Q about setting up local Computer Repair Service

gpa2008

Good evening guys,

I have spent the last three years working in the IT industry as a system administrator and as a software engineer.

I am returning to college in two weeks time to do a Masters in UCC Cork (currently have an IT degree).

I have looked around for a flexible pt job that would be worthwhile for me but the only things available are bar jobs and the like.

I am looking into putting an advert in the local free papers advertising my services for things such as broadband setup, computer repair, virus/adware removal, printer/scanner setup, computer upgrade and general servicing things.

I'm looking for any advice or tips that others can pass on. The reason being is that the IT stuff I have done previously has all being high end Sys/Network Administrative stuff for servers. I haven't done any entry-level PC stuff in years since I moved to Mac a couple of years ago. I know my stuff about PCs and Computers but I'm not sure what kind of things I need to watch out for.

For example, if I had a call out to a house because 'computer broken, me no know what wrong' situation, what general stuff would I need to bring with me?

- Laptop
- Cables (usb/rj45/power cable, )
- XP CD
- AVG Anti-Virus
- Adaware Programs
- Virus Removal Tool
- 10 most popular printer drivers
- spare keyboard/mouse
- USB pen
- External HD for backups
- what else??

Also, what would be the main types of issues?
- Virus
- Computer Slow
- Printer
- Setup Wireless Broadband
- Printer issues
- Install some hardware

What software should I have with me at all times?
- AVG Free
- Adaware
- Aida32
- Firefox/IE7

Are there good XP / Vista recovery tools out there now? I haven't used Vista myself and I have a feeling that most problems are going to be related to that.

Any assistance is much appreciated,
George

Biggins

Don't forget about boot cd/disks.
Vista at the mo can be right pain when it comes to drivers so a good stock of them is often needed. Thats said if the machine your fixing can get on to the net, your half way there.
www.driveragent.com most times will get you the extra drivers additionally you need.

Consider adding Belkin/Netgear Wireless modem drivers to your stock at some stage.
Also Codec (K-lite at least) packs.
Window Washer is a good tool to have too.
Copies of winrar and/or Winzip.
XP Repair Pro or Tuneup Utilities 2008 also helps.

Although the external hard-drives are VERY handy (I have three), some stuff will still have to be installed by cd/dvd as some machines your trying to fix might not "see" the external because of USB port problems. Just keep that in mind too.

I can tell you where to get some good stuff and some of the above for free if need be. Just PM me.

The main issues I can contacted with are:
Viruses + malware
Net connection problems
Pc gone very slow
Pc won't start up at all
BSOD

All the best and happy fixing.

Anti

Hirens boot cd is a must for all those muppets out there who lock them selfs out of their accounts. But it looks like you have most of the stuff covered. Getting some public liability insurance migth be an idea incase you do fry someones hardware would be good too.

humaxf1

A list of the gear I use/have to hand...


PSU tester

SATA to 4pin molex power converters

3.5"/2.5" IDE/SATA to USB converter kit

Multimeter

Multi country mains plug adapter

Toolkit...pozi-flat-torx-phase tester screwdrivers, voltage indicator stick, anti static strap, pliers, snips, HAMMER, tweezers, prong grabber yokey, spare PC screws, fuses, plug-tops, cable ties, paint brush, rubber gloves

A decent vaccum cleaner for those disgustingly manky PCs covered in 10 years of dust and cigarrette smoke (paint brush and rubber gloves used here)

Torch

Magnifying glass

Long extension lead

Spare €15 NICs, spare CD/DVD drive, spare floppy drive (internal and USB)

3G modem for your laptop in case your client is using dial-up

Various distros "reccommend Ubuntu" of linux CDs to access the 100 page thesis for presentation in college tomorrow

Windows password blanker CD for those bouts of amnesia

BART PE disc. Utility builtin for viewing Outlook POP mail passwords for those bouts of amnesia

Setup a USB stick with Portable Apps. Mini OS that runs within Windows

There is a CD doing the rounds on BT called "50,000 Drivers"

Make a note of the major broadband suppliers' tech support numbers, their DNS and pop/smtp settings and dial-up numbers/usernames/passwords

The foaming hand wipes that painters and decorators use for when the job is done.

Business cards and small stickers for PC cases if the client allows you www.printing.com do offers now'n'again

Might sound a bit OTT...smart work wear, eg, Polo shirt and workwear trousers with knee-pads. Don't blow a wad of cash on Snickers...there are plenty of other lines of similar work clothing for alot less out there

Tool bag B&Q do a decent sized/good quality bag for €25. It's their own brand and has lots of compartments and a big main area. Plus, the exterior base is a hard plastic so can take abuse.

another bit OTT, but damn useful... set up a NAS with ftp in you house. Pile a load of program installs, tech docs etc on it for when you don't have any of your CDs/USB sticks to hand. My NAS has saved my life many times. Saves time also rather than navigating a badly laid out website for a poxy download link.

This might sound really stupid... think of various scenarios that you are likely to encounter like virus infections, slow windows, HDD failure, why doesn't my WIFI router signal stretch to my neighbours house. Then, roleplay with yourself what your answer (both techy and plain english) would be. Clients hit you with questions that you might not be prepared for, so, PREPARE yourself. Bit like doing the Irish oral exam for the Leaving Cert LOL. everyone liked "ag imri peil agus uachtar reoite"

+1 on the public liability

and of course, be friendly, punctual (not always doable), be helpful as you can-but don't overdo it because you will be their phone tech support for life-BELIEVE ME, plus you don't see a penny for it. Another thing, because you know how to fix PCs hardware wise, clients assume that you are also a MS Word/Excel/Access guru expert. Look out for that one.:D


I started out 2 years ago with my A+ N+ qualifications working for a PC repair workshop and am doing on the road stuff more recently. It is amazing what you learn, pick up, discover as you go along and you still learn all the time. I've no problem with people who spend their lives in college, but there ain't nothin like getting yer hands durty.

