Computer Repair Advice

Repairing your own computer can be pretty simple, especially if it's a matter of software issues. Hardware can get a little more exciting since you may need to open your computer up and replace a specific device. But most computer repairs are fairly easy to fix if you follow a few basic steps.

We're going to stick with software issues since they are the most common computer problems. Hardware issues involve replacing parts and configuring these new devices. But that is much more rare and we'll save this kind of topic for another article.

The first step on any computer repair requires a little detective work. If you get an error on your screen, make sure your write it down. You should also jot down any details that might be helpful in determining the cause, like what you were doing when the error occurred, any new software or hardware installed, or outside circumstance like a power failure.

Unfortunately not all error messages are absolutely accurate. Many error messages can mean a number of things and each situation may be a little different. Microsoft Windows of any version has the famous "blue screen of death" error that can have many different causes. But it does give you a starting point. Even with the infamous "blue screen of death" there usually is some type of error message. And these can help to indicate whether this is a software or hardware issue.

The first step is to do a search on your computer error. Even if you don't get an error on the screen, if you can accurately describe your problem it will still give you some good results. Use Google or your favorite search engine and type the exact error into the search box. This will provide some specific information on your computer error and often list other people who had the exact same problem. This can often lead to a quick solution since many listings will also have the fix if available.

There will also be articles listed from the Microsoft Knowledgebase, an excellent source for many common computer repair problems and how to resolve them. The Microsoft Knowledgebase article will often have step-by-step instructions on how to fix your specific problem. Microsoft has several tools that are included in your operating system software like System Restore (it restores your computer operating system to a point before the error occurred) and the System Recovery Console that can help you run other utilities to fix common computer problems.

Once you find a solution and it appears that it may be beyond your skills, this information can help when you look for a computer repair company. The better you can describe the problem, the less time they will need to take in completing the repair. So you can at least limit the cost by providing some accurate information.

One important recommendation to make any computer repair less troublesome is to always keep any critical data backed up, just in case you have a computer repair that requires that you reinstall your operating system with no chance to do a last minute backup. Computers break like just any electrical device and you can reduce the damage by always having a recent backup of important information.