Choosing a Computer Repair Business
When searching for a computer repair business, you should have two primary concerns: trust and value. Some computer repair shops will offer guarantees; others will wipe your data without much hesitation. Since computer repair businesses come and go so quickly, who can you trust?
Choosing a Tech for Different Computer Services
- Virus Removal - When choosing a technician for a computer virus removal service, consider whether you can stand to have all your data wiped. Some technicians take the approach of returning your comptuer to a "just purchased, like new" state. Although it will run like new, and be virus-free, the downside is that your computer will be wiped of all the files and data that you have stored up over the years. A better approach might be to find a technician that can remove the virus without wiping your computer entirely. Ask the technician if any data will be lost or removed. Some technicians will offer to back up your data before working on your computer. It's even possible to get a full system image (a complete backup of your computer) before any work is done, so that if anything goes wrong, your computer can be returned to its original state.
- Network Setups - When getting your network set up, there is not much of a concern for data loss as there is with virus removal, unless the technician really doesn't know what he's doing. Your choice of a technician should be based on his ability to guarantee that your computers will be able to perform the activities you need them networked for: file sharing, printer sharing, etc.
- Laptop Repairs - Laptop repairs can inolve difficult hardware repair procedures, and may require a specialist. Often, a laptop repair involves replacing the LCD screen or power jack. Sometimes, soldering might be required for some laptop repair jobs.
Data recovery can be the most difficult type of computer repair job. Sometimes, it involves a true specialist - a business that deals primarily with data recover. However, in most cases, when the consumer is looking for data recovery, it is a job that a non-specialist can handle. The "data recovery" job involves accessing the hard drive from an external system. When the system is unbootable, data is usually not lost; it's just more difficult to access. Choosing your technician should be based on price and his ability to guarantee the recovery of your data. Be careful though; a failed data recovery job may create a situation where the data is more difficult to recover than it would have been otherwise.- Printer Repair and Troubleshooting The prices for printers are declining, but sometimes a printer repair can still be cheaper or more convenient than getting a new printer. Your choice of a technician is not as impotant in this case as with data recovery, since printers are generally cheap and replaceable, and a printer repair should have an extremely low chance of data loss.
- Performance Tuneups - Most computer technicians can bring your computer's speed back to its faster days by providing tune-up services like disk defragmentation, startup entry inspection, RAM and hard drive analysis, and possibly removing viruses & spyware. A tuneup on a Windows computer might include an inspection of your security patches like Windows Update functionality and checking to ensure that the latest version of your software is installed. Ask your technician whether his performance tuneups include an inspection of these types of things
- Installations - Hardware and software installations are regular procedures that the average computer technician should be able to handle. More specialized work might be required for services like laptop motherboard installation, or laptop monitor installation.
Custom Builds - With the decreasing price of computers, custom builds are becoming less popular. However, if your specific needs demand a special computer, then a customer build from a tech with experience building similar systems might be a good choice. With custom-built PCs, stability is a concern. Since the specific combination of hardware, software and drivers is not likely to have been thoroughly tested, there is an increased chance of system instability. When choosing a tech, ask what sort of procedures he takes to ensure that the custom build is stable. He should mention that he uses "burn-in" software to test the stability of your system. Examples of burn-in software include MemTest 86 and Prime95.