repair

Word keeper

Microsoft Word documents are susceptible to corruption and loss from a variety of causes, including viruses and other attacks, system crashes, software incompatibility, and even media read errors and other inexplicable events. Stellar Information Systems' Phoenix Word Recovery Software can help users recover and repair damaged Word documents. It doesn't promise to recover every lost document, but it can undo a wide range of damage.

This program's job is to find Word docs gone on walkabout in your system and, if they're damaged or corrupted, restore them to a previous state, including all links, OLE objects, and … Read more

Restoring the engine on a 1937 BMW 328 Roadster

I love checking out car restorations and seeing what some people are doing to their old-school rides. Well it doesn't get much more old school than this: a 1937 BMW 328 Roadster, and in Wednesday's blog post we got to see and hear about the work that was being done by Black Horse Garage to improve the body shell. In today's clip we join up with the Black Horse gang to see what work they are doing to the engine, and it should be quite interesting.

This video begins with a Black Horse Garage tech checking out … Read more

It pays to call customer service, sometimes

I'll be honest with you: I hate customer service as much as you do. The long waits, the anonymous feeling of phone calls, the paperwork...it's like a doctor's appointment. Maybe that's why many people I speak to simply don't bother. My dad always calls me before bothering to spend time trying to reach Apple. A friend let his bricked Xbox 360 sit in a drawer for two years rather than try to call for a repair.

As for me, my fear comes from broken headphones. At least once a year, it seems, some pair … Read more

How to buff away your iPhone's scratches

Unless your iPhone went straight from box to case, it's probably lost some--if not all--of its original shiny luster. Indeed, it's rare to find a handset that doesn't end up looking like the one in this picture after a few months.

It's awful, right? That's more or less how my iPhone 3GS looks, and it's been riding inside a rubberized shell since day one. Unfortunately, while there are plenty of DIY guides showing you how to fix the front of an iPhone, I've yet to see one that focuses on its backside.

Until … Read more

Jet City Devices: iPhone screen repairs while you wait

When your mind replays your iPhone's ill-fated fall to the pavement, followed by that gut-wrenching sound of shattered glass, it'll no doubt be in slow motion. Traumatic events like that often are.

If you're lucky enough to live in Chicago or Seattle, however, you can get your baby fixed fast. Jet City Devices is an iPhone repair service that on Monday, March 1, will open a new location in Chicago's Orland Square Mall. (The Seattle office: already open.)

Both locations will replace your glass in 15 minutes for a flat rate of $85. There are, of … Read more

Apple offers MacBook Repair Extension Program for hard drive issues

Apple is now offering the MacBook Repair Extension Program for hard-drive issues on machines purchased roughly between May 2006 and December 2007. Customers experiencing hard-drive issues should take their machines to an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Reseller to have it diagnosed.… Read more

Report: Apple paying 15 percent refund on broken 27-inch iMacs

For those who've had repeated problems with their 27-inch iMac, it appears Apple is ready to make it up to you, somewhat.

Gizmodo is reporting several readers who've been given a 15 percent cash refund for having to return a broken 27-inch iMac. It's been widely reported that customers have complained of receiving 27-inch iMacs with cracked, flickering, or yellow-tinted screens. But Apple has yet to comment on the record about the problem, so roughly $300 (assuming it's a $2,000 model) given to customers certainly comes across like an acknowledgment or even an apology for … Read more

Clean your computer's clock

This program, like many others, promises to clean your Registry, make your computer run faster, and, if you're lucky, do your dishes, too. At least when it comes to cleaning your Registry, Advanced Registry Optimizer seems to do a pretty good job.

The scan process was easy to initiate and was done in about 3 minutes, although don't forget that the scan time depends on the computer system. A smart-looking row of five tabs and their labels makes navigating the program options stress-free, and the lack of lag on the system was much appreciated. The user interface has … Read more

ShopJimmy salvages TV parts, reduces e-waste

Flaws in shipping sometimes result in cracked, shattered, or dented televisions. Useless? ShopJimmy.com doesn't think so. The Minnesota-based company had a revenue of $3 million this year by salvaging functioning parts from damaged televisions.

Every week, ShopJimmy receives between 800 and 1,000 broken TVs to disassemble in search of sellable parts for small repair shops.

"We're looking to limit the random e-waste that ends up in landfills," said Ryan Zarlengo, marketing director at ShopJimmy.com. The company is also sparing resources by lowering the demand of brand-new replacement parts (which are far more expensive … Read more