When a Customer is faced with a repair bill on their computer and they call me up for advice what they are really trying to work out is should they repair it or should they just go out and buy and a new one. There are a lot of factors that will make up the decision including the age and value of the machine but ironically whether you have backed up your data is as important as any other factor. The majority of calls that come in result from the failure of the existing hard disk and it is true to say if you have everything backed up you can just throw away your old machine and buy a new one. However, if you haven't backed up you will need a data recovery carried out on the old hard disk after you have purchased your new PC and the cost of this won't be far short of fitting a new hard disk and rebuilding the existing computer.
In order to help Customers I apply heavy discounts to rebuilding an existing computer with a new hard disk and this often helps make the decision for them. In fact there is only £15 difference in my price for a complete rebuild and the price to recover data from a failed hard disk. It is then up to the customer to decide whether they want to spend £350 plus on a new machine to save £15 on the rebuild costs.
Customers are often surprised at the amount of work that is involved with replacing a hard disk and this leads to an unrealistic expectation of what the price is likely to be to do the job. Typically the work involves the following ......
Collect the computer and remove the hard disk
Determine size and type and order a new hard disk
Install the new hard disk
Install an Operating system on the hard disk and licence it accordingly
Apply the latest Windows updates to the Operating system
Install the programs the customer wants onto the new Operating system
Recover the data from the old hard disk and restore it onto the new one
Return the computer to the Customer
Carry out any additional setup they require including e-mail, printers etc
All of the above usually takes between half a day and a day particularly if the Operating system is Windows 7 and the customer doesn't have the original installation discs. I normally charge between two and two and a half hours for this service depending on whether data recovery is required or not. If I were to charge for a full day then it would be a fairly straightforward decision to purchase a new machine but with the discounts I apply it is possible to keep the old machine running at a reasonable price.
For more details or a quote please call Mark on 07557 483438, e-mail mark@churchdowncomputers.co.uk or fill out the form at the bottom of theContact page.
