Computer and Laptop Repair | Service | Upgrade

Peterborough PC Support (PCWorkspace) is an established computer repair and broadband specialist offering computer repair and IT support for domestic and commercial, home and small business in Peterborough. We continue to look for new IT partners, and to expand and improve services, serving a radius of 15 miles. Working largely in a mobile capacity and from home, clients who bring units can nonetheless benefit from a speedy diagnosis, and we will of course collect and return systems. Where checks do not provide a quick solution we may need to run more extensive bench testing to identify underlying faults. PCWorkspace make every effort to ensure that client data is secured and remains confidential. We will partition hard-drives, include new features, safeguard and restore data free of charge subject to volume and condition of media.

Hardware

Many problems are software related, but of course we are able to diagnose hardware issues, probe test main-boards, assess resources; replace hard-drives, power supplies, optical drives, laptop keyboards, screens, inverters and other components.

PCWorkspace can also electrically test your equipment for safety, helping to ensure that your users are working in a safe regulated environment.

Software

Software problems can amount to missing, corrupt or badly managed system, application files, drivers or third-party components – often as a consequent of an aging or inadequate resource and/or over-heating – but clearly cannot exclude security vulnerabilities, possibly, simply because the operating system and other components are poorly maintained.

Typically many software issues, including the removal of malevolent files, rogue software etc., can be resolved quickly (notwithstanding bench-time, essential advice), however compounding and/or insurmountable issues may warrant a system recovery.

Laptops

Many repairs to notebooks, e.g. software and installation problems, upgrades and hard drive restructuring differ little to a Personal Computer, consequently we are more than able to undertake this kind of work as well as other types of repairs including:

•  Hard-drive repair/replacement…
•  Inverter (backlight) repair/replacement…
•  Keyboard repair/replacement…
•  Memory upgrades…
•  Power-jack/usb repair…
•  Screen replacement…

We may also work with other engineers or recommend a specialist if we consider a laptop not to be beyond economical repair but nonetheless outside of our scope.

Repaired screen charges start from £95.00 for a 15.4in subject to inspection, availability and supply (next working day) costs. Replacement notebooks are also available through our distributor, and we are equally happy to freely advise, or assist clients in their choice of laptop through a local retailer – the right laptop for your needs – please call.

Laptop advice

When looking to buy a laptop or PC, an informed choice can help find the right model for the right price, but a cheaper unit does not necessarily mean an adequate resource. Until more recently laptops were largely designed for the mobile client, not essentially for the home or office. Consequently many mobile chip technology notebooks were developed with lower wattage for extended battery life.

Mobile chip technology laptops are of course available and suitable for some, but not necessarily fit for purpose, though installed software may include improved power options with emphasise between battery life and performance.

Less expensive may be the right choice, but cheaper may also mean budget chip technology not ideally suited to a multi-user or broadband environment – a low performance chip may consequently generate more heat, shorten maintenance intervals or the lifespan of a unit, and therefore ultimately prove a false economy.

When promoting a laptop, a retailer may focus on battery life and, at other times, on processor and memory. Beware also of marketing that boasts the latest operating system (OS), perhaps side-stepping a limited or redundant resource – the more recent the OS the better the processor will need to be.

Intel Buyer Guide

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Netbooks were initially XP only simply because their resource didn't support more enhanced software development such as Vista or Windows 7. Consider therefore that a unit supporting a newer OS may appear slow by comparison to XP for example.

When buying a new laptop, bear in mind that the power-jack plug and USB sockets are susceptible to stress. Batteries too will deteriorate, and they are expensive to replace. Regardless what type of notebook, best also consider purchasing a laptop cooler.

Replacement power adapters must be the correct voltage and amps, will almost certainly otherwise cause damage to the unit. Genuine or clone adapters typically make for a better replacement than a universal power supply.

Service

Rapid Service

Conceivably drop off your Laptop or PC for a quick fix or service and collect the same day – issues resolved, your system configured, updated and optimised with good no-nonsense advice from £15.00. Systems collected and returned to you from £25.00.

