Co-Owner, Technician
Has over 25 years experience in technology.  Began programming software by age 13, and repairing and custom-building PCs by age 15.  Graduated with B.S. in Computer Science.  Most recently worked as a software developer...  “I've always enjoyed helping people and solving problems, and with MCS, I get to do both.â€
I recently had a customer who had just built his own PC, an AMD Ryzen, but could not get it to boot. So, he brought it to me to figure out what was going wrong. After examining things, checking out things like the power supply, RAM, etc., I decided to pull out the...
We have some new refurbished PCs for sale! Our newest systems include: Dell Insprion 660s (Pentium) for $70. Pentium G630 processor (2nd-gen Intel) with 8 GB of memory, and a 500 GB hard drive.HP Compaq Elite Mini Tower for $180. Core i7-3770 processor with 16 GB(!)...
At MCS, we love building custom PCs. And we love to see what others build also. Somehow, someway, a system built by IG user @80ishplus, a system builder in Australia, made its way to a user here in Charlotte, and then to me for repairs. I love the unique design. The...
One of the more common issues we see is users, especially laptop users, not rebooting their computers at all. They come to us with a computer running slow, but can't understand why. When I check, it turns out the computer has been updated or rebooted in months or...
We are open for business, ready to help you! But we are taking precautions. First, when doing in-home repairs, we will be wearing a mask, and trying to maintain a social distance. We want to minimize exposure of ourselves, as well as your exposure to us. Second, we...
Lately, and especially since the coronavirus outbreak, I've seen and heard a lot about 5G in a negative context. In the UK, people have been lighting 5G towers on fire. Even in our area, in Taylorsville, NC, a woman opened fire on cell tower workers hundreds of feet...
We just wanted to let everyone know that we are still open for business, ready to help you in this time of need. Despite Mecklenburg County shutting down non-essential businesses, ours is considered essential, since we provide tech help and computer repairs. But we...
We're pleased to announce that we now have refurbished desktops and laptops for sale. These machines are in great working order, have been thoroughly tested, and come pre-installed with Windows 10. This is a great way to get a good PC for a great price. We'll be...
A question I get asked frequently is "which anti-virus should I use?" There are so many anti-virus (A/V) software suites to choose from, and each is more expensive than the other. Plus, you see ads for them all the time, each one claiming they protect you more than...
A lot has been written in the last couple of weeks about Apple's new $6000 Mac Pro, its $5000 monitor, and its $1000 stand. There were even a few salty takes. Now, a lot of blogs laugh at how out of touch Apple is with consumers. And about most of Apple, I might...
You gotta be kidding me... I came across this video on Reddit a few days ago, and I just had to share. This is the reset procedure for a type of GE smart bulb. You'd do this procedure if your bulb stopped responding to...
I saw this article on ArsTechnica about a job search scam. This whole article was fantastically written, and absolutely floored me that this was possible. Be alert!
We're working on a redesign of the site. If you see anything broken, please ignore the mess. We'll be done very soon! Thanks!
If you're like me, you're a digital hoarder; the hard drive equivalent of the crazy lady with the newspapers stacked floor to ceiling. For some, your hoarding may come from your music collection. For others, your shutterbug streak has caused you to have pictures and...
For those who build computers, we often use the term “bottleneck.”  Bottlenecks occur when one component of a system is woefully slower than the others.  Think of a computer like a chain .. its only as strong as its weakest link.
At some point, you're going to get the call. I know I have. A person, usually in a thick accent, will be on the phone will call claiming to be from "Windows." They will claim that they have detected a virus on your system! Oh no! They say...
Someone recently asked for recommendations for a new PC. For his needs, I said, "For a laptop, a Core i5, at a bare minimum. For a desktop, a Core i3 would be plenty." But why the difference? Shouldn't a Core i5 desktop have about the same...
Put on your headphones before you press play! This is tech radio host Leo Laporte demonstrating 3D sound through an iPhone app called Z+, made for the movie Man of Steel. Just put on your headphones (the effect won't work...
This is the first in a series on how to keep your PC healthy, happy, and secure. This series will be posted over the next few months, and then kept in archive for referral. In part 1, I will focus on the most basic piece of the equation, Windows. Ask yourself,...
With my first post, I thought I'd just say hello. And say thanks to all friends and family who allowed us to get this off the ground. We're here to help you. The service industry doesn't get more basic than that. It's the reason we chose to put "Services" in the name....
