What are the most common problems?

[riddellcomp]

I am thinking about starting a part time computer repair service from home and am curious to know what are the most common problems that techs deal with these days with regards to the home user?

Thanks.

[jaeger]

Astounding idiocy.

[Major Kong]

Part time computer repair services run out of homes! ;)

[riddellcomp]

Quote>"Astounding idiocy."

Well this may be the case where you live, however I live in a small town in Australia with a population of only 15,000 people. I have a well paid full time job and plan to do this part time after hours and on weekends. I already do this for friends and through word of mouth but I intend to advertise more and either do call outs or people can drop off their pc during the day with my wife and I will fix it at night.
So how about you back up your comments with reasons why this is a stupid idea? I have very little competition and most people I have dealt with in the past are more than happy to wait a day or two for their computers to be fixed, as we live in a remote area so are used to waiting for parts etc to arrive.

[Percy]

You misunderstand. What he meant, was a reply to your question, "What are the most common problems?" His reply to your question was, 'Astounding idiocy'. And I'd have to agree. I work as a tech in a large retail chain and on a daily basis I ask the questions, "Do you have important data on this system?", followed by "Is it backed up to CD or another hard drive?" About half of the people say yes, they've got important data and of them, about one in twenty has backed it up. And of course they squeal like pigs when I tell them it's $60/hour for us to do it.
Add to this all the standard idiots, like the Do-It-Yourselfers, the curious ones who like to dig around in their system files and the

[Percy]

(damn return key) And the masses of people using Kazaa or some variant thereof. Seems like Windows should just come with some sort of PtP software preinstalled and save the trouble of having to download and install it.

Sorry, didn't mean to steal your thread, I'm mostly just agreeing with jaeger. The main problem that most techs see is the astounding idiocy of the people who's machines they're working on. User error accounts for about 50% of the work that I do, another 25% for upgrades and the rest are genuine hardware failures.

I know that no one is born knowing things about computers, we all have to learn at some point. But c'mon. Did the lady I worked with today really need to force the RJ45 connector for her CAT5 cable into one of her modem jacks because it looked like it should fit? :butt:

[Major Kong]

Ummm riddellcomp jaeger was talking about users and some of the things that are done to PC's. He wasn't saying you have a stupid idea. Take a look in Tech Tales for some of the more interesting stories. :D

I used to have a small PC building and repair business when I lived in Arizona. Due to the nature of my job in Alaska I am no longer able to it, and took down my shingle (though I have looked at a few PC since we moved up here). It sounds like you have a decent base, so that is good. I would think, if you already haven't, come up with a good work release statement for your clients to sign to protect yourself. Work out a quote sheet for your services. Be prepared to be called at your normal work for problems (oy it happens!). And you may look at carrying some sort of professional liabilty insurance in case of an oops (I'm not sure how it is in Australia, but you may look at your homeowners insurance policy). We have a few posters from the Land Down Under (Mayet, Platypus) who may be able to shed some further light. Good luck in your endevor.

[riddellcomp]

"Astounding Idiot", is how I feel right now.
Sorry Jaeger, I thought you were telling me that I am an idiot for wanting to start a computer business. I suppose I got on my high horse because I have read posts on other forums that immediately slam people who want to start a computer business.
I have since read many of the posts on the tech tales board so know exactly what your talking about.

Thanks Percy and Majorkong for your advice and suggestions.

[jaeger]

"Astounding Idiot", is how I feel right now.
Sorry Jaeger, I thought you were telling me that I am an idiot for wanting to start a computer business. I suppose I got on my high horse because I have read posts on other forums that immediately slam people who want to start a computer business.
I have since read many of the posts on the tech tales board so know exactly what your talking about.

Thanks Percy and Majorkong for your advice and suggestions.

No prob bub. Astounding idiocy basically covers users finding ways to break computers that just shouldnt happen. Ever seen a system that has had a fdd cable forced into the hdd and cdrom? How about a molex shoved in upside down? How about bare wires used as fan extensions? Or the half cylinder of hot glue used to attach a cpu fan that both fills in the heatsink and prevents the fan from spinning? Hell, that reminds me of the guy who got a MacGuyveresque hair up his *** and assembled damn near a whole system with zip ties. Only consider starting a repair business if you can look a moron in the face and say "Don't worry sir, this is a common problem. They really should place a label on the CDROM stating it isnt a sex toy." Final tip, get a cell phone, give users the cell phone number, never ever give them your home number. This way you can escape from the tards when need be.