NB: If you require an early start on your unit for collection the same day, please arrange the day or evening before. Subject to commitments a base-unit brought in early for a full service can often also be completed, Internet ready, later the same day, i.e. drop off on route to work, collect on the way home – problem free!

Full Service

What might a full service include?

•  System clean and hardware inspection
Chassis (inside/outside); ports; trays…
•  Evaluate resource and disk use
Processor; memory; capacity; ratio/volume assessment…
•  Windows file integrity and hard-drive checks
Assess for corrupt and malevolent files…
•  Reclaim hard-disk¹
Uninstall malevolent, redundant and superfluous software…
•  Reclaim hard-disk²
Defragment; remove data; partition; replace data; configure…
•  System and application software checks
Scan; repair; update and optimise…
•  Address and advise
Best practice; concerns; induction; moving foward…

–Or–

•  Recover
Secure data; partition; re-install; make ready; components; features; updates…

A standard fee for a full service, optionally re-installing a system (to factory default, updating third-party, Windows components and added-value features) is £39.00 (Non-offer price (less 15% web discount, up-to 30% returning customer/second unit)) including back-up subject to precise volume of data and/or media files.

Where appropriate, installations are Microsoft Office 2007/10 and Internet ready. Operating systems are fully configured, and updated with the latest Service Pack, e.g. XP SP3; Vista *SP1/SP2, and essential third-party components such as Adobe Acrobat and Flash, but will exclude as standard other third-party software including Microsoft Office ('02(XP); '03 (Please provide discs and licence)).

*For early Vista systems with pre-service pack recovery options, please allow two hours additional bench time and £3.50 per service pack.

Peterborough and Eye

£039.00	Full service…
£0-5.85	Conceivable web discount – please mention that you visited the website.
£033.15
£010.00	Collect and return.
£043.15
£010.00	Optional evening and weekend fee.
£053.15	Conceivable total, less any additional service packs, third-party works.

Advantages – key elements in rebuilding the platform

01  Assess, recover and safeguard data…
02  Partition/repair and format hard-drive…
03  Install and configure operating system…
04  Install and configure system drivers…
05  Install Internet security, make Internet ready…
06  Install third-party components and added features…
07  Activate and validate software…
08  Install updates and service packs…
09  Check, optimise and restore…
10  Reinstate data…

When performing a full system recovery on a unit with a separate 'factory installed' data partition, none of the files located on the data partition will be deleted 'by PCWorkspace' during our recovery process. Files (data and/or media) will otherwise be secured subject to exact nature of the problem and condition of magnetic media.

Note: It is good practice in the home as well as in business, to have a secondary partition (compartment) allowing documents and large format files, e.g. music and images to be diverted away from the root drive to: a) help sustain system resource and b) *safeguard important files. *High volumes of data should nonetheless be moved off, and data of value backed-up to removable media, e.g. an external hard-drive.

Caution

Some Console Destructive Recovery options (XP, Vista, Windows 7) will delete a partition and therefore any data stored to it. Consequently while we will create a second and third partition on an XP as well as a Vista and Windows 7 system (hard-drives larger than 80Gb (XP)) to encourage best practice and to help sustain system resource, backed-up files may otherwise be re-instated temporarily to the systems (C:\) drive, and an additional internal or external USB hard-drive recommended.

Important

In some cases it may be necessary to fully service a PC or Laptop, possibly re-install the operating system for any number of conceivable reasons. While this might not have been the original intention, it may nonetheless be considered in the client's best interest, particularly where it has been found that there are perhaps compounding or insurmountable software issues. Consequently, the client may themselves then need to reinstall peripherals and/or third-party software when the unit is returned.

Providing that the customer has a current Internet (ISP) contract, all units returned to a client are, with exception, fully configured, Internet and Internet Security ready. However, given that a hard-drive may be repaired or cleaned, an estimated service fee may not include the re-installation of third-party software, moreover PCWorkspace cannot be held responsible for the consequential loss of software installations that are not licensed, i.e. where the client does not have original support discs and appropriate licence or product key.

