Category Archives: Fixes

AMD/ATI HDMI No Sound Fix

Some persons like myself have ATI/AMD graphics cards with HDMI output. At times you may end up with a monitor (or TV) that has HDMI in and you can use the speakers on the monitor (or TV) for sound. Problem is, after some update of the driver you may find that the sound suddenly stops working. If you had sound before or just installed the latest driver and suddenly have no sound, here is something to try.

Please note that this is a last resort. One of the first things you should try is locating an older graphics driver online then installing that. If that still doesn’t work then you may proceed with the 8 steps below.

STEP 1

Open the sound properties for your playback devices. Do so by right-clicking on the volume icon in your taskbar then going to PLAYBACK DEVICES.

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STEP 2

Click on your HDMI device and then go to PROPERTIES. If you have more than one HDMI device just ensure it’s the correct one afterwards by checking if it says ATI or AMD.

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STEP  3

Click again on PROPERTIES on the next window.

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STEP 4

If applicable, click on the CHANGE SETTINGS option in the next window.

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STEP 5

Click on the DRIVER tab and look for one of two options. If you have the ROLL BACK DRIVER option then chances are you had the sound working before. If that option is not clickable, then you probably just installed the latest driver. At this point you click on ROLL BACK DRIVER if it’s available and then OK on the remaining windows then test your sound. If you don’t have the ROLL BACK DRIVER option (or it didn’t work) then move on to clicking the UPDATE DRIVER option then going to STEP 6.

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STEP 6

Click on the option that says BROWSE MY COMPUTER FOR DRIVER SOFTWARE.

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STEP 7

Click on the option that says LET ME PICK.

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STEP 8

Finally, you should see multiple drivers available. Note the version numbers – in my list there are 4 versions available. Two of them are 7.12 while the other two are 6.1. Make a note of the last digits in each and the dates. At this point you may try from the oldest version to the newest.

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After completion you should be able to hear sound from your HDMI device.

BLU Studio 5.5 De-Brick / General Flashing

Intro

Recently I had an issue where a friend got a virus on his phone. Usual thing – saw some post about increasing his followers online on some social media thing, couldn’t resist, got the virus on his phone. Originally he took the device to a phone store and paid to get it sorted out – they didn’t do a good job. Virus was still on his phone. And so began the hunt.

Getting In

There are a lot of sites and threads online about fixing this issue. Basically, this phone uses a MediaTek chipset which can be flashed or firmware updated using Smart Phone Flash Tool (SP Flash Tool). There are different versions of this tool out with the most popular ones being version 3.X and 5.X depending on your needs / phone. So let’s go a bit further into what needed to be done and how I got it sorted.

Sites & Theory

So I found a number of sites as I said. One of the more popular ones would be XDA.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/blu-studio-5-5-d610a-unbrick-help-t3090885

In that thread persons wanted a solution but none were confirmed. The one provided was helpful, but nobody confirmed it. Next I found a Google Plus post.

https://plus.google.com/111407788156930060467/posts/UmEHWGK2jXv

This seemed more promising, and the person seemed very helpful. Many persons thanked him, but it still didn’t work for me. Why?

My theory is that various phone manufacturers use the same chipset, and in the case of BLU, they release different versions of the phone with slight differences. Either you have to find a BASE ROM or one that works SPECIFICALLY with your model.

The Fix (Part 1)

Now this is what you probably came here for. I’m not going to go into too much detail as I expect you to have some knowledge on the subject. So………..

  1. Obtain correct firmware for your phone.
  2. Connect bricked (or working) phone.
  3. Install appropriate drivers to flash the device.
  4. Place phone in “download mode” if applicable.
  5. Run SP Flash Tool.
  6. Connect phone.

