typical "can you fix my computer" jobs from friends and family

Golf1.6

Golf1.6

Golf1.6

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Joined
5 Oct 2012
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667
Hi

I want to create a little illustration for IT users to send to friends and family which shows what the typical "computer repair" jobs cost us in time and what would the equivalent effort be for everyday chores. e.g. installing a new hard drive (require about 2 hours of time, excluding selecting and ordering hard drive). Typical time in terms of chores is do a thorough wash & wax of the car.

I'm looking for the most common computer fixes and if possible suggestion on what the equivalent time and effort it would translate to for everyday chores.

I'll start off a few, suggest some alternatives.

1. Complete system build and OS, key software installation, data restoration. (painting living room, removing all furniture, masking off all doorframes and skirting, cleaning all walls.

2) cleaning computer of malware and viruses (can take 4 hours depending on computer scan speed). Most passive so a 4 hour round trip to the nearest town and back?

3) upgrading hard drive = thorough car wash and wax detail

need recommendations on what are typical computer repair issues, bsod? forgot login? gaming upgrade?? printer not working? etc.

basic jist of it, most non techies assume fixing these issues is just a breeze and don't understand how much time these take, so want to create graphic to illustrate to them what they are essentially asking us in terms of effort.
 
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just say no OP?

I put my foot down long ago, nobody asks me for PC help these days.

Just always said not got time. I used to help at start but problem is then you get asked again and again.
 
I just don't bother. It came to a head when someone that I'd spent a few hours getting all his home network functional, port forwarded what needed to be done, got his NAS working and available from outside his network and so on all sorted, then he came to my house to sort out a door and then proceeded to quote me for the work.

WTF?

Needless to say, I don't do any of his home support these days :D
 
Also how can you include 4 hour antivirus scan as 4 hours of work including travel. This is a 2 minute instruction job done over the phone or a 30 second text with links

[edited by mod]
 
Golf1.6 said:
changing the primary hard drive that is.
Click to expand...

But it is mostly passive. Create image of hard drive, sleep. Wake up, finish cloning drive. Sleep.

Wake up all done.

Who are you doing these things for other than close family/friends?
 
My mum would always line me up for jobs her friends needed. A lot of it wasn't even in the field I work in, I do desktop support but when I was asked to sort out a friend of a friends sky box it was just out of hand. I'd never take any payment, because then they may think I can be paid for my services but instead it seemed like a one time favour.

What I've found as well, doing jobs for uneducated users just leads to doing the job again. I can spend an hour removing a load of Malware/adware from someone's computer only for them to then download a load of crap and get it all again. Its more hassle than its worth.

I would say removing malware is like cleaning a window. You can spend ages using a load of different cleaning fluids and cloths until the window is spotless again only for the user to then fling their own crap at the window almost immediately once you're done and not understand why the window is now filthy again.
 
My house mate is bugging me to fix his laptop which he manages to keep ****ing up somehow and riddling it with crap, the last thing I want to do after being at work sorting mess out there is to come home and spend my evenings/weekend fixing his mess!

If it was a one off it wouldn't be so bad but every six months or so he just turns round hands me his laptop and says it's broke "WELL STOP ****ING BREAKING IT THEN YOU ****ING MORON!!!!"

To be fair though he is the only one that asks these days and my parents but they've put up with me long enough that they get a free pass.
 
HecFam said:
What I've found as well, doing jobs for uneducated users just leads to doing the job again. I can spend an hour removing a load of Malware/adware from someone's computer only for them to then download a load of crap and get it all again. Its more hassle than its worth.
Click to expand...

This, if IT has taught me anything is that you should spend only one attempt fixing something. If you need to fix it again then you didn't put in enough measures to prevent the user from messing it up!

Though the worst kind of people are the ones that *think* they know computers. This causes far more trouble at work than the average computer dope.
 
I fix computers here and there. The other day I made £25 from setting up someone's BT Broadband. Click a few buttons, explain the why, what and how, watch as it goes in one ear and out the other, get paid for it.

It's easy money from the average Joe. And if people are too bone idle to follow on-screen instructions, then I'm happy to collect some cash to do it for them.

Most of my friends and family don't bother me with such trivial things because I've taught them to do it themselves long ago :cool:
 
I've found myself being needed less and less over time. Some of it must be going in!

Or it has gone in and they're all using an iPad.
 
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