[riddellcomp]

QuoteOnly consider starting a repair business if you can look a moron in the face and say "Don't worry sir, this is a common problem. They really should place a label on the CDROM stating it isnt a sex toy."-

ROFLMAO,


Yes I can imagine what you are talking about. I do have a cell phone for the reason you mentioned.

Thanks again.

BTW where is the option to paste a quote??

[Platypus]

BTW where is the option to paste a quote??

It's the little "Reply" button on the lower RHS of the post you want to quote. If you hover the mouse pointer over it the pop-up identifies the function as "Reply W/quote".

[riddellcomp]

It's the little "Reply" button on the lower RHS of the post you want to quote. If you hover the mouse pointer over it the pop-up identifies the function as "Reply W/quote".

Great..Thanks Platypus.

[Titchski]

1) Always make sure you agree on what you're going to get paid before you start work (on a per hour basis - none of this well, I reckon $50 should cover it - it won't). When I started repairs and such, people used to balk when I gave them their bill, mostly they paid it but... It's not like you can put their PC BACK in the state it was in beforehand... well you could I guess :devil:

2) NEVER, EVER let your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend/cat farm you out to their friends to fix things without them checking 1) above. This happened a couple of times to me. One ended up being a 3 visit job for a total of about 9 hours work (rough value $500). What did I get out of it? A can of cherry coke and some cookies :mad: It's a bit of a double edged sword, as your s/o will probably be p!ssed off when you say no. Mine was until I told her how much I would have made had she checked with me first.

3) Always remember to turn your clocks back in the autumn, that way you get an extra hours sleep (guess who forgot this one?) :sad:

Thats about all for now, I'm off back to bed to try and rescue my hour

[Wayward Clam]

Part time computer repair services run out of homes! ;)

ROFLMAO!!!!!!

[BurnFEST]

Intermittant Faults are your worst enemy.

[confus-ed]

Part time computer repair services run out of homes! ;)

This is worth more discussion than ROFLMAO!!!!!!
but I do agree :D ... :thumbs:

I dunno exactly how to put this, I suppose 'beware over efficiency', maybe not in your exact circumstances, but if you become dependant on the income, it may be important ;) especially in a small town where there must be only so much work ...

I've typed about six replies now but I keep deleting them :rolleyes: ... I can't improve on the beware over efficiency line, someone told me a long time ago & I thought it was 'harsh' ... but as time goes by I agree more & more ... perhaps someone else can put words in my mouth for me ...?

[KINGofBLEH]

The biggest problem with trying to run a comp repair business on the side is that once the word gets out about how cheap you are, people will start expecting you to do things you aren't prepared to support. Although it is true that the large majority of problems you will see are stupid user errors, you will also see some that are way over your head. If you commit to the job then you are stuck because the client has a deadline and you can't get the problem fixed in time. At first this challenge may seem like a good learning opportunity. But if this situation happens enough you eventually will get a reputation for incompetance. So if you are interested in gaining some experience it is probably better to start out working part time for someone else so that if you goof up, it will be on their dime and not yours. After that, if you are still interested in running your own part-time computer biz you will not find yourself blind-sided with problems you cannot solve.

[NooNoo]

1) see my sig....

2) always always take a usb or external dvd or cdrw on site to back up - it does not matter that you are not going to touch the data - and that backup will probably never be used, but the day you don't do it and say run a perfectly harmless defrag to find the next morning the hdd died you are up the perfect creek without a paddle. While you can have a policy of "the data is your problem" the customer doesn't like losing their emails and documents. It takes a few mins to back up those personal items (screw their mp3 and porno collection, thats going too far) and when the worst happens you look very good!

3) Never believe the user when he tells you what the problem is. Always have the first 30 mins labour as the diagnosis, if you fix it within that 30 mins, all well and good, you look like a hero again when you only charge them the diagnosis time.

4) Never laugh in the customer's face - they take offence when they find out you think they are stupid.

5) Distinguish between training issues and other issues. If you have told them not to use a particular program or do something a particular way because it crashes the machine and they promptly do it again, charge them. The quickest way to make a man learn is to attack his wallet. (PS this does not work on women)

[Diver01]

Most common problems I see are (I.D.10.T) errors as well. The worst problems I have seen is by those who think they know just enough to solve it themselves, and screw it up even more. Then they dump it on you and want you to make it all better. The only advice I can give you for that is cover your A$$!! Document everything you do from inital powerup, to evey error message, to what the resolution was and the time involved in reaching that resolution.

[King Grover]

i've been thinking about doing that for years and in fact, I have had some side jobs where I'll cahrge $50/hour for whatever service. I'm deciding more and more that I don't want to do that.