While we may in some cases be able to retrieve product keys from the registry, it is the client's responsibility to ensure that original backup media and licenses are retained and available if required, and to ensure also that any product keys for software purchased online are recorded should they subsequently be needed. Systems with no software, or a conceivable damaged recovery console, may instead simply be restored to the Windows licence adhered to the chassis or beneath the laptop, along with drivers and third-party components such as Adobe reader, flash, java etc.

Though there is little difference between an original Windows installation, some features on missing bespoke recovery discs, or add-ons originally streamlined with the now damaged recovery console, such as Microsoft Works and optical drive (recording) software, may not consequently be restored unless the client wishes to purchase replacement recovery discs, or a hard-drive partitioned with the original recovery console from the equipment manufacturer.

Where a full recovery is necessary and a client requires important data safeguarding and restoring – though seldom – a surcharge may be appropriate if there are excessive volumes of data, e.g. movies, very high numbers of music files and/or images. In the event that a customer is unaware or does not mention that there are high volumes of data to recover, though unlikely, we may simply opt to go ahead with works estimated less than £60.00 (including collect and return) without reporting back to the client.

Power Supplies

Please enquire directly for replacement power supplies. Quality bespoke laptop power supply adapters are sourced from £39.00. ATX power supply (PSU) replacement including standard part, coupled with diagnosis to determine cause and best practice, software checks and chassis cleaning (off-site) is £30.00 – £35.00. A home/office *visit from £35.00 (Mon-Fri, 9-5 (£45.00 evenings & weekends)). *Peterborough.

Upgrade

Memory – laptop example

£012.00	1Gb PC2 Branded laptop module 667MHz…
£012.00	Second 1Gb PC2 Branded laptop module 667MHz…
£024.00
£-03.50	Plus other conceivable and/or necessary works, e.g. fit RAM modules…
£027.50

Memory upgrades, early XP machines for example, possibly supporting seven plus years of development (service packs and updates), third-party software and high volumes of data, can very much benefit from a memory upgrade. Perhaps coupled with restructuring and partitioning, or maintenance and simple advice, including a conceivable change in best practice – please telephone: (01733) 777878 – laptop, PC RAM prices for different frequencies may differ slightly from time to time.

Modules fitted to dual-channel boards should be paired (identical), should be either single or double-sided, but ideally not mixed. Mixed frequency is not recommended, however, where main-boards support both frequencies, systems will operate at the lower frequency.

DDR3 is not used widely at this time, is a higher frequency and more expensive than DDR2 modules. DDR1 will not fit DDR2 main-boards, DDR2 will not fit DDR3 main-boards and vice versa, less where the main-board is a transition board intended to support both module types at the expense of capacity to expand the memory.

Memory modules generally have a life-time warranty and will seldom fail, however those opting to handle and/or fit modules should ensure that they discharge any static build-up, and also be aware that compatibility issues may cause a system to simply 'initially' fail or 'subsequently' malfunction causing or leading to system instability.

Note: Those users installing 4Gb or more of memory may notice that the total amount of available memory showing is less than 4Gb. The amount available depends on the system configuration and the way the operating system addresses physical memory.

See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/888137

Beyond Economical Repair / Economics

A decision to classify a system BER must take into account the outlay to repair but not necessarily upgrade, but nonetheless considering whether or not it is viable to upgrade. It may simply not be cost effective, and therefore appropriate to repair an ageing system given a limited capacity to bring it up-to-date – a conceivable cost of repair albeit much less than a replacement, may go some way toward purchasing a much more modern and technically equipped computer.

An example of a unit classified as BER might be a PC four, five or more years old, perhaps with no licence adhered to the chassis, possibly requiring a replacement, redundant technology, hard-drive and/or PSU, software licence and service charge, altogether likely well in excess of £150.00.

