QOTD: Are You Always Fixing PCs for Others?

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[citation][nom]justaguy[/nom]The worst part about it is that the stuff people want me to fix for them is garbage. No, your 2.0 GHz, 256 MB Celery based DDR1 machine really isn't worth the 2 hours it would take me to clean all the nasty bugs you got from dirty websites. No. Really. Copy your MyDocs to CD and buy something new. Really.But do they ever listen? Nope.[/citation] lmao I know the drill. I refuse to fix/work/do anything on school computers because they are so outdated and worthless (even when the school just bought them, sadly. I mean Pentium 4? AMD makes great dual-cores that are cheaper!) another thing that irritates the crap out of me are the people who don't know how to clean a computer.
 
[citation][nom]metanoia[/nom]Well, I used to, until I started telling everyone to buy Macs. Now, I have no computers to fix, because they don't have issues! (at least as much as a peecee).[/citation]

that's because they don't have any money left and can't afford the repairs 😛
 
[citation][nom]metanoia[/nom]Well, I used to, until I started telling everyone to buy Macs. Now, I have no computers to fix, because they don't have issues! (at least as much as a peecee).[/citation]

They cant find anyone that does for free or cheap.
 
I had someone insist their laptop was within 3 yr old (I will just tell them their computer is on the way out anyway if its over 5 yrs)
When I asked him what it was it was a IBM Thinkpad... I cant exactly remember the model or the problem, but it was a refurbished one that I suspect was closer to 8 than 3... and its capacitors were leaking.

Yet they insisted that it was salvageable... I told them to go to JBHIFI and spend like $700 on a clearance laptop instead.
 
It used to be a frequent occurrance for me, but I've weened most people from asking me. The problems almost always stem from user error or downloading viruses. If my mom calls, I still have to help her out though.
 
i fix computers all the time and i havn't even left school infact ive been replacing part of the school network for hte IT people there. Ive even teched the IT people some things to. And about 30 mins ago i was just fixing my friends computer 😛
 
ppl always need help in fixing computer and expected free of charge.. i am now actullay fixing somesone's computer while reading the post 🙁
 
Its not just computers anymore, people ask me to fix their telephones, cell phones, car stereos, speakers, anything electronic simply because I have a soldering bench at home. The worst part is most of the time they expect me to do it for free or for five or ten bucks. They usually go away after I rape scream the words "NO! DON"T SHOVE YOUR DEVICE IN MY FACE!" For the record though, I only help my elderly neighbors for free.
 
Yeah it just happened tonight. They guy had been calling me all week as I gave him the go ahead on a gateway laptop and dlink n router. He was scared to open the box before he spoke with me, and sure enough his fears were answered. The laptop didn't see the wifi router. I got him to turn the wifi adapter on with the function key, but apparently it was already on. There wasn't much I could do from CA with him in NY except search the web, while he called dlink support. he was on the phone four hours with multiple support people flashing and reflashing the router, rebooting, etc. Finally it just magically started working.
I don't know how regular people deal with it. I guess they eventually succumb to the geek squad chicanery(does best buy sell known defective products at a discount to encourage people to use their geek squad service?) or switch to the mac. I have a mac mini for my htpc I got used for $300. It works great, the only problem I ever had was trying to put windows 7 on it. While my XP machine took many hours of tweaking to get the correct timing right to recognize my 1080p HDTV, the mac just worked.
I think the mac will one day be the dominant PC in the home. People won't put up with this crap forever. I mean is it worth saving a few hundred if you end up spending hours of yours and your tech friends time fixing something that should've worked out of the box?
We got new Dell laptops at work and when the wifi was turned on, it bluescreened. How does something like this get through QA? Does anyone do real QA anymore? I mean with test specs and plans? I know my company doesn't. We have one tester and he's a painter. No test plans, no steps to reproduce. I just talked to someone today at a major db company that they don't do real QA either.
What I want to know is are there any routers out their that don't take down the wifi when bit torrent is running? Should be a standard test case IMO.
 
I have been in contact with computers since i was 11 and read my first two dos books....I am 33 now and am a network administrator for a college.

I used to work on PC's but now...some of these PC's are so bad it takes all weekend....and with the economy they can only afford about 40 bucks....I feel like i am wasting my life working on someone else s CRAP!

I now flat out refuse....my excuse is "sorry; I am a single father and really wish i could help you, but i just don't have the time; My daughter thinks it's boring to watch me work on computers. The other Tech that works here fixes them on the side for a fee. maybe he will work on it for you!"

end of discussion

SCREW working on other peoples computers...the only ones i enjoy working on are my own or my daughters....LOL my X wife called and i had her download and install AVG and spybot and told her to let it scan all night...also told her to not waste her life starring at it while it scans...she never called back about it.

hehehehe
 
I hate it when people call me trying to trouble shoot over the phone.

I usually tell them I'm on the other line talking to someone and to call back...then i call block their number for a few weeks!!!!
 
I only fix computers for a select few individuals, my girlfriend and maybe her family and mom/dad and siblings. There are some exceptions but I made my mistake of helping everyone and their friends for free in the past and learned from it.

I will however help out at a discounted price compared to local repair shops.
 
I am an IT tech and work long ours, after hours I rest, and the weekends I party away. I refuse to help anyone without boobs and a cute smile after hours.
 
I'm no Engineer, I'm not even studying IT. But in the neighborhood where I live, nobody has windows troubleshooting knowledge as broad as I do. That's even why everyone calls me Newton, although Newton doesn't have anything to do with IT. The most common problem: Virus.

People sometimes put an antivirus and they think its good for good. They never update, sometimes they even interrupt the update.

Else, their windows just collapse. I extracted their drive and scan it with another PC that's clean clean clean but no virus is found. it's just crashed.

So far I learn that 99% windows problems can be solved by restarting & reinstalling (clean install) Windows.

The rest is how far the customer service wants to respect their customers

-ND
 
I build and fix computers for a lot of people.. sometimes I get a small reward for my time, so it's ok.. and ofcourse I do it for free for my close friends and family. But I don't mind, I like doing it.. I just wish I had more free time to do everything people want from me :)
 
I'm self taught and just love troubleshooting, but that love puts me in the hot seat as well coz sometimes if its not your pc and not your problem why bother, i get asked at work about some questions, people should learn to troubleshoot by themselves i did it you can too
now that would be a good teeshirt
i fixed my own pc so can you
 
I have 2 that I'm working on right now and the pay does suck. They spend $300.00 on a PC so they balk at spending $50.00 to get a years worth of Spyware/Adware and a host off Trojans removed from there system. Also they don't know about deleting temp files or what a defrag is.
 
Always. $95/hr portal to portal. You'd be surprised how many people will cut a check and not bother to ask what ESO means. (Equipment Superior to Operator)
 
Generally, I don't mind fixing up friend's or family's machines. I will no longer help make purchasing decisions, because by some weird abstraction I automatically become tech support for the life of the machine.

What rubs me the wrong way is when I find myself addressing problems at work (I don't work in computers anymore). We have an IT department, and its a little screwy that they're getting paid while I'm doing their jobs.
 
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