At Zeer Street Mall near Rangsit - is it dying?

[WonnabeBiker]

Lots of shops shuttered... What a change from the hustle and bustle of bygone times.

Took 2 Thinkpads to get SSDs and new RAM installed and Win 8.1 loaded.

#1 was a junk X61 (no surprise if something would go wrong here).

#2 was a super X-201 which worked beautifully, but had only 4 GB RAM and a slow HDD.

• 16 GB RAM were recognized in bIOS. Brand new, CRUCIAL brand, out of the sealed box.
• Both SSDs were new.
• Wifi was working fine

The guy charged 600 Baht. Then called my wife, saying <your cPU is defective - pay x thousand Baht to replace it> and <wifi isn't working>.

It was working flawlessly and there was no bump or shock when I carried the notebooks to the shop.

Besides, I bet a genuine CPU failure would have produced some noticiable results like the screen staying black.

Am certain they have either cannibalized a perfectly working wifi card or replaced the CPU or just were blowing smoke. anything for a quick buck, huh?!?

Last time, all the new CRUCIAL 2 GB RAMS were stolen and replaced with smaller RAM. That was a computer teacher at a government school who owned a shop and I was paying for the work, of course (double).

Q: how common is this kind of behavior?

Q: can someone tell me how to notice "a defective CPU"?!?

Q: What kind of wifi card does the Thinkpad X-201 use?

Will take another X-61 to the shop tomorrow to pull out the motherboard. That one was booting and showing the Windows symbol. Bet this wouldn't be possible if the CPU was defective.

[stoneyboy]

My knowledge of computers I think that's what your talking about is minuscule.

But I think your on to winner regarding being shafted.

[thedemon]

The CPU is soldered to the motherboard and all but impossible to replace except by swapping the motherboard itself.

A CPU failure is actually pretty rare but If so, the computer won't boot. Much more likely to be another failure on the motherboard.

The WiFi card is an Intel Centrino Mini-PCI card. Replacing it involves removing 1 screw and popping off/on the antenna connectors. They also rarely fail so are a dime a dozen on ebay etc. However there is an additional complication with Lenovo's because they have a whitelist in the BIOS that can prevent some components like WiFi card from being replaced with even a slightly different model.

It sounds a bit like something was in translation. Either that or the guy is telling you porkies or is incompetent. Have you been back to the shop to see for yourself?

[Pib]

A defective CPU usually means a dead device...won't even boot-up...or maybe reboot frequently on its own.

Even a CPU, or most any chip, soldered to the motherboard can be replaced using a hot air heating device (basically a hot air gun where the temperature is controlled), the process is not expensive nor takes long. Done all the time in computer repair shops. I had the soldered on graphics chip on one of my Toshiba laptop replaced last year....in and out of the shop in less than 4 hours (not that it took 4 hours to replace the chip). To tell you the truth it sounds like the shop has damaged some circuit and/or associated wiring while they were disassembling/reassembling the Thinkpads.

Regarding computer repair shops in general it does seem they are slowly declining in numbers....I've been watching it happen at various mall locations for years....probably driven by some people starting to treat computers/smartphones/tablets as throw-away devices once they break...too expensive to repair...use them until they break but don't repair....always upgrading their device with the yearly release of the next model which means they don't own the old device long enough for it to break...etc....etc....etc. Just less business for all the repair shops that force some out of business.

[thedemon]

Even a CPU, or most any chip, soldered to the motherboard can be replaced using a hot air heating device (basically a hot air gun where the temperature is controlled), the process is not expensive nor takes long. Done all the time in computer repair shops. I had the soldered on graphics chip on one of my Toshiba laptop replaced last year....in and out of the shop in less than 4 hours (not that it took 4 hours to replace the chip). To tell you the truth it sounds like the shop has damaged some circuit and/or associated wiring while they were disassembling/reassembling the Thinkpads.

Hmm are you sure about that Pib? I have a temperature controlled heat gun which I sometimes use for reflowing solder or replacing components, But I reckon using it to remove and replace a BGA mounted CPU would be akin to doing a heart transplant with a kitchen knife.

