install a new fan. Now I'm not saying she didn't need a new fan, but $50 for a fan when she already was spending $350, and outside of the dollar worth of thermal paste it was all profit for him. That seems excessive to me, and I'm sure it's not a premium $40 Corsair fan. I'm blown away people can drop $400 willy-nilly like that, thank god I know everything I do and what I don't I can read up on or go to YT and learn how. But for someone like her who it took a solid hour to get her in the BIOS, I guess you pay what you gotta pay.

He was confused why she had a SuperMicro server board in there lol.

 

[NutBucket]

Well hopefully the issue is resolved.

Cost..well that's pretty much what happens in every field; car mechanics, appliance repair, home repair, landscaping, etc. Most of it isn't terribly hard if you're inclined to learn and spend some time and sweat. Saves a boatload in the long run.

 

[Torn Mind]

Well hopefully the issue is resolved.

Cost..well that's pretty much what happens in every field; car mechanics, appliance repair, home repair, landscaping, etc. Most of it isn't terribly hard if you're inclined to learn and spend some time and sweat. Saves a boatload in the long run.

Ignorance is essentially a tax on the ignorant individual for being ignorant.

Once in the hands of another, if the professional sizes someone and deems them not a threat, that’s when the exploitation occurs. In business, it’s markups or unnecessary work. Against government agents, it’s predatory application of law, due process violations, etc. It all boils down to not being able to articulate being damaged.

My first foray into PC repair was just a loud fan clogged with dust.

The pricing is pretty hefty but it is California.

 

[igor_kavinski]

But for someone like her who it took a solid hour to get her in the BIOS, I guess you pay what you gotta pay.

Is she happy with the end result? System is working and she is gaming without any issue?

 

[gorobei]

e gad at that bill.

guess it is a little late, but you could have tried to solve it with her using Teamviewer.

Watch PCWorld try to fix a remote PC with TeamViewer

Watch Gordon Mah Ung try to troubleshoot a PC from afar with TeamViewer's excellent remote desktop software.

www.pcworld.com

the person needing help installs the app on their phone and you can install on phone/pc. the camera streams the view and the advisor can point and annotate with the tools while you voip. the helpee sees the notes in a pseudo AR view in 3d space on the phone.

free for personal use for now.

TeamViewer Remote for personal use | TeamViewer

Discover how TeamViewer Remote can transform your personal user experience. Overcome challenges by remotely supporting family and friends or accessing files and projects.

www.teamviewer.com

 

[NutBucket]

Ignorance is essentially a tax on the ignorant individual for being ignorant.

The pricing is pretty hefty but it is California.

All true. "Kids" these days don't take pride in being self sufficient.

<-- SoCal Curmudgeon

 

[VirtualLarry]

Seems a little expensive, but if he fixed the issue in a minimum of time, and he's an experienced tech living in Cali., yeah, probably sounds par for the course. Live and Learn.

I wish I could demand those sorts of prices.

 

[Torn Mind]

All true. "Kids" these days don't take pride in being self sufficient.

<-- SoCal Curmudgeon

Understandably, no one can learn everything(i.e learning a foreign language, or learning about cars/computers w/o internet content) and some people are not wired in a "geeky" way, but possessing some indicator of ineptitude basically signals others to take advantage.