One of the main reasons for this is one of my latest housecalls. This older lady wanted her PC cleaned up and pr0n adn stuff removed. No big deal right. $50 tune-up. It's an old pos running ME and takes damn near the full hour to run adaware and delete crap progs. I get out of ther with my halfa bean and figure everythigns fine.

Call back from customer few days later accusing ME becuase her msn Hotmail isn't delivering her nay new e-mails. It was a vocie mail that I never responded to becuase she is not going to pay another $50 or more for me to come back. Most others go fine, but how do you explain to somebody that you need $100 or more for fixing their PC when they were watching you watch files delete or scan disk run?

I think I'm jsut gonna be a bartender instead.

[FatalException0E]

Intermittant Faults are your worst enemy.
I've frequently told customers that the only thing they could do is wait untill it gets worse, then call again.

[riddellcomp]

Thanks for some good ideas and advice from everyone.
Noonoo your idea about a usb burner sounds like a great idea. Until I buy one though I am making sure that each customer signs a well worded data disclaimer form and that I explain to them the concept of backing up their data.
Your comment got me thinking though, I know how to back up in Outlook but its been years since I used Outlook express and cannot remember how to back up e-mails from OE. Is it just a matter of saving the .dbx files? or is there more to it.
Thanks again,

Trueman.

[NooNoo]

You can use the export, but I much prefer just copying the entire directory that holds the dbx's and zipping it... then you can unzip and import from oe5 and then choose import from oe6 store directory.

[riddellcomp]

Thanks Noo noo.

[KINGofBLEH]

Thanks for some good ideas and advice from everyone.
Noonoo your idea about a usb burner sounds like a great idea. Until I buy one though I am making sure that each customer signs a well worded data disclaimer form and that I explain to them the concept of backing up their data.
Your comment got me thinking though, I know how to back up in Outlook but its been years since I used Outlook express and cannot remember how to back up e-mails from OE. Is it just a matter of saving the .dbx files? or is there more to it.
Thanks again,

Trueman.

I use a USB 2.0 hard drive myself. Makes it easy to ghost entire hard drive image from user's comp. CD-RW or DVD-RW won't do you much good if the user's data exceeds 4.7Gb (or whatever DVD-RW are up to these days).

You can pick up a conversion kit for about $40 and convert an existing IDE hard drive to USB (external).

Lecturing the customer about backups won't do any good in most cases. All they hear is "blah, blah, blah, AOL, blah, blah, blah". I've never tried the disclaimer thing, but I would think that a new computer repair guy who asks me to sign a disclaimer might scare me away.

[confus-ed]

4) Never laugh in the customer's face - they take offence when they find out you think they are stupid.

:grin: ... I have real trouble with this one, especially with 'I am an amateur nerd' types ... the temptation is often far too much, especially when they've ignored 'good' advice several times ... :knife:

The alternative to getting your customers external backup devices (or indeed internal ones) is to offer a 'full' data backup service (which you can charge for ! - remember that 'over efficiency' line ? its things like this it applies to ...) ... I've never even dreamt of getting my customers to sign 'disclaimers' - most definately counter-productive, the customer is always responsible for their data, you never want to be, unless they pay for it ! ;)

[riddellcomp]

I use a USB 2.0 hard drive myself. Makes it easy to ghost entire hard drive image from user's comp.
You can pick up a conversion kit for about $40 and convert an existing IDE hard drive to USB (external).


That sounds like what I need. Is what you use this item here.

http://www.verbatim.com.au/products/productdetail.cfm?ID=KW592

or this item here

http://www.byterunner.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=byterunner&cart_id=7933209.10643&product_name=UD200&user-id=&password=&exchange=&exact_match=exact

[confus-ed]

That sounds like what I need. Is what you use this item here.

http://www.verbatim.com.au/products/productdetail.cfm?ID=KW592

or this item here

http://www.byterunner.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=byterunner&cart_id=7933209.10643&product_name=UD200&user-id=&password=&exchange=&exact_match=exact

Second guessing the answer ;)...

Link one can't be ... its usb 1.1 not 2, so much much slower & thus less practical ;) ... but you might need usb 1 compatibility, with older stuff ... time to make your mind up on 'trade off' ...

Link two may be it, but remember 'run of the mill' hard-drives aren't shock proof and are subject to 'unexpected' data loss ;), this might lead to some interesting situations where you think you've backed it up but you haven't 'sucessfully', that's why an external pre-done drive is much better (dearer ! though).

Personally I use a tape drive & charge customers for the tapes I use for them.