[Pib]

Even a CPU, or most any chip, soldered to the motherboard can be replaced using a hot air heating device (basically a hot air gun where the temperature is controlled), the process is not expensive nor takes long. Done all the time in computer repair shops. I had the soldered on graphics chip on one of my Toshiba laptop replaced last year....in and out of the shop in less than 4 hours (not that it took 4 hours to replace the chip). To tell you the truth it sounds like the shop has damaged some circuit and/or associated wiring while they were disassembling/reassembling the Thinkpads.

Hmm are you sure about that Pib? I have a temperature controlled heat gun which I sometimes use for reflowing solder or replacing components, But I reckon using it to remove and replace a BGA mounted CPU would be akin to doing a heart transplant with a kitchen knife.

Yes. This is not a new technology....been in use for many years. Commonly used to replace BGA chips, which my graphics process was. See below link for some images of such devices. The shop that replaced my graphics chip had such a device...the shop next to him had one also.

Hot Air Soldering/Desoldering Stations: Link

[Pib]

Example of reballing (desoldering & resoldering) a BGA type chip. This 5 minute video chip shows each solder ball being individually placed but you can actually pour X-amount onto a chip...and move them into place in group since the solder balls seem to be attracted to the chip solder pads almost like a magnet. Under controlled heat/hot air the chip is not damaged in anyway.

[phazey]

I got thinking, maybe you installed the memory and only saw 3GB, and assumed it was due to a 32bit installation of Windows 8 -

BUT

16 GB RAM were recognized in bIOS.

Lenovo X201 only supports 8GB - I also own one and have researched such an upgrade.......

It'll show 16GB but proceed no further. Reduce the ram to 8GB (2 x 4GB) and your milage may vary. What CPU is it ?

[WonnabeBiker]

Today, I returned to the shop. They manually interrupted the boot sequence, while pretending that the computer cannot boot without a new CPU.

I had brought 2 of the same Thinkpads and asked the tech to swap hard drives. Voila, both booted perfectly!

A fee of an extra 300 Baht was demanded, because <Lenovo doesn't provide the drivers>. Really?! He had chosen Win 7 instead of the Win 8.1. I thought 8.1 had a huge drivers database. But it's now water under the bridge.

Seems to be a common scam, waffling about some hardware defect, then doing nothing besides raking in a few thousands Baht.

Any defect in such an incredibly complex and fragile device as a CPU with millions of transistors would mean the computer would turn into a brick!

[WonnabeBiker]

I got thinking, maybe you installed the memory and only saw 3GB, and assumed it was due to a 32bit installation of Windows 8 -

BUT

16 GB RAM were recognized in bIOS.

Lenovo X201 only supports 8GB - I also own one and have researched such an upgrade.......

It'll show 16GB but proceed no further. Reduce the ram to 8GB (2 x 4GB) and your milage may vary. What CPU is it ?

Crucial DDR3-12800 2 x 8 GB was recognized by BIOS and the computer is just fine.

The crook had interrupted the boot sequence to present evidence that the "CPU is defective". If that had been the case, the notebook wouldn't have booted at all!!

He then proceeded to double the installation fee, because <Lenovo does not have drivers for this notebook>. Not sure if he meant the old X61. But no other shop had demanded such a surcharge for such an installation...

Will get back to you after a day of testing regarding 16 gB being okay. Got the info from a LENOVO forum.

For all others, a SSD is a worthy investment. What a difference, even with an old and slow X-61!

[thedemon]

Example of reballing (desoldering & resoldering) a BGA type chip. This 5 minute video chip shows each solder ball being individually placed but you can actually pour X-amount onto a chip...and move them into place in group since the solder balls seem to be attracted to the chip solder pads almost like a magnet. Under controlled heat/hot air the chip is not damaged in anyway.

Impressive that a Zeer fixit shop can manage such a sophisticated repair. I stand corrected.

