This post is more of a rant than anything else, so if you don’t have time to read a bit about the frustrations of PC Technician, you can skip this.

We get calls everyday from customers with a variety of concerns and preconceived notions. To begin with, we always have the customer’s best interest in mind. Yes, we are a business, so we are here to exchange our talents for a fee, but we also want a good reputation so we can stay in business. But for a select few customers, we aren’t exactly sure what they want. They call with a problem, but don’t seem like they want to have their computer fixed.

Handling First Time Callers

The first words are almost always “How much to fix my computer?” This gets asked before we are told what has happened. Now we know that some customers are very knowledgeable at using their computers, but just not fixing them, and can probably describe their problem very well. While others just say “It’s broke, I don’t know what is wrong”. If this is you, that is OK, but please be patient with our questions while we try to guide you into providing us with a better description. Of course you can always just bring your computer down to our shop for a FREE PC Checkup and we will hook it up and find out for ourselves. But if you are calling around for the cheapest price, we are NOT who you are looking for. There are quite a few Mobile PC Techs out there with rock-bottom prices. I won’t speak for them and say why, but you are free to call them to find out and compare what is different about their service. I will say that it is true that part of the reason is about overhead costs, but many of these costs are what make it possible to provide efficient, thorough repairs.

Now when we start asking the customer what works or doesn’t work, or how far did you get with what you know how to do, we can usually put some words to the symptoms so we can give you a better estimate of what it will cost to repair your computer.

The Other Extreme

Now and then we also get a customer that seems to know too much for their own good, although not enough to repair the computer themselves. These ones try and tell us just what is wrong and want to direct our troubleshooting efforts, as if they know just what to do but don’t want to get their hands dirty doing it themselves. With an aristocratic tone, some even say “I’m sure it is an easy problem”. As for me, I have repaired enough electronics in my life to never be so bold as to say that it must be an easy problem. While I admit I am confident enough to repair just about any problem, when a customer says that it must be an easy problem, I want to run away. These customers are a class unto themselves and almost always have the most difficult problems. While I don’t want to pattern myself after “Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi”, I will probably say words to the effect “No Computer Repair For You!”

Insane Questions

I know that customers don’t like shelling out money for repairs, neither do I. Some have to save up for a hundred dollar repair and can’t afford another cent for cost overruns. They want to be sure they get a solid estimate for repairs. The problem is some want a solid estimate over the phone, and they can’t describe their problem very well. They are so anxious over the price and don’t want to answer too many of our questions in fear that the more they reveal the more it will cost. Some customers want to ask all the questions, mostly about how much and how long. Again, what can we say without getting a fair description of the problem.

It gets insane when they paraphrase the same questions over and over again expecting a different result. For these, all I can say is that for most repairs, the labor costs between $105-130 (flat rate). Then they ask if that includes parts. As with any shop, parts always cost extra. Then we start all over with the insane questions about whether any parts will be required and how much they will cost.

It is just plain annoying when a customer obviously doesn’t have a clue, and yet they want to back us into a corner with questions that are getting them nowhere, because they refuse to accept our response. For these ones, please call around, you will eventually get the computer shop you deserve. Try Best Buy.

Deja Vu

Again, what can we say without getting a fair description of the problem. Of course you can always just bring your computer down to our shop for a FREE PC Checkup and we will hook it up and find out for ourselves.

Some of these customers who don’t want to play ball have probably watched too much TV where they see computer whizzes and hackers pound away at their keyboards for a minute and everything is fixed. I can assure you that for 99% of the problems, this is far from true. Who in their right mind would want to watch an entire hour of a their favorite prime-time TV show dominated by scenes of some PC Technician removing malware. I can tell you that even the worst insurance commercial is more entertaining. On TV, they have to fix it in a minute to leave time for all the more exciting scenes. In reality, just one customer’s computer repair could fill 4 or 5 shows. I’m not sure if the people are ready for computer repair reality TV. But some customers still think repairing a computer takes 5 minutes and costs 20 bucks. The best advice I can give them is to ask someone they know for a referral and all about what to really expect.

In the end, some of these inexperienced computer customers lose patience with us, and vice-versa. I would say that we get a few calls like this everyday. Fortunately, most people are very cooperative and sense our willingness to help them with their problem. But these sour few taint it for the rest, and I don’t even think they realize it. Computers are so much a part of our lives these days that having a PC Technician you trust is as personal as choosing your Dentist. Some things we own rarely break and when they do, it can be a challenge to choose who to repair it, and then you might not ever need them again. But with computers, there are so many things that can go wrong, from neglect, ignorance, environment, viruses, incompatibility, to just buying a lemon.

