Stay Away from Computer Zone Somerset West

 Hi Antoinette
I sent you and your husband the following WhatsApp (I sent the WhatsApp as I did not have your email address until reading this email now) an hour ago.... I have only just read your email now...almost an hour after sending you the following WhatsApp:
Hi Mr. and Mrs. Blumberg
I am writing this WhatsApp message for 2 reasons:1.  To fully explain the reason for the R380 labour that was paid to Computer Zone.2.  To communicate a possible way to possibly fix your Acer all in one for less than R800 (after brainstorming a possible fix).
To point 1 above:On Monday 14th February, Mr. Blumberg phoned Computer Zone and spoke to me.  He explained to me that the Acer logo came on when he turned his Acer all-in-one on and that the the logo went away soon after turnnig it on.  He asked me if I knew what the cause/reason for this was.  I explained that there could be several possible reasons... either software or various hardware problems and that I would need to see the PC to answer his question.  He asked me what the cost would be.  I mentioned R380 to troubleshoot if it is a hardware issue and R580-780 if it is a software issue.  Mr. Blumberg asked me if it was a hardware issue if he would have to pay the R380 plus the R580-R780.  I answered no and I explained that if it was a hardware issue that I would stop working on the computer once I found the faulty component and the cost would be R380 labour for finding the faulty component plus whatever cost the part to replace would be to fix the computer.  The faulty component might be RAM, which I would be able to supply and would quote on.  Mr. Blumberg then communicated his understanding that if it was a software problem that Computer Zone would charge R580-R780 to fix the software issue and that if it was a hardware problem that Computer Zone would charge R380 labour to find the faulty component and then quote on the replacment for the faulty computer component.  So the R380 was communicated and understood as the labour to find the faulty component if it is a hardware problem.  Mr. Blumberg understood and communicated that he understood.The next day Mr. Blumberg phoned Computer Zone and told me that the Acer logo no longer appeared on the screen and if I knew what was wrong.  I again communicated that I was not able to troubleshoot and diagnose the issue over the phone, but that the issue was now clearly a hardware issue.  Mr. Blumberg asked me what to do next.  I suggested bringing in the Acer all-in-one to Computer Zone to troubleshoot and find the faulty component at a cost of R380 as clearly the issue was now hardware.  Mr. Blumberg mentioned that the all-in-one would be brought in on Monday the 14th and he phoned again and mentioned that Mrs. Blumberg would bring in the all-in-one later that day.The Acer all-in-one was brought in late on Monday, soon after I had left.  Mr. Blumberg phoned Computer Zone on Tuesday morning and asked if there was any update on the PC.  I mentioned that I would be looking at the device during the day (Tuesday) and give him a phone call back later that day.  Mr. Blumberg phoned 2 more times on Tuesday for an update on the progress of the PC... once while I was helping a customer and Dante took a message.  By late Tuesday afternoon, I had completed the troubleshooting to find the faulty component and concluded that the motherboard is faulty.  I phoned Mr. Blumberg and communicated that the motherboard is faulty.  I concluded the motherboard is faulty by connecting another screen via the HDMI port, listening for any P.O.S.T. beep codes (codes that the motherboard sounds when it detects something wrong with another component, like the CPU, RAM or graphics card).  I restarted and turned the Acer all-in-one on and off many times over the course of several hours from the morning to the late afternoon, to pick up any possible intermittent P.O.S.T. or any Acer logo display.  As the PC powered on with no display after many attempts, no P.O.S.T. beep codes and a fan spinning, I concluded that the fault is with the motherboard.  I am unable to supply and fit any new motherboards on all-in-one devices that are as old as the Acer all-in-one which is around 7-9 years.  During the conversation with Mr. Blumberg I mentioned that I found the motherboard to be faulty and that I was unable to supply and fit a new motherboard for the all-in-one PC.  Mr. Blumberg asked "so it can't be fixed"?  I mentioned that I was unable to fix it as I was unable to supply and fit a replacement motherboard as the PC is too old (the motherboards for the device are no longer produced).  I also mentioned that he was welcome to contact Acer South Africa in Johanessburg (in case that had some old stock) but that it would probably be quite expensive to replace the motherboard...if even possible.A day or two later Mr. Blumberg phoned Computer Zone again and wanted confirmation of what I had communicated.... that the motherboard was faulty and that I would not be able to fix the all-in-one PC.  I confirmed that that is correct and he said "so what is the charge"... I repeated the R380 labour to find and confirm the faulty component (the motherboard).  He said nothing else and did not ask "why the R380" or object to it in any way.So on 3 seperate occassion I communicated the labour of R380 to find the faulty component in the Acer all-in-one and Mr. Blumberg acknowledged the R380 labour on all 3 occassions.  The 1st time was the 1st conversation while the Acer logo still came on.  The 2nd time was when the Acer logo stopped coming on and the 3rd time was when Mr. Blumberg phoned to confirm the amount and confirm that I was unable to repair the PC as I was unable to get a replacment motherboard.I clearly communicated on all 3 occassion (and Mr. Blumberg confirmed) why there is a R380 fee... it is the fee to find the faulty hardware component in the Acer all-in-one PC.  I hope that clears up any misunderstanding concerning the reason for the R380 fee.
To point 2 above:After brainstorming ANY possible solutions to fix the Acer all-in-one device, I thought of someone who comes to Computer Zone around once a month and does some work for us.  He only works on dead laptops with faulty motherboards that I can't get replacment motherboards for (so typically laptops 5-10 years old). He removes soldered parts of the motherboards of the laptops and tries to repair them by soldering and replacing some faulty capacitors on the motherboard with new capacitors.  He successfully repairs the laptop motherboards just over half the time (50%-60% of the time) with the use of a voltmeter and replacement motherboard capacitors that are soldered on.  The motherboard in an all-in-one is not identical to a typical laptop motherboard but there are similarities because of the space constraints in a laptop and an all-in-one with both taking laptop RAM and having onboard graphics cards.  So I have a suggestion after asking Marco about the possibility of repairing the all-in-one PC's motherboard and him mentioning it "is possible, but unlikely".  My suggestion is to bring back the Acer all-in-one PC to Computer Zone for Marco to try and repair.  There is little to lose as if he does not repair the laptop (or in your case the all-in-one) there is no charge. If he does repair the motherboard, Computer Zone usually charges around R1200, but I will cut this cost to R799.  
So just to confirm:  1).  The repair could take up to four weeks.  2)If the all-in-one's motherboard does not get repaired there is no cost (apart from the R380 fee to find the faulty component, which has already been paid for) and if the motherboard is repaired, the cost will be R799 for the repair to the motherboard.
It you decide to drop off the all-in-one again, you are welcome to do so anytime and I will get back to you in less than 4 weeks to confirm if it could be fixed or not.
RegardsBrianComputer Zone