Public Utilities (Internet, Phone, etc)

Over the past year I had a run in with a service provider that caused a great deal of headache with getting my billing straightened out. It took over a year of countless hours of wasted time making phone calls (getting hung up one, getting the run around, transferring me to no one or to someone that couldn't help, on and on).

My finally solution, contact the PUC or the Public Utility Commission.

Not too long after filing a complaint with the PUC I received a phone call from the service provider, a specific person with a name that continue to be my POC (point of contact). We put a plan in place and create a time line when we would contact each other. I was told that they have a case open with the PUC and can not close it until we have resolved all the issues. Not only that but the PUC was checking in with me to see how things were going. In addition, the service provider kindly credited my account for a period of time to help offset the trouble I went through. It helped.

Finally, the "little guy' wasn't pushed around around any longer. I had the big guns on my side and the over sized beast was paying attention in a mannerly fashion.

For information on your local PUC search the Web for your state public utility commission. I went down the path of filing online. Worked great! It a free service (taxes support) and they have laws that require these businesses

Morale of the story, don't give up if bureaucracy stands in your way when dealing with a business. There is always an option.

Next posting I will talking about how I had to use the Attorney General of my state to get a refund that was due to me. The nerve of some businesses.

Xbox 360: No Video Issue Fix

After years of battles and being victorious over the numerous failures of my Xbox 360, I finally hit a road block where I lost all video display and then eventually sound.

The console boots up perfectly fine, fans spinning, DVD drive working, can even hear the sound during the start screen, but no video. Then the sound went too. How embarrassing when you have people over to look at pictures through the media center to end up having a non-working Xbox 360.

Troubleshooting
Try the obvious...let the Xbox 360 cool down; remove all cables including power cord then plug in each cable one at a time powering on in-between cable plug ins (MS told me this one years ago during the first 3-red light incident); change video cable; switch TV ports; go to a different TV; etc.

Nothing helped, in fact, when I started troubleshooting, only the video was a problem. Within two days a thte end of my troubleshooting, I no longer had video or sound.

The Fix
I found on the Web a number of resources that led me to believe that the same fix for the 3-red light problem would fix the no video problem...the source of the issue overheating CPU and GPU...more specifically, the x-clamp design.

Its takes a few hours to fix, but once done, (1) you'll save yourself a lot of time having to deal with MS; (2) you'll save youself a great deal of money (if out of warranty); (3) you'll have a working Xbox 360 for a lot more time to come.

The 3rd benefit is from what I have read online. all that performed this fix has not had a single reoccurring incident since then.

The Best FREE Source Fix

I had to make two trips. One to the computer store (i.e. Microcenter) for the heat compound remover and new heat compound. The second to the hardware store for the screws and washers.

Analysis
As many sources online indicate, the x-clamps and the over abundant supply of heat compound installed by the manufacturer created an environment that exponentially increased the odds of a problem with overheating. Check out the heat compound manufacturer Websites and you'll see that they even tell you to only apply a small amount to the exposed part of the chip that will touch the heatsink directly. Any exposure to the surround circuitry can cause adverse effects.

Good luck with your fix.