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Thread ID: 115301	2011-01-12 02:57:00	question on pc repair bill, if problem not fixed 1st time..?	sooby (15023)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1169061	2011-01-12 02:57:00	Howdy, Our PC got to the point where BSOD was happening almost every-other-day, so we took to it to a technician to fix it. Seemed fine for the first hour until it BSODed again! To give the technician's repairs the benefit of the doubt, in case it was a one time occurrence, we waited for it to happen again repeatedly days later before taking it back to fix... again. PC is in shop now getting repaired. My question is: we paid about $100 for the first repairs, seeing as how the repairs actually didn't fix the problem the PC was brought in for, is it reasonable to expect the time spent to be rebated etc off the final bill? (I'm guessing they will bill me for more technicians labor?) My logic is: if you take a car to a mechanic with an oil leak and it is returned to you after 'fixing' the problem still leaking, the mechanic usually does the corrective work for free, right? looks like reinstalling OS is imminent, now I gotta check I have all original programs somewhere dammit... any ideas much appreciated	sooby (15023)
1169062	2011-01-12 03:01:00	I wouldnt pay anyone anymore, if the prob wasnt fixed the 1st time. And if I paid $100 for them to fix it. What did he say was wrong with it (the 1st time it was returned)?	Speedy Gonzales (78)
1169063	2011-01-12 03:06:00	said it was a software conflict, as we had more than 20 programs loaded on the PC... even tho I'd already ran memtest 86 & picked up a error in the RAM - he says he ran a hardware check & says the RAM is fine. his next course of action is to re-install the OS, as this hasn't been done since machine was built in 2003. Now I gotta compile a list of all the software we have on machine & make sure we can re-load it all again after. cheers for that speedy, thats what i thought about not paying further. He couldn't get it to produce a BSOD while he had it, so had me come in & use it as per normal, also didn't produce a BSOD (dammit!). I had ran ifraview (i think thats what its called) and said the last BSOD was from a nvidia windows 2000 driver (on a XP machine) - this is when he suggested the OS reinstall	sooby (15023)
1169064	2011-01-12 03:09:00	Thats a load of bollocks. Having over 20 programs installed wont crash a system. I think you need another tech	Speedy Gonzales (78)
1169065	2011-01-12 03:13:00	irony being at least six or so programs installed were installed to detect cause of BSOD!! I guess the positives I can take away from this is: the memory seems fine & getting the OS reinstalled which is long overdue. this guy seems a little better than the last tech that also couldn't find the fault - all that guy did was a system restore, *** I coulda done that!	sooby (15023)
1169066	2011-01-12 03:24:00	Howdy, Our PC got to the point where BSOD was happening almost every-other-day, so we took to it to a technician to fix it. Seemed fine for the first hour until it BSODed again! To give the technician's repairs the benefit of the doubt, in case it was a one time occurrence, we waited for it to happen again repeatedly days later before taking it back to fix... again. PC is in shop now getting repaired. My question is: we paid about $100 for the first repairs, seeing as how the repairs actually didn't fix the problem the PC was brought in for, is it reasonable to expect the time spent to be rebated etc off the final bill? (I'm guessing they will bill me for more technicians labor?) My logic is: if you take a car to a mechanic with an oil leak and it is returned to you after 'fixing' the problem still leaking, the mechanic usually does the corrective work for free, right? looks like reinstalling OS is imminent, now I gotta check I have all original programs somewhere dammit... any ideas much appreciated Honestly, software problems aren't worth taking the PC to be repaired, as it would take so much time to find the problem, and they may not even be able to fix it. They are having to deal with the software of multiple providers, and they aren't exactly programmers. It is something you are best to do yourslef, by uninstalling software and seeing if that fixes it. Alternatively google the problem, and mention software that could possibily be causing it. The best thing to do is restore the computer from a backup, when it was working fine, but it doesn't sound like you have made a full backup. These days you can avoid reinstalling the OS, if you keep a good backup. If this was a brand computer, the manufacturers support would tell you to restore the computer from teh backup disks that came with it, as they wouldn't support software issues. BSOD screens are often hardware related issues, such as with memory, so I assume all tests were done, and the blue screen error message was googled. Ithink you may have some component failing. I would put the money into a new PC if it is over 3 years old, as you can build something good, really cheap these days.	robbyp (2751)
1169067	2011-01-12 03:29:00	Honestly, software problems aren't worth taking the PC to be repaired, as it would take so much time to find the problem, and they may not even be able to fix it. indeed, so who pays in this situation where fault isn't fixed? The best thing to do is restore the computer from a backup, when it was working fine, but it doesn't sound like you have made a full backup. These days you can avoid reinstalling the OS, if you keep a good backup. I keep regular back ups, unfortunately the BSOD errors predate this, so I fear I'd just reinstall the problem.. Thanks for your advice, gives me something to think about	sooby (15023)
1169068	2011-01-12 03:36:00	I had ran ifraview (i think thats what its called) and said the last BSOD was from a nvidia windows 2000 driver (on a XP machine) - this is when he suggested the OS reinstall Can't you just uninstall then reinstall a different version (eg latest) version of the driver?	utopian201 (6245)
1169069	2011-01-12 03:39:00	Can't you just uninstall then reinstall a different version (eg latest) version of the driver? that would be logical - wonder why the technician didn't suggest this..?	sooby (15023)
1169070	2011-01-12 03:41:00	I wouldnt bother with the backups you have. If youre going to reinstall do a clean install, and reinstall everything. Or slipstream the XP updates, make an ISO then burn it. Then reinstall windows. At least it'll be up to date, once its installed. Just be careful WHAT you install. Even drivers can be crappy (ie:Nvidia ones), and will / can cause nothing but trouble / crashing	Speedy Gonzales (78)
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