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PC Repair Business???

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ark_ader:
1. Don't do it.  I did that ---smurfy--- job for 5 years and nearly every time I asked to be paid I wasn't.  I had to chase them. It got old.

2. Indemnity Insurance isn't cheap.  Not for PCs but in case you damage someones property or injure by your fault.

3. You will need an A+ certification (a 12 year old can do it) to get more work.

4. Go To 1.

When I get an order for a PC, I get a mate who owns a shop to do it.  I get a kick back towards new gear, and I look good. 

Its always important to look good.

DaveMMR:

--- Quote from: Samstag on January 03, 2012, 02:13:57 pm ---
--- Quote from: Howard_Casto on January 03, 2012, 01:35:45 pm ---1.  Buy and keep multiple versions of windows and hope and pray that the customers at least have their liscense keys and that said keys will work on stock versions of windows and not just the crippled version that came with their pc. Customers will still complain because the 2 dollar flash game that came with their hp computer won't be included with a vanilla install.

--- End quote ---

Invest in a Technet subscription and you'll have access to more versions of Windows than you can shake a stick at, all the way back to 3.0 if I recall.  The license key on a prebuilt PC will be on a sticker somewhere on the PC and will identify the version it's good for.

--- End quote ---

That's a good solution if you're definitely going to use it.  Personally, I have no problem making and keeping on hand various copies of Windows installations (including some Dell disks and a universal installation copy of Windows 7). Of course, the customer still needs to have a legitimate key for me to install it for them - that I will not provide.

BobA:
It definitely has its ups and downs but you cannot get rich doing it.   Word of mouth works well but are there any other advertizing methods that do not cost an arm and a leg.   The local neighborhood paper here costs as much as the city wide papers since it is owned by the same group.   Signs don't work here as it is illegal to post signs in most places. Craigs list has a bad rep. What did you do or do you do if you are still fixing computers?

SavannahLion:

--- Quote from: Samstag on January 03, 2012, 02:13:57 pm ---
--- Quote from: Howard_Casto on January 03, 2012, 01:35:45 pm ---1.  Buy and keep multiple versions of windows and hope and pray that the customers at least have their liscense keys and that said keys will work on stock versions of windows and not just the crippled version that came with their pc. Customers will still complain because the 2 dollar flash game that came with their hp computer won't be included with a vanilla install.

--- End quote ---

Invest in a Technet subscription and you'll have access to more versions of Windows than you can shake a stick at, all the way back to 3.0 if I recall.  The license key on a prebuilt PC will be on a sticker somewhere on the PC and will identify the version it's good for.

--- End quote ---

Ha! I used to work for a company that had some sorely screwed up management problems. I pushed for months for them to subscribe to Technet but they refused (yet, oddly enough were all too happy to invest in a pair of ATM lines for their precious video conferencing  ??? And a incredibly expensive and craptastic phone system we never used). So, as each PC was tagged with a key and version, one simply needed to reinstall that version of Windows right? Nope, A: IT rarely ever seemed to keep the exact version of Windows that a particular PC needed thereby forcing us to swap the PC out instead of just a wipe & install and B: Even if, by some bizarre remote chance the IT binder had a disc with an appropriate version of Windows, some license keys flat out simply refused to function. Thanks for allowing crippled keys for crippled OSes. Nice of them to notify us. Oh well, I was never paid enough to care. :cheers: Just before the company sold my branch, they shifted their entire system over to Citrix thin clients on a mish-mashed network barely equipped to handle the increased traffic. :laugh2:

I wasn't aware Technet subscriptions let you go that far back in the Windows versions though. Didn't MS announce they dropped support for older OSes even for business customers?

shateredsoul:
On my first attempt to fix a computer (a VAIO)  I messed up and had a bad experience with the bestbuy geeks. I was only trying to upgrade the memory, which worked fine, but I couldn't slide the power supply back into it's own spot so I could close the tower. I tried going to bestbuy and asked them if they could help me out... they started running some stupid diagnostic tools. I was able to get the attention of some guy, I told him that the only issue was sliding the power supply.

They tried charging me like 80 bucks ... but I argued, but still had to pay 40 bucks for the diagnostics!

I'm sorry, but I hate computer shops, and especially best buy. The computer shops nearby still charge to much IMO. They offered to cut me a deal, $200 to build me a comp if I bring my own parts. I decided to build it on my own. Now I always clone my hdd's for laptops and keep install discs handy. External usb docks have saved me plenty of times.

But man do I hate computer shops  :angry:

Good luck!

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