Computer fix station

Hello there!

I apologize if the category is wrong, this kind of falls in both software and hardware category.

I'd like to ask for an advice. I've been the "computer guy" of the neighborhood for a time now, and I've noticed that there is often a problem of diagnosis when dealing with other peoples computers.

Those computers are usually bloated, and installing some sort of fix/diagnose software would just worsen the situation.

(i had a situation where during the installation of an antivirus program, the computer froze, and didn't want to boot anymore)

I've seen that there exist a few bootable "computer repair" suits which contain diagnosis and computer repair apps, but what i haven't seen yet is someone using another computer to diagnose and fix a bloated/infected/broken one.

The idea is to have a laptop with all the necessary apps which you connect to the broken pc via usb, or net cable, or whatever and than run the tests from a reliable computer.

Any links on that?

tnx

 

And possibly also a known good defrag program could be added to your USB stick arsenal.
I, like plodr, help out on friends PCs when they can't seem to get going.

 

Personally, I have found that many slow PC problems are related to lack of maintenance (meaning that CCleaner and a good defrag is in order as mentioned above). Also, the use of Norton, McAfee and to a lesser extent the newer AVG can cause HUGE slowness in a PC. Also, lack of operating memory (XP systems should have 768mb as a BARE MINIMUM and Vista/7 should have 2gb) is a main cause of PC slowness, especially when the msconfig start up list has 30 or 40 or 50 different things running. A lack of free hard drive space also causes big problems. Windows has a 'paging file' which is actually a section of the hard drive set aside as 'virtual memory' and it's used to help keep Windows running smoothly. If the hard drive has less than 15-20% free space, the paging file starts getting choked, and you'll start seeing "Out of virtual memory" errors, and the PC will slow to crawl. So, in addition to running general maintenance programs to clean out junk temp files and cookies, removing ANY programs that haven't been used in over 6 months, a good deep defrag, and MalwareBytes scan, you can also run hardware diagnostics to make sure the integrity of parts in the PC are healthy; I like the Ultimate Boot CD. It's (obviuosly) a boot CD full of diagnostic programs for most hardware components, plus data recovery programs, system info programs, etc. As to using a laptop as an "external fix station", I personally have never had the need for this. I use bootable CDs since they are much easier to bring on-site, they're free, and there's no chance of infecting a CD by working on virus ridden PC. I have used 'remote assistance' in a few instances where a family member was out of town, but 98% of the time it is ineffective (many viruses disable ANY attempt to connect to ANY network), or the user of the PC is too noobish to get remote assistance working in the first place, or it's so slow that after 40 minutes I'm still waiting for the Task Manager to open, or....... you get the idea. IMO, it's best to equip yourself with a grip of bootable CDs that will do everything from test hardware, scan/ remove malware, transfer data to external drives, edit the registry, remove forgotten admin passwords, etc....

(BTW - no offense intended, but I had to move because I became the "neighborhood computer guy" - my "neighbors" ended up losing all sense of of what is proper in a neighborly relationship, and I started getting calls at 4am, people knocking on my door DEMANDING that I remove the virus from the PC and that I "obviously f****d it up last time 'cuz I was lookin at pr0n again and now I have another virus and it's YOUR fault", meth-heads bringing me stolen laptop asking for password removal, etc - it got ugly - I moved, and now my neighbors think that I work as a telemarketer - I know THEY won't be calling ME!! LOL )

 

Thanks for the replays.

I supposed that the idea is maybe one of those "over thinking it" situations. I'm thinking of starting a small business and am trying to prepare for it as best as possible.

So, your advice in not to complicate and try to diagnose with an external laptop, but to use a boot cd/usb with portable cleaning programs.

What in cases when there is a hardware fault and the computer can't even boot?
Is then an external diagnosis an maybe a possibility?

Or is it simpler to have a bag of second hand components which work, and that just replace the components one by another until the computer starts working

 

I run a small computer repair business and help friends out often as well. I've found that the risk of spreading infections outweighs the potential benefits of connecting machines, either via cable, network, or swapping USB drives back and forth.

