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Are you a local Computer Technician? Being in business for yourself in this area can be difficult… but it can also be very rewarding. Here are some excellent tips to help you be the best Techie you can be.

• Always do your best possible and through job on the computers you repair. The quality of the job will speak to others on the quality of your workmanship and you should be striving for a high standard of repair completion.
• Never under any circumstances take other peoples hardware. They paid for their hardware and no matter how much an “idiot” you may the customer is, they do not deserve to be screwed over by the people they trust to fix the PC they bought and the HARDWARE that CAME WITH the PC. Also never ever steal or use someone else’s cd-keys. Windows XP/Vista cd-keys are valuable commodities these days because of the crack-down on piracy. In the wrong hands, cd-key information will make a customers PC useless because the key itself was activated on a different machine. True OEM cd-keys are far less useful because they are tied into that particular manufacturer, more-so with Vista but this doesn’t mean the retail keys are worthless. This goes for other software as well, so just don’t steal software either.
• Always ask the customer what he/she wants done with the computer. Do not exceed the requests of the customer, they did not ask you to do extras and you certainly wont be paid for it. Also if your “extras” screw up the OS in anyway you’ve just lost yourself a future customer and possible customer’s depending on the person whose PC you screwed up. Keep with standard Windows, no tweaks.
• Never ever insult the intelligence of the customer and always be polite and honest with the customer. People can tell normally when your feeding them a line and its just not worth it when it comes to PC repair.
• Reputation is everything. As a local tech, word of mouth is your friend. If you do a very bad job then the word will get out and you will never get a PC repair job in that area again. Make sure you take all precautions with all the systems you fix and make sure you ALWAYS do the best possible job you can when repairing PC’s. Then when the word gets out that you do a high-quality job then you will get more jobs because people trust word of mouth.

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Being the Perfect Techie

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When needing your computer fixed, you have two options: a small local repairman, or a large store-based repair technician. Which is better? Who should you trust? This video should answer those questions for you.

• When hiring a local tech, find out from friends & family about their reputation. If you can, speak to any of their former customers. This allows you to find out if they do a good job in respect to quality, as well as make sure there are no complaints about service.
• Local Vs In-Store – Peace of mind will always be found at the In-store repair because these people are paid to fix your PC, and they could lose their job if they remove and swap out hardware. To be honest, most if not all techs are not willing to put their job on the line for a component.
• Prices will always be better with local techs. Most technicians that run locally from their home will usually have a set amount of money they are expecting to be paid. This wont change depending on the size of the job or the time scale. You need to work out for yourself if your willing to pay the set fee.
• Always get a second opinion. If one tech says it’s hardware and you need to repair it NOW… don’t jump the gun and pay up. Seek out friends if possible with PC Repair skills and ask them to look at the PC themselves. Also, ask them if what the technician says is possibly false. Do not be afraid to challenge the feeling of authority you can get from most technicians. Some will even be insulted, however this is nothing to do with ego, its to do with the repair of your PC and you need to take precautions.
• Try to never to leave the local technician alone with your PC unless absolutely necessary. This will make sure they cannot remove parts for no real reason. This also gives you time to speak to the technician and find out more about your system, what it’s capable of and what you can do to prevent problem arising in future. Nearly all good techs will be happy to give you advice.

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Find Local Computer Repair

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Having trouble getting your copier/scanner to work right? Need to troubleshoot? Here are some tips sent in by a community member that will help you.

• If the copier does not copy, print or scan turn it off and back on. They sometimes need to reboot just like a computer. They are more like your desktop PC then you know. Many run Windows Xp or Linux in their print controllers and others use Linux for the main operating system of the copier.
• If you pull out a jam and end up with less then a full sheet of paper in your hand, the copier is still jammed. Try to find the rest of the sheet. When you tear out a piece of paper, any fragments still in there will find a nice dark place to jam and will snag the next copy you make. Many times what would have been a simple jam clearing exercise will become a wait for a service technician to fix the machine.
• If the copies are light and the copier is not displaying a toner low message, don’t add toner. Something else is wrong. All copiers have sensors that detect low and empty toner conditions. Many problems start out as light copies. Continuing to run the machine may actually cause additional damage and expense. Call for service.
• All toner is not the same stuff. If you run out of toner, don’t add any that’s intended for a different model copier. You will cause a major problem adding the wrong kind. Think of it like getting a blood transfusion with the wrong blood type.
• If you get a dark line on your copies when feeding though the document feeder, but not when you copy from the platen glass check for Wite-out, ink or other foreign matter on the narrow piece of glass that is next to the big platen glass. Most modern copiers use document feeders that roll the originals over this narrow glass (often referred to as the “slit glass”). When something sticks to this glass it causes dark lines on copies.
• BonusTip!! The copier technician wants your copier to operate correctly as much as you do. Many times problems are very intermittent. It helps the technician to know the details of the copy job that caused the problem. Stuff like: paper tray used, single sided or doubled sided copies, the size of your copy/print job, finishing options selected and if it was a copy quality problem, a sample of the copy with the problem.

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What to Do When Your Copier Scanner Breaks

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Brandon is a community member who works for Geek Squad. He sees customers come in every day with nearly the same problems, and came up with his top five tips for getting your own machine back up and running, whether you own a PC or a Mac.

Google is your friend Knowledge is power, even when working on a computer problem. There are thousands of websites and resources out there in Internet-land that can help you decipher that odd error message, sound or whatever problem you are experiencing.

Ask the dumbest questions possible Start from the ground up. Many times, the simplest fix can be the one that works. Don’t try to over-think the problem, or assume it’s something awful and too hard to fix.

Read the Manual… especially when it comes to add-on devices such as a sound card or modem. You will usually find the answer you need simply by reading the manual that came with the product. An addendum to this is that you can go to the manufacturer’s website, and read their “FAQ” or similar page. Many vendors have these with the answers to the most common/frequent questions and complaints. Remember: RTFM. (Read the FINE Manual).

Backup BEFORE you begin This is imperative… especially if you’re going to open the case to work on something physical. Regular backups outside your machine are always a good idea, anyway. You can backup to another machine, a CD or DVD, or even to an online service.

Be patient and calm This is the biggest tip I can give you. Computer repair can be a long process, especially when it comes to software. Most people have the capacity to fix their own machine, but aggravation often causes them to just give up. Stay calm, walk away when you need to. You might be surprised what you can fix on your own with some patience and research.

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Top 5 Tips on Repairing Your own Computer: PC and Mac