[siam2007]

@OP

go to FORTUNE Ratchada, PROCORNER Co.LTD and ask for Khun NICK who is fluent in English - nothing but great experiences. He will only charge you when they could actually solve the problem, and in two cases the amount I eventually had to pay when picking up the device was a lot below his first estimates, which was a pleasant surprise. A very honest operation. Get to know about them after they had been recommended here on TV and right so. Plus he employs physically challenged folks, which makes it even more recommendable.

exact location of their shop can be determined at their website itunlimit.com

[phazey]

I got thinking, maybe you installed the memory and only saw 3GB, and assumed it was due to a 32bit installation of Windows 8 -

BUT

16 GB RAM were recognized in bIOS.

Lenovo X201 only supports 8GB - I also own one and have researched such an upgrade.......

It'll show 16GB but proceed no further. Reduce the ram to 8GB (2 x 4GB) and your milage may vary. What CPU is it ?

Crucial DDR3-12800 2 x 8 GB was recognized by BIOS and the computer is just fine.

The crook had interrupted the boot sequence to present evidence that the "CPU is defective". If that had been the case, the notebook wouldn't have booted at all!!

He then proceeded to double the installation fee, because <Lenovo does not have drivers for this notebook>. Not sure if he meant the old X61. But no other shop had demanded such a surcharge for such an installation...

Will get back to you after a day of testing regarding 16 gB being okay. Got the info from a LENOVO forum.

For all others, a SSD is a worthy investment. What a difference, even with an old and slow X-61!

Something is wrong, SO SO WRONG!.

1) The memory you pasted is in NO WAY AT ALL compatible with an X61. It's stepping speed is physically impossible on the X61 Laptop.

http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/documents/pd012148

Supports two 200pin PC2-5300 Non-Parity (NP) Double Data Rate Two (DDR2) Technology

Secondly. Lenovo may not have drivers for this laptop, but Microsoft has them ALL included from Windows 7 up until Windows 10. There is no need to install drivers manually. Lenovo however do have a driver pack. I can link you up if you wish.

./P

[thailandforumaddict]

Will try him and report, thank you <3

Website seems to be: http://www.itunlimit.com

Procorner co.,ltd.

7, 3A15, 3rd.floor., THE IT MALL, Ratchadaphisek Rd., Dindang,

Bangkok 10400 Thailand

Tel : +662-642-0596-7 Ext. 20,21

Fax : +662-642-0596-7 Ext. 14

E-MAIL : [email protected]

What about ZEER ? Other people have any experience there ?

Prices are similar to Pantip or Fortune ?

@OP

go to FORTUNE Ratchada, PROCORNER Co.LTD and ask for Khun NICK who is fluent in English - nothing but great experiences. He will only charge you when they could actually solve the problem, and in two cases the amount I eventually had to pay when picking up the device was a lot below his first estimates, which was a pleasant surprise. A very honest operation. Get to know about them after they had been recommended here on TV and right so. Plus he employs physically challenged folks, which makes it even more recommendable.

exact location of their shop can be determined at their website itunlimit.com

Edited August 14, 2015 by thailandforumaddict

[JohnnyJazz]

To answer your first question, I wouldn't bother going to Zeer unless I live nearby, know what i'm looking for and am ready to spend sometime walking around. Prices for most common products are the same as everywhere else. You can find good bargain for some specialized accessories but you need to be ready to explore the building from the top floor to the basement. Not really worth it unless you live nearby.

Regarding the repair shops, most shopping malls with a specialized IT section have them and I have found most of them to be honest. The only problem I have had so far is with an official Apple reseller in Rachada that was more interested to sell me a new computer than to fix the old one. The small repair shop in Fortune's 5th floor carpark rightly diagnosed a defective hard disk then replaced it and reinstalled all my softwares in less than two hours for a real bargain price.

Now with the urban legend that they will replace your expensive original spare parts with cheap crappy ones ... in my opinion it's just that, an urban legend. I usually watch when they first open the defective computer, then we discuss the problem and the cost of the repair. Then I let them work and come back when the job is done. Never had any problem. And I don't speak Thai.

Edited August 15, 2015 by JohnnyJazz