July 5, 2007
Ask DCist: Computer Repair Shops
DCist reader Torrey writes:
I was hoping you knew of a good local computer repair shop. It's for my personal laptop. I have been looking all morning and I cant find anything but GeekSquad in NW.
Computer repair is an awful business to be in, and an even worse one to have to patronize. NBC4's Liz Crenshaw did a piece on it a week or two ago and reached a depressing conclusion: faced with a dead-simple tech problem, only about half the businesses got the diagnosis right.
Computers are simply too cheap to replace and debugging is too time-consuming to provide a repair industry that's very good. Besides, anyone with any significant degree of technical talent is likely to trade in their Best Buy polo shirt for a real IT job as quickly as they can. That leaves underqualified retail drones as your likely compu-saviors: they'll slowly work their way through a flowchart in a binder, then charge you $99 (plus marked-up parts) for installing RAM that you may not even need — an operation that's only slightly harder than placing a game cartridge in an NES.
If you're very lucky, you'll end up with a precocious high school kid who hasn't yet gotten sick of installing AdAware. But why roll the dice on retail when precocious kids can be had for free? The great underground economy of nephews, nieces and neighbor kids can serve you well. It's why I always have at least one relative patiently waiting for me to come by and reinstall Windows for them. It sounds overly simple, but the truth is that there's very little that Geek Squad can do for you that a smart teenager can't — it's not as if there are SMD soldering stations and disk-disassembly cleanrooms available behind the counter at Circuit City. If you've got a software issue or a hardware problem with a desktop system, a nerdy kid armed with a web browser can probably tell you what needs to be done, then do it. They might be wrong, but the same can be said for the pros — and a kid is likely to be more shy about wasting your money.
Photo by ElveretBarnes.With that said, the resiliency of desktop systems means that many of those seeking help will need service on a laptop with a hardware problem. It stinks, but the best solution is to send it to the manufacturer, or whomever they recommend. Laptop components are tightly integrated, hard to get at and much less interchangeable than desktop parts. If you find a technician who says they'll do hardware repairs on a notebook, odds are good that they'll need to order the parts from the manufacturer — or troll eBay looking for broken laptops of the same model that can be picked apart. Skip the middleman.
For those with a truly mystifying software problem like Torrey — his wifi adapter disappeared from Windows one day — a little research will be worth your time. We haven't been on it in a while, but the mailing list for WAMU's "Computer Guys" used to be packed with folks helping one another diagnose tech problems. Other sites like Experts Exchange may be able to help, too. The same goes for Google Groups: pretty much every tech problem has been discussed on Usenet at one point or another.
If you haven't got the time or inclination to do research and you can't find an amenable teenager, our best advice is to avoid chains and focus on small businesses. Northwest-based Computer Geeks has amassed a lot of positive reviews on Google. Rios Computer Associates fared well in NBC4's investigative piece. And the folks out at Microcenter generally have a better idea of what they're doing than the average electronics retailer.
But perhaps we're overlooking someone. What do you say, commenters? Has anyone got a particularly helpful repair shop to recommend?
|
I heard good stuff about http://www.boonpc.com/
Or, on the other hand, you could buy a Mac.
Geek Squad is awesome! They do offer data rescue and are mostly very knowledgable. That guy behind the counter is someone's nephew too. But he's actually smart enough to get a job and not "just hope" that some relative needs his help.
Macs have fewer problems because they're locked down and controlled by Apple. No third party hardware or software support equals no potential conflicts. Oh, and it would take quite a few trips to Geek Squad before you make up for the cost savings from having bought a PC over a Mac in the first place.
Krisa: what are you talking about? There are tons of third party peripherals and mountains of third party software available for the Mac. You're right that Apple's control over the platform simplifies some things, like, say, video drivers -- there's no need to support every card under the sun, and Windows' need to support legacy devices and software accounts for much of its crappiness. But the situation is not as cut and dried as you make it out to be -- nor as clear as guest #2 does. Apple has experienced an unusually high number of hardware problems recently, particularly with the introduction of the macbook.
