Certain restrictions apply, so ask your tech when scheduling or during your service call!

Call for help with:
-Virus Removals
-Data Backup and Retrieval
-Motherboard Service & Repair
-Free Diagnostics with Service
-And Much More!

The flood has caused a serious shortage in Hard Drives and other magnetic media storage devices, resulting in higher prices and even rationing at certain locations. As a result of the extreme upswing in cost, The Neighborhood Nerd’s prices will unfortunately have to reflect the increased cost of hard drive related repairs and upgrades.

We all hope for a speedy resolution to the problem so that TNN can again bring everyone outstanding service at reasonable rates

First things first TNN is working a contract that takes up a great deal of my time during the weekdays, and I’m in a location where I get very little signal, so the best way to contact me will be to text the Business Line (916-359-9597) or to email me at service@theneighborhoodnerd.net.

TNN is also moving locations, and transferring into a Home-Based Business, so most of my new calls will be on-site at my new client’s location rather than TNN’s.

At this time we’re no longer working on iDevices (iPods, iPads etc.) other than full Apple computers and laptops. The hardware simply isn’t designed to be repaired or refurbished and the price in labor and parts to successfully rework these devices outweighs the cost I’m willing to charge my customers. We will still support Xbox or PS3′s under certain circumstances, but other jobs will be taking priority.

Same-day service now will require a minimum service charge as I will usually need to put other projects or business aside to accommodate immediate service. If the normal charges of the same-day call exceed the minimum service charge there will be no additional cost, however.

Thanks to all of those who helped TNN become a success, and I hope to continue giving the best possible service to you all!

After doing a standard reflow on the main video chip, the issues with the monitor ceased, further confirming that this model suffered from the same issues the Gateway version did. While testing I decided to test out the temps the chip was generating. Turns out that the main video chip was sitting at between 90°-102°C most of the time if left on for more than 30 minutes or so. No big wonder why it fails so often. Due to this, we decided to rig up a cooling system for our customer to keep his $1200 monitor from burning out before it’s time.

We chose a Thermaltake Spirit A100 chipset cooler to accomplish the task, mainly because it was the perfect size to fit the chip’s dimensions exactly, and also would blend in nicely with the rest of the casing (other than the bright blue lights)

First thing we did was to wire the fan up to a USB cable (since this LCD has onboard USB ports) from which to pull voltage. All of the LCD’s internal voltages were far too high to hook up a bitty 40mm fan to, so instead we opted for a non-invasive low-voltage approach instead.

Tt Spirit A100 all wired up and ready to go

Next we had to cut a hole in the case the proper size for the fan and heatsink to rest on the chipset. I used a standard dremel rotary tool with a carbon fiber cutter wheel to do the job. First I measured out the dimensions of thecooler, and using the measurement and ruler pretty much just eyeballed the first cut over the chipset. I made sure to make the first cut a little too small so that I would be able to gauge the next cuts better by replacing the case over the chipset and re-measuring. By this method of cut, re-measure and cut again I was able to get a hole perfectly sized and positioned for the fan and heatsink:

Finished hole for the Fan and Heatsink

One thing I did not know about when we bought the Spirit A100 is that the blue color is on the base as well as everything else, so I decided it would be a good idea to Lap the base. I discovered it was a good idea to do anyway as the base was slightly concave and would have needed lapping anyway for perfect contact I didn’t bother doing a mirror finish job, since what I’m attaching it to is basically just a shield over a silicon pad on the chip itself:

Lapped using a glass coaster and 800 grit sandpaper

After the lapping was done successfully, all that was left was getting the chipset in place and permanently mounted. To accomplish this we chose Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive (not Arctic Silver Thermal Paste), which works like other epoxy in that it has two parts that are mixed and takes about 15 minutes to cure. I set the chipset with the back casing on to make sure the fan was positioned perfectly:

Positioning the chipset for the adhesive

A perfect fit! Fan was even flush with the higher section!

To be sure we could go back later to make other adjustments, repairs, or what-have-you, I made sure to paste the heatsink onto the main video board’s RF shield, and not directly to the chipset. While this will hinder thermal performance somewhat, It will allow for error correction later on or re-repair of the board, and I figured this chip would be kept cool enough just to have some active cooling rather than nothing.

Heatsink after thermal adhesive has set

Turned out that having the chipset fan made a huge difference to the video board. While testing, the video chip never got above 50°C, cutting the original operating temperatures in half! It should be noted that we DID turn the AC on halfway through the installation, which could have fudged the temperature variance some, but it appears to have done the trick! Another happy customer!

Doing its job marvellously!

Can hardly see the chipset heatsink! Fan sticks out a bit though

Here’s an example of the video chipset that usually has issues on many different computers. HP laptops and desktops from between 2006 and 2009 especially. There are many manufacturers and brands that use this chipset (nVidia GeForce 6150SE/LE) and many of them experience issues with this chip overheating and failing.

This picture is a successful refurbishment called a “reball” where the old solder points under the chip are removed and replaced, restoring the chip’s functionality in most cases.

The other picture is of the solderpoints the chip will be reflowed back onto, cleaned and prepared for reatachment

Double check links in the emails before clicking them! Make sure they lead to an actual ecard site and not a randomized shortened link or something that looks like a bunch of garbage!

Not so for The Neighborhood Nerd! Over the last year, we’ve been experimenting with the idea of doing circuit-level repairs on damaged boards, and have found that, with some practice and education, doing these types of services are well within our perview!

With many successful repairs now under our belts, we are officially adding several services to our catalogue with flat rates for BGA chip reballing, water damage repair, overload and burn repairs, DC Charger Port repair, and Power Regulation Circuit repair.

So if someone else tole you your motherboard was dead, and that you might as well chuck your computer, give it another chance and let us take a look at it for you!

Playstation 3 Single Chip Reball Service
Playstation 3 Full Reball Service (CPU, GPU, CXR714120)
Xbox 360 Single Chip Reball Service
Xbox 360 Full Reball Service (CPU, GPU, SB, HANA)
Wii Single Chip Reball Service
Wii Full Reball Service (CPU, GPU)
Laptop Motherboard Chipset Reball
Laptop Motherboard DC Jack Repair
Laptop Motherboard mosfet / capacitor repair
Laptop Motherboard Damaged Trace Repair
Desktop Motherboard Chipset Reball
Desktop Motherboard mosfet / capacitor repair
Desktop Motherboard Damaged Trace Repair

If one or more of your computers or electronic devices such as Monitors, HDTV’s, Receiver Amps, Video Game Consoles, or other electronic devices were effected or damaged, please give us a call and let us know! We would be happy to help with any problems you might have!

The user will get an error 0xC000009a fatal error while the system’s registry is being updated. The system will then freeze or reboot and not allow the user to access windows, either in normal or safe modes.

Due to the widespread nature of this problem we are offering to do fixes for this problem for $60 flat rate with our guarantee to get your system functioning again (without needing to re-install Windows). This fee does not cover existing infections, software damage, or other related issues however.

Please give us a call to schedule an appointment!

We’ve found no less than 14 instances of this virus on computers protected by the most stringent antivirus systems. To further compound the problem, the symptoms of this virus vary wildly.

The only way we have been able to tell these instances are the same virus is manually detecting the viral files:

C:\install.exe
C:\eula.3051 (there are several variations of this file in the same location with different 4 digit numbers)
C:\VC_RED.msi

And a few other similar files. So far the only effective removal technique is to use ComboFix