Don't forget, google is your best friend. No matter what you encounter, some poor sod has been there before and has worn the tshirt. Forums are a god send for problem solving. You actually learn alot from just casually browsing forums. Be prepared for Vista. It's a pile of $hite at times depending on the problem. It devours RAM too. Who do Microsoft think they are trying to kid with specs of 512MB min or what ever it is. XP is a bit bloaty with 512MB...1GB min is the way to go.

ewj1978

humaxf1 wrote: »

A list of the gear I use/have to hand...

3G modem for your laptop in case your client is using dial-up

+1 on this... Can't believe the amount of time I wasted in people's houses with their 56k modems... Google is truely your best friend when doing the house calls.

gamer

Get emergencyboot cd , utilmate boot cd, Active boot disk cdrom, that enables you to boot up a winxp pc,or any pc,copy files from it or to it in dos mode if hd,s in fat or ntfs format.bring usb floppy drive ,with win98se boot floppys ,two disks.
dvd/cd lens cleaning kit.The most important thing if your starting up as serf employed person,
is 1,get an accountant,2. hold on to all receipts over 1 euro,cos you,ll claim back tax allowances around 10k,holdon TO ALL RECEIPTS for everything, if you dont,the tax man will close down your business.
DO a fas course ,how to start a business ,2/3days long,it covers basics like tax,insurance,admin,government regs,etc.
you pay accountant 300,you get 300 taxallowance for it , you claim for every business expense,eg car repairs ,then you only pay tax on profits after ALL EXPENSES.say you charge joe 200, x per cent is vat ,ie you have to collect vat on services,and pay it to taxoffice, on top of your normal tax ie 20percent
tax of profits after expenses.
the people that fail are the ones that keep no ,records ,no receipts,no vat records,do not carry out proper administration ,and try and save money by
not employing accountant.
make up a dvdr with all winxp,windows vista drivers on it.you,ll need a program like ghost for cloning hardrives,and a partition manager .bring a usb keyboard with usb keyboard driver,i seen a pc once,worked fine, but a virus deleted all the keyboard drivers.
i use drivermax to back up all drivers ,from pc/laptop before i reinstall the os ,as it saves hours looking for drivers on the net, you,ll need a usb modem,like 3 ,or 02 3meg type.have a 2.5 usb hd with drivers,common programs like avast antivirus,windows defender etc .bring a usb mouse with you too.tesco have 8 precision screwdriver set ,2 euro.Bring 1 agp,1 pci grahics card spares for testing purposes, pliers small,large 4old pcs ,sometimes you have to force the backplate open on older pcs,to install a card.ask them to txt you spec pc be4 you go out,eg dell model 500 dimension.or txt you a pic of the pc case front.for friends i usually copy off docs to hd2, reinstall windows because if theres more than 1 virus it can take hours to find them,or replace the lost files.I say if you want i can spend 4 hours fixing virus,s or else system .restore ,reinstall the os.they say ok,reinstall the os.
alot of times kids are downloading mp3s,limewire etc the parents ,dont know this ,and the drive has almost no space left.and has virus,s /spyware so the os slows down all of a sudden.i reinstall the os,then , set 1 restore point.get a small soldering iron,electricians screwdriver.bring dvd withwinxp service pack ,2, 3 , cdrom with linux os,some pc ,s wont load dvdroms,eg i reinstalled winxp, my laptop dvdrom, reads cdroms, it sees dvds, dvdrs as blank disks,so also carry an external dvdrom usb drive.
I was looking at a pals pc, dvdrom would not load anything, a virus had erased dvd driver files,everthing else worked ok apart from the drive.

Anti

My god gamer. That post gave me a headache 5 lines in. but good advice

humaxf1

one PITA is sourcing drivers when a reinstall is necessary. as gamer said, a program for backing up drivers is a very good idea. I've never actually used one so will look into that!

the likes of dell usually create a "drivers" folder on the root of C which contains the important ones like network,video, sound.

if a reinstall is required the well known brands such as dell, hp, toshiba have a hidden restore partition. by pressing a sequence of ctrl+a function key, the OS factory restore process is kicked off back to the day it was taken out of the box.

this thread could go on and on and on and on, but all good advice at the end of it.

gamer

if you want to be tax compliant, you,ll need to keep all,receipts ,records of each job,all payments recieved,and given out reciepts,showing price,cost,plus vat charged.small companys with say 3pcs may call you to do routine maintence/repairs. if you download drivermax demo,it,ll back up the drivers on any pc,to folder my drivers,as on the average pc/laptop theres 2or 3 drivers that are not on a standard winxp/vista install cdrom/dvd disk.
You need to keep a record of all costs,purchase,s items,expenses to do with the business,eg petrol bought, pc tools,pc parts ,etc in order to claim against tax ,otherwise you wont be able to make a tax return as a self employed person.
ie You need a record of all income and all expenses ,eg buy 20dvdrs ,you keep the receipt.your accountant ,basically adds up your receipts ,then calculates the vat,and tax you owe the revenue minus any personal allowances you have ,like mortgage,insurance,medical fee allowance for example.
you have to show your accountant documents,to show ,all your earnings ,and receipts in order for him to submit a legal tax return to the tax office,
you have to prove you spent x on whatever to claim an allowance,
eg receipt from mechanic for car repairs.Keeping records/receipts is the difference between paying 5k tax,or paying 15k tax,your accountant will
need very extensive documents in order to calculate exactly how much tax and VAT you have to pay the revenue.