As for cost -- if you look at laptops with comparable build quality, the macbook is really a pretty good deal. There's not much point in comparing an Apple to a junky Inspiron. If you're buying a desktop system, though, there's no question that you can get more bang for your buck with a PC.
two comments in and it's already a Mac vs PC thread! And Krisa adds to the fire! Way to go, DCist commenters.
Or you could buy a Mac!
No, but seriously, I have a Mac notebook, and I have rarely had any issues with it. The one time I did, I was able to take it right to the Apple store. They had it mailed out, repaired, and mailed back at no cost to me. The AppleCare Plan is phenominal.
I've had it though, for about three years, and I don't think it's ever crashed on me.
whatever you do, don't go to cyberlaptops at 17th and R. they warped my motherboard trying to repair the power supply connection.
Most of the time when a network card disappears from Windows, it's a software problem. The fix is to reboot into safe mode, run the device manager, remove the device corresponding to the non-functional adapter, and reboot. I'd spell it out more than that, but that's not really the purpose of this site. Google for "safe mode" and "device manager" (plus your particular version of Windows) for walkthroughs.
I have no idea where I'd take a Windows computer to be fixed around here if it had an actual hardware problem. It depends on who made it. At an old job where we had a lot of Toshiba laptops we'd take them to Richards Computer. These days I don't own anything non-Apple that isn't too old to fix anyway, so I don't know if they're still the place to go. For Mac hardware I've heard good things about Absolute Mac up in Gaithersburg -- but with AppleCare I find the Apple store in Clarendon a lot more convenient.
I can't speak for Mac home use, because I don't have one, and I wouldn't buy one after being forced to support them at work. I've deployed hundreds of G4s, G5s, eMacs, and iMacs, and the hardware fails at a MUCH higher rate, on average, than comparable Dells. Which I could handle, actually, except that Apple's enterprise support is atrocious. I've had whole shipments (more than one!) arrive lacking the APP coverage I paid for, although I don't find that out until six months later, when the video controller dies, and I have to call Miami to get the regional APP coordinator to verify my coverage. But even then Apple won't switch out the parts for me; I have to call and schedule time for some moron from Bethesda to come and unscrew the one million screws it takes to switch out a Mac motherboard. While I sit there watching him. I've complained endlessly to Apple about their support model, and I was essentially told: tough. Pay for hardware certification. I won't even get into the difficulties of supporting OS X. Here's a pre-compiled Samba client with hacked source code! We're not going to tell you what we did with it, because It Just Works (tm). And if it doesn't--well, don't bother trying to compile your own, because the dev tools are hacked to the bone, too. So I guess you're Shit Out Of Luck (tm).
Long story short: I guess Macs are probably fine and dandy for people who are too stupid to avoid installing every malicious ActiveX component that pops up in IE, or for people who are too lazy to turn on Automatic Updates. Or too stupid and lazy to install a third option. But if you are the kind of person who despises tech support and would do almost anything, including dissect your computer component-by-component, rather than suffer the inanity of chirpy corporate troubleshooting, forget it. You shouldn't be doing anything yourself, after all. That would defile the seamless white facade. That's the Apple way.
I would recommend HiWired (www.hiwired.com) who is a national provider of tech services. They are a little different, all of their services are delivered remotely via screen share. This means you don't have to wait to have your computer fixed and they can repair 93% of all problems (plus, they are cheaper than most big retailers becuase they have less overhead). It also means you can watch everything they do if you're nervous about something happening similarly to what just happened with Geek Squad: http://digg.com/security/Geek_Squad_is_really_the_Theef_Squad_Be_Careful.
HiWired has friendly techs, they know what they're doing and if they can't fix it they don't charge you. The one thing they can't do is service Macs, although I'm sure that is coming soon.