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A computer system may need to be assessed as to whether or not it is economic to repair, moreover findings may not necessarily or simply be a matter of replacing expensive hardware. It is increasingly seldom worthwhile repairing and/or restoring a resource tailored for some operating systems, e.g. Windows '98, NT, 2000 and ME. Any number of reasons for this might include:

•  a service provider may not support the software…
•  an end to support from the manufacturer or software developer…
•  incompatibility with newer third-party software, hardware or peripherals…

Why might an Internet Service Provider not continue to support an operating system?

•  a limited service may be detrimental to, or reflect badly on the provider…
•  the platform may not support essential security updates or critical service packs…
•  updates may not be cost effective given increasingly fewer older platforms…

An example might be a Windows ME PC without Ethernet, running from an old USB (non-mobile) modem, supporting a maximum bandwidth of 512Mb. Older machines, particulary those that have had an in-place upgrade, e.g. XP on '98 or ME, may simply not have the resource needed to process updates and third-party components.

Economics is not merely about the financial outlay however – time constraint is also an important factor, perhaps more so where an individual or enterprise is working from home – a user may simply not notice a gradual increase in the demands of an aging resource and the consequential, compounding problems that this might cause.

Notwithstanding that the system will also need to meet the increasing weight of third-party software, updates and service packs, perhaps consider too the sustained impact maintaining a PC may have on any given venture, ongoing and future needs.

An in-place upgrade (installing a newer operating system on an older PC) is not recommended, and is usually where problems begin. If you are thinking about this, perhaps consider professional advice before going ahead.

Disposal / Waste

In response to the WEEE Directive that came into force in 2007, UK businesses, local authority bodies and educational establishments are obligated to recycle all redundant computer and IT equipment. Consequently, the correct disposal, refurbishment, and recycling of computers and computer equipment has become an all important part of our waste policy.

As a small business PCWorkspace does not have a dedicated waste facility, nor do we produce the volumes of waste necessary to achieve a cost effective private solution. However, we are able to provide an extended service, disposing of BER equipment on behalf of domestic clients in line with local directives. Disposal is charged from £7.50 for the first unit, or £5.00 with works, e.g. data/disaster recovery.

Business clients might like to contact me, Steve White, more directly on: Peterborough (01733) 777878 to discuss a waste solution more tailored to conceivable needs, or perhaps instead enquire with Peterborough City Council as follows:

For more local information about collections of household and commercial waste, general recycling and the collection of bulky items, email: wmhd@peterborough.gov.uk, or telephone Peterborough City Council on: (01733) 453570.

Clean Install / Software Upgrade

Installing or upgrading Windows on top of an existing platform may not be uncommon, nonetheless PCWorkspace will not do this. Instead we – clean install – assess and safeguard data of conceivable value, re-structure / repair and format the hard-drive, re-install and update the operating system, drivers, third-party components and security elements, further recommending memory upgrade, if considered essential and, advising our clients regarding currency, licence and best practice.

Improved performance can also be an added benefit of cleaning the hard-drive, restoring volume back to a level appropriate for system resource. However, never consider an in-place upgrade of your operating system (OS) on an aging machine, e.g. XP (System) to VISTA / Windows 7. Installing a later version of Windows as a cure to a problem is not a good idea - the reality is that a newly developed OS will be more enhanced and will typically require a much better resource, and usually problems will become worse therefore!

Licence

Software that is not licensed is unsustainable, moreover PCWorkspace do not encourage, support the use of, or warranty against repaired systems subsequently installed with un-licensed system or application software.

All systems must include a licence and it may well be appropriate to ask a client that they check and confirm licence details to help identify the operating system in use, to make certain that it marries, to further ensure that the installation is appropriate for the hardware resource and conceivable or related impact on the PC or Laptop.

To verify that you have the correct installation compatible with the hardware as well as a genuine Microsoft Windows operating system, look for the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) affixed to the body of your computer. COAs cannot be purchased separately. Each pre-installed Windows COA features the Microsoft product name printed near the top of the label and a 25-character product key.

For Windows software that comes pre-installed by a system manufacturer (also known as an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)), the COA should be affixed to the body of the computer or beneath the laptop. The COA includes the 25-character product key, which may be required if a new installation is necessary at a later date.

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