5 Things That Matter When You Are Mastering Computer Repair

 Generally there are five things that you should do when repairing computers.

1. The Customers Data Is Always Important.
2. Use a program such as Acronis to clone the customers Hard Drive to a bench drive - this preserves data if things go bad.
3. Have a good set of programs to clean up viruses.
4. Have good access to parts for repair.
5. Always be honest with the customer.

 Yes there are other things that you should know if you are going to repair computers. First I would always use some kind of esd or electro static discharge protection. It's way to easy to damage a component with static electricity and never even know it. The customers computer will end up coming back and now you will be working on it for free. One this does not look good for a company, two you will have an unhappy customer and the result will be a loss of business. Remember customers keep you going.
 In today's world  of computers I would make sure that you are at least a+ certified. Most good companies will want their employees to have this certification. It indicates that you know what you are doing. Believe me I have seen some technicians do things that would make your hair stand on end. One key phrase to look out for is "That Is My Educated Guess or That Is My Uneducated Guess" The key word is guess. No successful decent service center should be making guesses. If they are walk away and don't come back otherwise they will have your money and you will end up with a boat anchor.
 There are plenty of excellent programs out on the internet that are free for cleaning up viruses, spyware, adware and malware. One of the most popular is Free Malwarebytes and is available from malwarebytes.org or it can be downloaded from bleeping.com . My advise is to use google.com and search for problems with any given program before using it. I have seen first hand where infections come in or malicious programs come in.
 Another thing that I would not practice as a computer technician is talking down to the customer. I have heard other technicians refer to customers as stupid or they don't know anything. I think the technician needs to go look in a mirror, because at some point they will be a customer and that must make you stupid. I would also not try to use crazy analogies when trying to explain something to a customer. This tactic will make you look ridiculous and it may make the customer feel like you are treating them as if they can't comprehend anything. The result in the long run will be a loss of business. I have had more compliments from customers when I put myself in their shoes.
   

Hard Drive Is Infected And You Have Very Little Hard Drive Space Left

COMPUTER REPAIR HELP

 Okay so your desktop or laptop computer has become infected and you have hardly any hard drive space left, what do you do ?
 Well for some people they will take it to their nearest computer service center. There is absolutely nothing wrong in doing that. What I find is most customers do not have a clue as to what they should or could do on their own. This does not make them stupid or anything like that. No it just makes them an uninformed person and we all fit into that category at some point in our lives.

Okay so what can you do ? What I would do is determine exactly how much space you have free on your hard drive. If you have a few gigabytes or more you could download free malwarebytes, roguekiller, adwcleaner and JRT junk removal tool. These can be downloaded to a folder and run. Free malwarebytes will have to be installed and updated before you can scan with it. The other programs are executable programs and can be run by clicking on them. They are all available from bleeping.com, which is an excellent website. The best course of action is to run them from the safe mode with networking by pressing the F8 key on the keyboard when the system first boots up. Windows 10 has little different method.
 If you have windows 10 you can enter the safe mode one of two ways. If you can boot into the system right click the start icon in the lower left corner, then click run and type msconfig and press enter. You can then click boot and make sure network has a dot in it. Next click apply and reboot the system. Then you can run the programs to clean the infections.
 The other way to enter the safe mode with networking in windows 10 is to start to reboot the computer, press the power button and hold it until the computer shuts off. Do this two or three times in a row and it should say preparing automatic repair. Now select troubleshooting and you can select start up options. The system will reboot and have choices associated with the F-Keys. Generally pick F5 for safe mode with networking. Next update the programs and run them.

 Now if you are in a situation where you have no more space left on the hard drive you have a few choices. You may clone the existing infected full hard drive to a new larger hard drive. There are some free programs available like mini partition magic or I would suggest buying the current version of Acronis. You will need an extra power connection and sata cable unless you are using a usb dock. Once the cloning is done install the virus cleaning programs and clean the system. There are other programs that can be run as well such as adware removal tool, super antispyware, a-squared, spybot and others. Just make sure they are good programs by checking forums and reviews before installing.

Once the cleaning is done make sure windows updates are working properly. I would then connect the old hard drive as a second drive and use disk management to re-partition and reformat it. It can be used as a back up drive if it is 250gb or larger. I usually recommend 500gb or larger. Otherwise it can be used for data storage.
 If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to leave a comment.
   

How To Be A PC Builder

 Okay your computer is getting old, so what is your next move ? There are two questions that come to mind.

1. Is my computer too old to update ?
2. Should I buy or build my own computer ?

Well for the first question, I look at two things. First how old is the computer. If it is three years old or older I would recommend buying a new computer and transferring data. The second question is how much did you pay for your computer. If you payed over $1000 I would say look into upgrading it. Generally you will find that you may be able to upgrade the cpu, memory, hard drive and operating system. I would determine what cpu is in the computer by checking the specifications for the motherboard. Second you may be able to add memory and go to a faster memory speed. The hard drive can either be upgraded to a larger size or at least a 500gb solid state hard drive. Just remember games will not increase in speed.
 Okay so your computer is older and not worth trying to upgrade. So now you have the choice to build a new computer or buy a new computer. If you are buying a new computer make sure not to let the salesperson talk you into anything. Believe me I have seen sales people firsthand spit out all kinds of information trying to make themselves come off as the all knowing expert. Mostly what you will find is that they are trying to make a buck by getting a large commission . In reality they are full of hot air and are mainly a know it all. If they use strange comparisons to get a point across find a different place. Another key phrase is this is my best guess or my educated guess. My advise is leave, because they should not have to make a guess.
 If you are going to try and build a computer you need to have good knowledge of how parts go together. I would also look at places like Amazon.com and look at the reviews. You will be able to find out just what customers are saying about a particular piece of hardware. I would also get some books about building computers, get your A+ Certification and watch youtube videos on building a computer. Total up all your prices and compare them to the price of a new computer. Now you can make a good decision. I would also stress to use good esd protection when handling any components. Have well grounded esd wrist strap and a well grounded esd mat to work on.