Some people find themselves needing to consult with a PC Technician several times a year. Whether it is a brief phone call, a housecall, or having to lug your computer into a nearby shop, we need to get past the initial question at the outset “How much to fix my computer?” Your computer consists of several major parts, and software. It also takes time and labor and experience to repair. While you might say you can buy another computer for $300, go do that. As for your data, you have to make-up your own price what that is worth.

The bottom line is that we are here to exchange our talents to help you with your problems for a fair fee. That is what we are in business for. But the fee can be variable depending on your problem, and we can’t with 100% certainty, always tell what this will be “over the phone” for many reasons mentioned above. But know that we value repeat and referral business, so we do our best to look out for your computer needs.

Anyway, this was my toned-down version of my latest Tech Rant. It was inspired today by a customer on the phone that had unrealistic expectations and didn’t want to accept our advice. Some customers only want you to tell them what “they” want to hear. The facts are that I haven’t ever seen a computer problem “wished away”. Whatever it is, is was it is. Spinning a wheel or wishing it to be something else does not change the problem. But it is our job to find out what the problem actually is, so we can fix it and be done.

I would add one more thing though, most computer problems these days are malware infections, for which we have a flat rate for (so you got your number, but you wanted to dance and take the lead). You don’t have to understand the mechanics of how you got infected or how we will disinfect it. We can fix it whether you understand the process or not, so even though some of you talk yourself out of a quality computer repair because we could never confirm your problem over the phone or how exactly we will fix it, we are usually right anyway that it was a malware infection (which we specialize in), maybe even one that you put off repairing which got worse and caused a hard drive problem. So if you want us to dance with you over the phone, please let us lead. We will do a good job as always, and put all your concerns to rest.

’nuff said…

I Can’t Believe it Happened to Me!

The other day, I was listening to the radio while repairing computers and heard about a recall for Sony Laptops because of an overheating problem. I recently bought a Sony Vaio myself and as it turned out, mine was on this recall list! From what I learned about the problem, it can be corrected with a BIOS update which can be easily downloaded and run from within Windows. I updated mine in less than 10 minutes. So far, I haven’t noticed my laptop running any cooler. While I always thought my laptop ran a bit warm, it never did get dangerously hot. But heat is always an issue with today’s faster computers. Anyway, below are some excerpts of important information from Sony regarding this overheating issue and what to do.

Important Notification for the Sony VAIO F11 and CW2 Series

Dear Valued Sony VAIO Customer,

Sony takes pride in the quality of its products.

Recently, we became aware of a potential issue affecting certain notebooks within the VAIO VPCF11- and VPCCW2-series, available on the market in Europe since January 2010. In rare cases, these notebook computers can overheat due to a potential malfunction of the internal temperature management system.

If you own a VAIO notebook with model name VPCF11 or VPCCW2  , Sony recommends that you download and install a BIOS firmware update specifically designed to prevent the potential overheating.

If you have any questions or need additional assistance installing the BIOS firmware update, please contact Sony technical support for further assistance. We take the quality of the products we sell very seriously and make every effort to ensure that the products we develop meet your expectations.

We sincerely apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused.
Thank you for using VAIO.

Sincerely,
Your VAIO Support Team

More on Logs and Other Things

(Cont from Part 2) Other logs you should be monitoring are your security software logs such as for your Antivirus or Firewall programs. But aside from threats to your software, I want to recommend another program that can monitor the health of your Hard Drive where all your data is stored. These are called Hard Drive S.M.A.R.T. utilities, and there is one called DiskCheckup , that is free for home use and supports up to Windows 7. Below is a screenshot and video of this utility in action.

DiskCheckup can dowloaded from their homepage at:

http://www.passmark.com/products/diskcheckup.htm

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How To Use DiskCheckup

Think Long Term

Most PC users have an antivirus program and a surge protector, and while they are important items, they are not miracle pills that immunize your computer from viruses and power problems. There is other work to do as I’ve been talking about. But sadly, many people never renew their antivirus programs to save a buck. As for the surge protectors, they help with surges, but not power fluctuations. So what can you do?

Just think about how much money you might spend in computer repairs in the next 10+ years. You could take just a fraction of that now and invest in a couple top-tier security programs and a UPS. Combine that with a modest education in online security and preventive maintenance, and you would still probably have enough money to buy another computer after you finally plan to retire your trusty old computer.

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

Hopefully, you have accepted the fact that your computer will not last forever. So think ahead about preventing problem as long as you can, and then plan your migration to a new computer before it is too late so you don’t lose your data in some chaotic emergency.

