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Thread ID: 63624	2005-11-17 00:42:00	PC Servicing	gum digger (6100)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
404955	2005-11-17 04:24:00	The servicing I've done on PCs (free / amateur / no fatalities so far ) can for sure take hours but you can also do the dishes and weed the garden and bond with the cat and cook tea etc., because most of what is called 'servicing' is a program running on the PC, not the tech / amateur actually attending to it. :D I don't have a problem with the service charges ( apart from never using them) because I know from other businessess a lot more things can go wrong / be wrong than those reported by the customer. :eek:	mark c (247)
404956	2005-11-17 04:37:00	Installing 2 or 3 programs and running them is not a service, To do it properly you have to know the OS inside and out,and know what you are looking at. I can spend an hour on a system before installing anything (just uninstalling the obvious,deleting temp files and tuning the system so the scans are quicker,no use scanning 2GB's of cookies...and of course doing backups of personal data), just getting it ready for the tools to do their jobs, The tools which I might add cant find everything,and in many cases cant remove everything they find. Once all the work has been done then it needs to be done again to make sure nothing has regenerated,and the entire process has to be done for each account.And if the system falls over then its a case of bring it back to a stable state. Also worth noting that people generally dont get their machine serviced untill its in an unusable state, Many times the comps dont even boot or cant open a single app, or fall over shortly after reaching the desktop. As for those doing it for free, Well top work to those that don't make the situation worse and do some good..... but there are a lot of know-nothing idiots out there ruining other peoples comps......for free.	Metla (12)
404957	2005-11-17 05:05:00	The first thing I would look at is the startup, switch nearly everything off. Backing up data is probally the second, can take ages. Then try their browser online for toolbars etc. Next I would Add Remove anything I didnt like the look of. HJT then Reg Seeker get their turn. I look at their anti-virus program, see how much lifes left in it, weather its updated or not. If is alright I set it to work, if not its a phone call to the client then NOD32 is installed. Windows is updated. Then depending on how the computer is ruunning, its time to talk about memory upgrade, more HD space etc. Thats just the service for the software, next I would pop the side off the case to see if it needs a dust, check cables are seated and not obstructing fans etc.	Rob99 (151)
404958	2005-11-17 05:58:00	Installing 2 or 3 programs and running them is not a service, To do it properly you have to know the OS inside and out,and know what you are looking at. I can spend an hour on a system before installing anything (just uninstalling the obvious,deleting temp files and tuning the system so the scans are quicker,no use scanning 2GB's of cookies...and of course doing backups of personal data), just getting it ready for the tools to do their jobs, The tools which I might add cant find everything,and in many cases cant remove everything they find. Once all the work has been done then it needs to be done again to make sure nothing has regenerated,and the entire process has to be done for each account.And if the system falls over then its a case of bring it back to a stable state. Also worth noting that people generally dont get their machine serviced untill its in an unusable state, Many times the comps dont even boot or cant open a single app, or fall over shortly after reaching the desktop. As for those doing it for free, Well top work to those that don't make the situation worse and do some good..... but there are a lot of know-nothing idiots out there ruining other peoples comps......for free. Metla I totally agree - you are only one of few here who knows your stuff. there are a lot of kids out there who think fixing a virus is just doing a scan & therefore do it free or charge a few bucks. theres a guy advertising in the local paper - $25 per hour - i've met him, not a kid, but not very bright - i don't know he makes a living - i had to install a firewire card for him once (kept saying firewall). note none of them mention doing a backup. this is the first thing i do. viruses used to take 10-30 min, - now - 1-2hrs, esp. on XP with 4 bloody logins etc. mind you, it's good money.	quarry (252)
404959	2005-11-17 06:34:00	Fair enough, all you techs. I am impressed by your thoroughness. :thumbs: I sometimes think the 'tech' in some shops is a person not much more skilled than I am who can scan, update, clean out, run HJT and work on it, check startups etc. :p Place I once worked we got new comps and the tech who came to do it was 'not very impressive'. On contacting the supplier we were told "Well, he's just learning." This has prob discloured my impression a bit. I wonder if it would be right to say there are more amateur freebies causing problems than there are fixing them? In which case it's good for the fixit industry. :D	mark c (247)
404960	2005-11-17 06:43:00	case in mind - an amateur - sister's boyfriend loaded 2 anti-spyware programs to fix a problem - these 2 stuffed more sypware & killed Windows - only then they called me (bill - $150) - they were damn lucky i could recover their files	quarry (252)
404961	2005-11-17 21:12:00	This has been a good Educational Post.:-) Metla and rob99 thank you very much for answering my question in detail. & the others..	gum digger (6100)
404962	2005-11-17 22:39:00	Forgot to mention to have a quick look over the system logs as well	Rob99 (151)
404963	2005-11-18 03:48:00	Once all the work has been done then it needs to be done again to make sure nothing has regenerated, totally agre from long experience...........reboot shows all...... and yes sometimes the nasties DO pop back........grrrrrrrr...	drcspy (146)
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