A few tips:

I have specialized USB drives I use that have write protection SWITCHES (physical switches, much like SD cards have) that are completely write protected when used in a customer's machine. That way, infections CANNOT put themselves on it. I found them on Newegg, not sure if they have them anymore. I've never seen one in a store.

I have a dedicated external hard drive I use for data backup/transfer on customers' machines.

I also have several different live Linux distro DVDs/CDs, and also bootable USB sticks with Linux distros on them, for accessing the hard drive to copy important personal files when the Windows OS is FUBAR.

I do use my desktop as a "work station", but NEVER connect anything to it from customers' machines. I'll copy things onto one of the write-protectable USB drives, then write protect the drive and put it in the customer's machine to transfer the data. This is if, of course, the internet doesn't work on their machine... it often does, though. The few times I have had to connect foreign media to my own computer, I've booted it into a live Linux distro and scanned the files using an online AV scanner or other AV tools.

Hardware troubleshooting is the easiest when you have things to replace the parts you think are faulty, to see if it makes a difference. A cheap PCIe video card, a power supply, and a few gigs of DDR2 RAM are usually more than enough to troubleshoot most hardware issues... but most hardware troubleshooting can be done WITHOUT these spare components (again, just easier with them).

 

Thank you very much for your reply.

You've given me quite an insight in the negative sides of the "fix station" approach.

I will try to set up a bootable usb drive instead.

SOLVED

 

And this is precisely why I charge most people for fixing their computers. I don't claim to be an expert by any means, but I'm very good with most things that computer illiterate people would never figure out. Either way, back to the point, I charge, because otherwise I'd get trampled on just as you and dlb have been. Money isn't the reason I do it at all, I do it as a hobby. Money just makes people value the time I put into helping them, and helps keep them from taking advantage of my helpfulness. My wife's always telling me I undercharge... but that's the reason why.

 

I've often wondered if I shouldn't be doing what plodr does and freely helping the senior citizens where I live, and the thing that has most deterred me is the thought that the next time a comp I've had anything to do with goes wrong it'll be my fault! dlb's tale has finally put the tin lid on the whole idea!

 

Not trying to stereotype here, but they're some of the most stubborn irritating computer users I've encountered. My grandmother's computer had more toolbars than web page on the screen, ran slower than molasses, the desktop was filled with icons, the hard drive was likely PERMANENTLY fragmented beyond recovery, she had files saved on it she'd forgotten she ever had, I could go on... I'm pretty sure M$'s and Google's "secretive" statistics reporting targeted new computer advertisements AWAY from her... lol.

 

I've helped plenty of older people and other computer illiterate people, and have the patience to explain extremely simple (to me) tasks to them... and yes there's a fair share of them that are willing to follow directions, etc. However, the ones that are stubborn, there's just no give to it. It's a whole new (or old) brand of stubbornness!

 

on site hardware diagnostic can be a bit troublesome because you need an ACCURATE description of the problem before you show up; most people are (in my experience) incapable of an accurate description because they use PC terminology incorrectly (for example: they say "reboot the PC" when they actually mean they were trying to reinstall Windows; they say "downloading a program" when they actually mean that they were installing a program; I've had someone say he was getting a blue screen error but it was actually the blue HP logo screen that comes up when the PC is first turned on). Also, you need to have ready access to known good parts: a good strong power supply (you can't test a gaming rig with a 300w Deer or Bestec PSU), known good memory modules of all types, a good HD (both IDE and SATA), a good CD/DVD drive (also one each IDE & SATA), a good video card (at least one PCI and one PCIexpress; AGP may be needed in some scenarios), a good ethernet card and/or wifi card, a good router, and sometimes even a good monitor is needed, and don't forget a digital multimeter. So, on-site hardware diagnostics is really a pain-in-the-*** (IMO). Plus, most of the time you'll have the PCs owner (and occasionally their dogs and cats) all over you while you're trying to work. If you haven't guessed yet, I'm not a big fan of on-site hardware diagnostics/repair! :-o

 

For the helpers. Learned about it here. One of the things I use when not being able to install a help program. Rkill. Scroll down and see what it does and dosen't do. I have it downloaded to a USB drive. Along with other programs. Malwarebytes-Super anti spyware-anything you are comphy with on using. To the drive.

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