I won’t get into the details about my recommendations below in this article, so I’m giving you a homework assignment. As I mentioned before, you can find plenty of YouTube videos and other free text-based tutorials about preventive computer maintenance. My shortlist of things to do are:

1. Backup important data regularly
2. Monitor Windows Event Viewer logs
3. Monitor Antivirus and Firewall logs
4. Use a Hard Drive S.M.A.R.T. utility
5. Keep your computer clean and cool
6. Use a UPS

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Two Main Causes of Computer Malfunctions

(Cont from Part 1) If you read Part 1 of this article, you can see, I pretty much pointed out the 2 main causes of most computers malfunctions, “ignorance” and “neglect”. To make matters even worse, our weakened economy is exploiting these problems by making people run their computers into the ground by putting off repairs until the problem gets critical.  Part of this makes no sense to me. I would expect that when money is needed for more important things, that people would take better care of what they already have, but now people end up with higher repair bills, not just because they put off repairs, but because of neglecting preventive maintenance.

I can’t say I’m sorry for my tough love approach to computer care, because if you think you hate computer problems, many computer repair Technicians hate them even more, especially when most problems are preventable! Computers have been around long enough, that we should know better by now.

If you are just learning, there are plenty of YouTube How-To videos and other free resources about preventive computer maintenance. One thing I can show you now is how to check your Event Viewer logs. The Event Viewer can reveal specific problem areas with your hardware or software that you can copy & paste into Google to search for a solution. Sometimes, the fix might something as simple as updating an application or a driver. A more serious error might be bad blocks (clusters) on you hard drive which might be corrected by running the built-in Windows chkdsk utility. If they aren’t corrected, you should back-up your data immediately and schedule the hard drive to be replaced. In most cases if you catch it early enough, your drive can be force-cloned to a new drive and retain all your customizations, programs, and data. Otherwise, if you wait until it is too late, you will still need a new hard drive, but you may lose your data. You’ll also have some follow-on work to do such as reinstalling your programs and printer software. Below is a screenshot and video of a Windows 7 Event Viewer.

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The weak economy is sure having an effect on the computer repair industry, but not the way you might think. People are relying on their computers more than ever before for entertainment, to find jobs, and to hunt for good deals. But as much as they depend on them, they tend not to put much thought into how to keep them going. Computers need periodic maintenance just like cars do. Without it, you might get up one morning just to discover your computer is broke. To you, it seems like it failed all of the sudden without any warning. But for others, they were well aware that their computer had been acting up for days or even weeks before it finally broke, but they put-off doing anything about it. As for family computers with many users, it gets hard for any one user to put together the whole story that led to the failure. As far as trying to repair your computer yourself, do your homework first. Some of the hardest problems we get are not from the original failure, but from trying to undo all the mistakes done by the owner or his “proverbial friend who knows computers”

I typically find that most computer failures don’t just happen over night, that they gradually got worse over time. For some reason, most people just ignore the initial symptoms, maybe because they weren’t show-stoppers yet. But once in a while, computers can suddenly crash when there is a power failure, a heat problem, outright abuse, or a defective part.

Even so, most “alleged” sudden failures probably had some warning symptoms that simply went unnoticed. Its no wonder though, because most computer users don’t know how to monitor the performance of their computers. They almost never open their computer cases and perform any periodic visual inspections, so all the little problems just silently brew into time-bombs waiting to explode. But as some would have you believe, their computer worked “perfectly” up until the minute that it suddenly broke without any warning…or did it?

I like to think of the hard drive as the “black box” on an airplane. If I find it intact, I can pretty much put the scenario together that led up to the failure. Windows monitors a wealth of information, and I almost always find that your computer was in no way working “perfectly” up until it failed. Of course, there are exceptions such as for a power outage, or when you first got hit with malware, or something went terribly wrong when you installed some hardware or software, or a Windows Update your computer didn’t like. And of these, it was probably because of a procedural error.

But other times, there are problems lurking behind the scenes like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Just this week, I checked-in 3 desktop computers with bulged capacitors on the motherboard the customers never knew about. A computer motherboard with bulged or leaky capacitors might work OK for now, but could eventually start having random Blue Screens (BSODs) which will eventually lose video or won’t even power on. You could catch this type of problem early-on with a periodic visual inspection. Either way, you’ll need to replace your motherboard. The good news is that you can take care of the problem before your computer actually breaks. Ironically, most people will look the other way and forego the repair to save a buck because it hasn’t actually failed yet. When it finally does start acting up, some people assume they have a virus and get surprised when it is going to cost twice as much to fix, because  now it needs a major part. Sometimes, these types of problems cause other components to fail such as the power supply, so you could end up with multiple problems. So a periodic visual inspection can minimize further damage and allow you time to schedule a repair without it having to be an untimely emergency.

The picture below shows an example of some bad capacitors. These ones must have went undiscovered for a while because they look pretty bad. I’ll bet this board doesn’t work at all.