That about covers it. Files that I used specifically for the D610A that I fixed are available in the MEGA link below.

https://mega.nz/#F!pNUTkZIb!9B8bPn8PxWGfkmIMe8PnvQ

Below is also another link with instructions on how to use SP Flash Tool on just about any device.

http://www.blogtechtips.com/2015/03/30/how-to-use-smart-phone-flash-tool-to-flash-any-blu-smartphone/

The Fix (Part 2)

In my case a second part was required. This is in case you find after flashing that you have no signal on your SIM or have checked and have no IMEI. So. Here’s that set of instructions.

  1. Check IMEI status in settings or by dialing *#06# (GSM code doesn’t work on all phones).
    • If IMEI is invalid proceed. If it shows your IMEI then do nothing further.
  2. If your IMEI is invalid or blank, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnJr7RQa2Kk
    • This will involve accessing the engineering screen for your phone.
    • GSM code is *#*#3646633#*#* (doesn’t work on all phones).
    • Download the appropriate tool for your phone if the GSM code doesn’t work.
    • Location from engineering mode is “Connectivity – CDS Information – Radio Information”. From there go to either Phone 1 or Phone 2″
    • The commands are below, but ensure you reboot after sending each and check back the IMEI.
    • The command to send is “AT +EGMR=1,7,”new-imei”” for SIM1 and “AT +EGMR=1,10,”new-imei”” for SIM2.
  3. Once the IMEI is confirmed you may use the phone normally.

And that ends the method used to fix the BLU Studio 5.5 (D610A). The files I used may or may not work for your phone. If you find that it worked then GREAT! If it doesn’t work, try one of the other firmware files that may be found online. Another site to try for firmware files would be GSMHOSTING.

http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f606/all-blu-mobile-flash-files-firmwares-tools-1874408/

These instructions may work for other phones with similar problems. Hopefully this information helps you to get your phone (or your friend/family/customer) back up and running.

Please note that I did not use the “BLU Phone Driver.exe” which was packaged in the “Blu Studio 5.5 Stock ROM.rar” file.

Acer Aspire 4830T Keyboard Removal

This will go through the removal process for the 4830T – specifically the 4830T-6452 – but you may be able to apply some of the steps here to other models.

DISCLAIMER
While the steps here should be straightforward we don’t recommend doing this unless you either have no other choice or feel REALLY safe doing it yourself. In all cases take it to a professional or take it in for warranty repair if it’s still under warranty. DON’T DO IT YOURSELF!!!

OK. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down into your laptop.

Flip it over and you’ll notice that there’s a lot of screws. Fortunately 90% of the screws on this model are exactly the same, so taking them out and mixing them up won’t be much of an issue.

This model has a sealed battery, but removal of the first cover will trigger a switch that turns the battery off.

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In the uploaded picture you’ll see blue dots on the various screws that need to be removed. The bottom panel has already been removed. There’s a gold arrow pointing to the screw that has to be removed before sliding off the panel and a green arrow at the screw for removing the optical drive (ODD). If all you need to change is the ODD then remove the indicated screw and slide it out after ejecting the drive previously and before shutting down the system or after the system has shut down with a paper clip. That means – you eject the drive with a paper clip and pull it out after the system is shut down – not shut down the system using a paper clip.

If you only need to get access to the memory (RAM) or hard drive (HDD) then remove the indicated screw for the lower panel and slide it away from the laptop (down) and then lift off. There is a switch highlighted in a red box that shows the on/off position. On the panel which you remove there is a tab that must align with the switch. Be careful not to break it.

Getting further into it you’ll want to remove the bezel below the keyboard. Ensure that all the screws from the bottom have been removed (see first picture). Flip the laptop over and open the screen. Once all the screws are removed the lower bezel is held in by clips. Pry it off (carefully) using your preferred tool/method and prepare to remove some ribbon cables. Pardon the messy table.

DSC08632Then you want to flip the bezel over and remove the trackpad cable. Once done you can take the bezel off.