I've had a good experience with MacUpgrades in Bethesda. They were able to diagnose a problem that Micro Center couldn't.
I heartily recommend. Helpful, competent and reasonable.
http://www.boonpc.com/
Of course everyone's experience with computers differs, but I have had a wildly different experience with Dells than Guest#5. While temping at an office, I managed to kill two Dells in three days, through no fault of my own (and this was verified by the office's tech support office), and a roommate of mine had a fatally flawed Dell that was resistant to all tech support. I've also had three Toshiba Sattelite Laptops, all of which came to terrible, sad ends (despite the turning-on of automatic updates, and the constant use of a variety of anti-virus and anti-spam software). The most recent got a virus within seconds of connecting to the internet for the first time, and whose hard drive has had to be reformatted three times in is short two-year-life.
My PowerBook G4, on the other hand, which I purchased from a friend over a year ago, has not had a single problem.
HilltopConsultants.com is an EXCELLENT DC Metro area IT provider. It's one of the only places you can walk into a retail store to order a small business network/server installation. They have a shop in Bethesda and one in Manassas and service a 30 mile radius of small business and home office users in between. They can handle the bigger cients of 100+ users, and will also recover photos from the families corrupted hard drive on a same-day walk-in. They also service clients all over the U.S. with a quick remote connection service.
When my law firm partners in McLean suffered a complete crash, they had them back up in two days. They have flexible hours, and an extremely high client retention rate. These guys are GREAT at what they do!
As the Sales Director for a small IT and Computer Repair shop in Manhattan I couldn't agree less with the premise of this article: there are many, many, many services available from a quality repair shop that your "nerdy neighbor" will not be able to provide.
Furthermore, sending your PC into the manufacturer for repair is a horrible waste of time and money. They want you to buy a new computer, so they attempt to make repairing yours as difficult and expensive as possible. If you're out of warranty and want to replace your hard drive or motherboard forget about it -- most people simply aren't willing to wait up to 2 weeks to get a repair done that is going to cost north of $300.
Compare that to the service we offer here at Computer Overhauls, with most hardware replacements done within 48 hours -- and with a certified electronics engineer on staff wielding knowledge and a solder gun we can fix most motherboards rather than simply replacing them -- saving our customers time and money. Try asking Best Buy or Dell to provide this level of service.
_____________________
Sure, most smart kids can figure out how to install AdAware -- but don't ask them to interface with your law firm's office manager on arranging a service contract to keep Bob's computer running smoothly. For smaller firms that don't have the resources to support a full time IT guy the services we offer are invaluable.
If you think that computer repair is rarely worth hiring someone to do I suggest you think again. There are places like us in every big city in America. We like to think we do it the best, but hey -- you need a little cockiness to succeed.
Check us out online at:
http://www.computeroverhauls.com
Thanks for your perspective. Needless to say, I disagree. And I suspect you know as well as I do that the class of PC repairs that can be done in a cost-effective manner with a soldering iron is vanishingly small -- once you factor in labor and overhead, it'll nearly always be cheaper to replace the part. A soldering gun is a userful thing to have around the shop for correcting your own occasional brute-force screwups, but it's just not very applicable to most people's PC problems.
Of course businesses have a need and the means for support contracts to make sense. But for home users a professional repair frequently isn't the best option, since the time/money balance often favors time.
I think you'd be surprised how many people rip the DC jack out of the back of their brand new Vaio. When Sony wants $500 to change the board our 24 hour turnaround DC jack repair for a flat rate of $189 is an enticing option.
Like any market, the key is to carve out a niche and do it well. I maintain that there is a large contingent of home users that cannot simply be served by a) their computer's manufacturer and b) their nerdy neighbor. I believe we fill in the gap on services that go above and beyond running a few spyware scans.
Anyways -- maybe I'll throw up some adwords on Gothamist here in NYC and see what kind of response we get -- let the consumer decide if we are worth it.