Computer and laptop repair and upgrade

Atomik.biz specialises in computer and laptop repairs and upgrades. Modern computers and laptops are very reliable, but when things go wrong, we will solve your problems. If your computer is slow, consider upgrading it with more memory or a solid-state disk drive.

Free pickup and delivery for computer repairs

Atomik.biz offers a free collection and drop-off for computer and laptop repairs. This offer is for all of Leighton Buzzard and Linslade and up to 4 miles from our LU7 3DT address.

Diagnostics

In most cases, the problem is obvious but sometimes, working out the cause is more complicated. Sometimes it is not obvious whether a problem is hardware or software-related. We will diagnose your problem and fix it.

Software faults

Before we can fix a software problem, we have to understand what it is, which means gathering information from the user, including symptoms and errors. We then “work the problem” until it is solved. Solving these problems can be upgrades, patches, settings or reinstalls. Sometimes if there is no “fix”, then a workaround can be found. Software faults are usually investigated and fixed remotely.

Hardware faults

Faulty disk drives and power supplies are the most common faults in desktop computers. The nature of laptops means they are more prone to physical damage. Broken screens, keyboards and hinges are common, but broken power connectors and failed batteries are also everyday problems. In the event of hard disk failure, we will replace the drive and reinstall your software. We recommend replacing failed disks with solid-state drives, which will drastically improve performance and speed up the rebuild process. A solid-state drive will extend the working life of any computer.

If a computer is beyond economical repair, we will recover your data and copy it to your new machine. Data recovery can be a long process, so we typically undertake this work at our office.

Computer Upgrades

We also upgrade computers which typically means memory and disk upgrades. Installing more memory and Solid State Drives is an excellent way to get more life from an existing machine. Windows 7 has reached the end of its life and is no longer under support from Microsoft. Computers that are running Windows 7 and are working well can be upgraded to Windows 10 and still retain user settings. Upgrading saves the time-consuming tasks of reinstalling programmes and restoring data. There are no licencing costs for this upgrade.

Solid State Drives

Replace your hard disk with a solid-state drive (SSD) to enhance existing computers. Extend the life of slow machines without reinstalling all your software.

People are increasingly reliant on their mobile computers and are always striving for better performance. One of the most significant issues with mobile computing is the time it takes to boot up and shut down. Battery life is also very important. Reducing weight and noise is an additional benefit.

Most laptops have an electro-mechanical hard disk that spins at a relatively high speed and uses a read/write head on the end of a movable arm to access the data. The time it takes for the parts to move is the main limitation of computer performance.

Over the past few years, Solid State Drives have improved and use memory chips rather than revolving magnetic disks to store data. Solid-state drives are much faster, lighter, use less power, and are silent.

Initially, Solid-state drives were costly, had a small capacity, were unreliable, and had numerous compatibility issues with existing computers. Most modern machines will work with an SSD combined with larger capacity, higher reliability, and lower cost; they are an excellent means of improving laptop performance.

Is the computer compatible? Due to how data is handled in the physical drive, installing an SSD is not recommended on machines before Windows 7. The laptop manufacturer might not list SSD compatibility on older computers, so to give the best chance of success, upgrading to the latest BIOS is recommended.

SSD Upgrade

Most laptops have hard disks much larger than required, so you can choose a smaller drive to reduce costs. Typically a 256GB SSD will be sufficient and is more cost effective than fitting a larger drive. Many standard laptops have a removable panel, which gives easy access to the hard drive. Changing to an SSD involves removing the existing drive and replacing the drive, and putting the cover back. Some BIOS settings might need adjusting. Laptops without easy drive access can be challenging to dismantle to access the disk drive, which adds some risk and more time to replace the drive.

NVMe M.2 drives

The original solid-state drives look similar to mechanical drives and are a direct replacement for them. They are the same size, have the same screw holes and share the same connections. More modern machines have NVMe M.2 drives. NVMe stands for Non-volatile Memory Express and is a small card that plugs into a slot that accesses the PCIe data bus. Some machines have the slot but were fitted with either a mechanical drive or an old-style SSD. Upgrading to an NVMe M.2 drive will improve performance over an old-style SSD. The biggest problem with this upgrade can be finding a suitable screw to fix the NVMe M.2 card.

Rebuild or Mirror the old disk

An empty drive is entirely useless, so getting back to a working machine means either rebuilding the computer from scratch and restoring the data or copying the old drive precisely to the new one. Assuming the machine had no problems doing a drive copy is the preferred option as it is much quicker. Once fitted, the device should work as before but much faster.

If the machine was not running the required versions of the operating system or it has some problems, a rebuild would be the best option. A rebuild takes several hours and means all the software must be available along with any required license details. We will recover data from the old drive or a backup.

Over the next few years, new machines will increasingly have Solid State Drives as standard. In the meantime, upgrading existing devices will improve performance in every way.

Replacing a failed drive

If replacing a failed drive, then fit an SSD. An SSD might cost a bit more to buy, but you have to rebuild it anyway, and this will take less time due to the faster drive.

Quality parts

Atomik.biz uses quality parts from reputable suppliers, and these parts will usually have a warranty from the manufacturer.