Acer Aspire 4830T Trackpad CableDisconnect the ribbon cables and remove the indicated screws. One screw is different and has a red dot instead of blue. This one goes through a fabric-like attachment on the cable that connects the USB (and I think audio) on the right side. Since it goes through this part the screw shouldn’t fall out, but the fabric may tear when screwing it back in so be careful. The green arrow on the USB+ cable can be removed either from the board in the middle or from the part on the right. It’s up to you to remove one or both connectors. Either way the screw in the middle must be removed.

Acer Aspire 4830T Top BezelOnce this is done you’re almost at the keyboard. Remove the entire top bezel including the keyboard. This entire part is now held in by clips so just snap them out. Personally I took it up from the left side, then the back (close to the monitor) then all the way around. I know the pic is dark.

Acer Aspire 4830T Top Bezel RemovalOnce the top bezel is off you should be able to see the motherboard and battery.

Acer Aspire 4830T MotherboardWe’re not going into any other type of replacement specifically right now – while you can replace some other parts with what’s been done so far what we want is the keyboard.

Acer Aspire 4830T Keyboard Bracket

The picture shows all similar screws in the same color. White arrows show clip areas. The screw in purple holds the USB ports and audio jacks (labeled as USB+ previously) and must be removed prior to sliding the bracket off. Once all the screws are removed slide the metal bracket up (according to picture orientation) and then lift it off.  There may be some tape holding the black covering to the bottom of the keyboard – just peel it off as you go along.From here you can take off the exact part number for the keyboard to order it. You can then either put it back together till  you get the part or leave it disassembled – just don’t lose the screws. Once you have the replacement keyboard just remove and replace. When done just follow the instructions in reverse to put it all back together.

Acer Aspire 4830T Keyboard Bracket2 Acer Aspire 4830T Keyboard Acer Aspire 4830T Keyboard PNPLEASE NOTE – Your keyboard part number may be different. Ensure you’re getting the correct part. On this one there are two possible numbers from Sunrex or Compal – simply search for either one on eBay or Amazon.

BlackBerry Z10 USB Port Repair

So I needed to find a way to repair the USB port on my Z10. I had  purchased it used with issues on the port – the previous owner dropped it a lot and the port got damaged – wouldn’t charge properly. So I purchased some ports off eBay and did two things:

  1. Checked for a USB port fix / schematics online.
  2. Used another Z10 with a working port to verify the pinouts.

As it turns out this dude called ABUBABLU did some good repair work on a Z10 before and provided solder points for USB, battery and SIM slot on the Z10. I give all credit to this guy because he’s a very good electronics tech from the other stuff he posted – unfortunately he doesn’t answer back as I’ve emailed him on this issue.

All of the points check out except for one – his schematic diagram has the #4 USB pin as the CRADLE_USB_ID which is what (I guess) starts the USB connection – exists on my model. There may be a difference in the STL100-1/2/3 boards. There is a solder point near the SD card slot on the phone that does not exist on my model – on mine there’s just a row of capacitors (I think they’re caps – so small…..) and I can’t find where that pin should go.

The original posts I found on GSMARENA and others can be found on another site.

I had to run all the lines using IDE cables because all the solder points on the board for the USB port were torn off during removal – they were just that badly damaged (and I don’t have a rework station……) – The phone now charges with no issues, but the USB connection can’t work works occasionally – going to check and see if I can fix that permanently.

I’m not sure which model ABUBABLU took his information from, but my model is different. Here are pics of the ports as I’ve tested and mapped. Most of them are exactly the same as his except one. Hope this helps others with the endeavor. Mine doesn’t work so well due to the fact that I thought the connection went to a capacitor where his was in the picture. His pictures were also low quality so I couldn’t see it well. It was after some checking that I finally found out the models were different and the points not the same. I probably screwed up something, but it happens to help out others. Hopefully someone else will get their things fixed and not go through this issue.  All credits for the original information go to ABUBABLU – kudos.

Picture of full board (WARNING! picture is 10MB)

Z10 - USB MAP - C&TS

 

Close-Up of solder points

Z10 - USB MAP (CLOSE) - C&TS