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As for software problems like viruses and malware, today’s faster computers can handle the performance hit for a while without affecting the speed too much… at first. So many people just learn to deal with it rather than fix it right away. But these problems never get better by themselves and will eventually get your wallet’s full attention.

Hopefully you are beginning to see how ignorance and neglect are major factors affecting the life of your computer. I often get asked how long should a computer last? I might answer, my computer or yours? So I urge you to get a grasp of as many preventive computer maintenance tips as you can, and actually do them! Click for Part 2 of 3 of this series to learn a bit about the Windows Event Viewer which logs a wealth of information about the health of your computer.

I got such a response from the article about the Dirty Dell Computer that I had to add one more thing about the heat issue. My last article had to do with “neglect”, but now I have to be blunt and tell you about another heat issue that has to do with “ignorance”. If this is you, please don’t take it personal that I may try and shame you into taking better care of your computer. Most people ask for advice about how to prevent viruses, which can be an ongoing semester worth of knowledge that can’t be crammed into a 5 minute lecture. But what I am about to tell you is very easy to do once you understand the problem.

Another Laptop That Won’t Turn On

Just today I had another customer bring in a laptop that would not power-on. Now when I get a laptop that won’t power-on with the AC Adapter plugged-in or on Battery only, and the output voltage of the AC Adapter checks OK, I strongly suspect a bad motherboard. Of course I’ll reseat the battery and check the power button, among a few other things, but I would bet that the motherboard is bad and I’ll tell you that for free. Some customers go into denial at this point since it just worked the day before and they have barely owned it over a year. Others will want to pay for a more in-depth diagnostic in the hope that it can be resurrected for less than a new laptop. Anyway, my first impression is usually right … the motherboard is bad.

Computer Medical History

Next, I’ll ask how did it work before it failed? Have you had it repaired before, or are you aware of any recent problems? They usually respond that it worked fine, as if they were afraid that it would cost more if they volunteered any info. But to be blunt again, either the customer is withholding information, or they were ignorant to the symptoms leading up to the final failure. Some customers just run their computer into the ground and just accept a gradual decrease in performance as normal. They get used to it freezing now and then and perform hard shutdowns. They just don’t realize that powering-off a computer abruptly by holding in the power button or pulling the battery is bad for your hard drive, and your data.

My Laptop is Getting Hot

Many people use their laptop on their lap or a bed. I’ve even heard some say that it was getting so hot on their lap that they put it on a pillow resting on their lap. Now they can surf the internet in comfort … until?  The fact is, that the heat building up inside your laptop needs to escape. If you directly touched a CPU without proper cooling, it could melt your fingerprints!

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If you place your laptop on anything other than a hard, flat surface, you will probably be blocking the exhaust vents. Just imagine your laptop sinking into a plush pillow as it slowly forms itself around the edges of the laptop until it gets smothered to death. Take a look at your laptop to see where your vents are (the bottom and sides). Your first symptoms will be that it slows down, then it may start intermittently responding and even freeze. So you shut it down and try it again and it might work OK for a while again. And so on, and so on, until you get used to this being how it is, forgetting all about the good ‘ole days. The sad thing is that most people don’t realize they are slowly killing their laptop!

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This ignorant way of life with laptops is all too common and is responsible for more fatal laptop failures than anything else. Of course there are rampant viral problems due to neglect, but they are usually just software issues which can be fixed with labor only, whereas these heat issues are motherboard killers, and most people just end up buying a new laptop rather than paying to replace an expensive motherboard.

Simple Solution

Place your laptop on a hard, flat surface to allow for some clearance for the hot air to escape. Even better, you can also buy a special tray for about $20 that are designed to elevate your laptop. And better yet, there are laptop coolers for $20-30 you can place your laptop on that have built-in USB-powered fans that exhaust heat out the sides.

One final note when you are on the go. Don’t just place your laptop in “Standby” when you are going to put it in your laptop case. It is still “On” even though it is in a low power state and could potentially overheat once zipped-up in your laptop case. Also, even you you prompted a proper Shutdown, don’t assume your laptop will actually shutdown and put it in your laptop case until you actually see it power-off. Many times, it may be scheduled to install Windows Updates prior to fulling shutting down which could take, 5, 10 or more minutes. If something went wrong, it may hang without shutting down, making your laptop case into a pizza oven.

So keep your laptop as cool as possible, not only by keeping your vents clean, but by not blocking the vents by using it on your lap, a bed or a pillow. Better yet, elevate it or use a laptop cooler. I would also not recommend keeping laptops on 24/7. Shut it down when you are done for the day. If you can do this, you will eliminate one of the major causes of fatal laptop failures.