10 Things to Do Before Calling the
Computer Repair Man
No one likes to get their computer fixed. It’s a big
headache carting that heavy thing into a repair shop and waiting
days or even weeks to get it back. It’s an overall painful
experience, so I’ve done what I can and compiled this
little list of things everyone should do before calling in
the techs just to make the whole ordeal as painless as it
can possibly be.
1. Restart your computer.
You may think this is a little silly, but
there are a lot of people out there who never EVER turn off
their computers. I know because my dear mother is one of them.
It just doesn’t occur to them. You wouldn’t leave
your car on overnight idling would you? So why do the same
to your computer? Many times problems can go away simply by
restarting your computer so the system can un-gum all its
pathways and start fresh.
2. Make sure your computer is on.
This might seem like a joke, but I’ve
known enough tech support personnel to learn that it isn’t,
often monitors can get unplugged randomly so it’s always
a good idea to make sure everything is connected.
3. Make sure EVERYTHING is connected.
Your computer has wires. Lots of wires. Power
wires, internet cables, USB plugs, mouse and keyboard connections…
and quite often more. It’s so easy to nudge something
and a connection to come loose. Make sure everything is where
it should be and in the right plug, and you’ll avoid
lots of headaches. My other articles will go into a little
more depth on what to do for more specific problems.
4. Check for manufacturer’s
warranty because repairs are often covered.
Especially if you’ve bought your computer
within the last 6 months to a year, repair will be covered
on your warranty for unexpected glitches. Then it’s
just a matter of putting it into a box and letting FedEx take
care of the rest, because good manufacturers will take care
of all those costs too.
5. Backup your data if you can.
These days more and more people are storing
very sensitive information on their computers. Even at a repair
shop, things can go wrong and your information can be lost.
It is an EXTREMELY good idea to backup your important files
whether by burning them to CD or DVD, or transferring them
to an external memory drive. External Hard Drives are excellent
for this, and they’re getting cheaper all the time.
They plug into a USB port, and you can store all your information
on these so if your computer goes out you won’t have
to worry about anything going wrong and losing your information.
6. Delete anything you wouldn’t
want someone else to see
This is similar to point number 6. Don’t
blindly trust strangers with your information. If you have
anything on your computer that anyone could use against you,
make sure it isn’t there when you take it in by backing
it up somewhere else and deleting it from your computer until
it’s fixed.
7. Organize any system info you have,
papers ect.
When you first buy your computer it comes
with a lot of things. Warranty papers, system info, driver
CD’s, stickers with model numbers ect. If you can have
all of this stuff handy when you take it to your repair guy,
it will make your life, and his, a LOT easier, and the time
he doesn’t spend figuring out that information without
the papers, is money that’s not coming out of your pocket.
8. Check this website!
There are lots of useful tidbits in the articles
on our site, and more are being added as
they’re thought of. If it can solve even a tiny problem
for you, then your life is that much easier and I can be content
with the knowledge that I’ve made someone’s life
a little bit better.
9. If you know of anyone more tech-savvy
then you, ask them about it.
Now I’m going to put an asterisk on
this one. If you have a friend who knows what they’re
doing, let them take a look at it and they might be able to
help you. However, you should not let them take apart and
do any real fiddling unless you know they really do know their
stuff. As in they’ve taken courses on computer repair
or are actually techs themselves. There are so many times
a simple problem was made worse because a friend took a look
and "fixed" the problem. It’s a balance between
saving on labor and potential for more damage. Even repair
shops can break computers. The difference is, the shops have
to reimburse you.
10. Check around.
Not all repair shops are created equal. Do
your research, otherwise you may be stuck with a shoddy hack
job while paying through the nose for it. Think of them like
mechanics for computers. Some of them are good and honest,
and some of them will do whatever they can to get more dollars
out of you.
Well there you have it. These 10 simple rules
have saved many people I know a little money and a lot of
stress, so I hope that in putting this up, they can help out
that many more. Tell your friends, they may just thank you
for it. =)
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Zach_Hill
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