Software repair versus hardware repair

This past week, this was our client work load…Norton causing computer crashes, usb ports going wonky, Microsoft Security Essentials disappearing, two new computer set ups, Belkin router set up issues, viruses, gotomeeting.com not working,  slow computers, Macintosh training and a few Outlook calls. Most of these problems, with the exception of the usb ports going bad were all software repair. Even the usb ports issue was somewhat of a software issue because the port issue caused the operating system to crash, and I had to fix that first to figure out what was wrong with the computer. I got it fixed to the point I could get the user’s data and find out, the usb ports were crashing when plugging in power related external camera’s or hard drives. Keyboards and mice were fine.

Many people are quite shocked to learn that we are a software business, but it makes sense when you figure 90% of computer related problems are due to software not working right.  Hardware is also so cheap to just replace, many folks don’t want to pay $200+ to fix a motherboard (the hardware inside your computer) when getting a new computer is just about that cheap. Is that the way to go? Sometimes, on older computers I would say yes.

There are many things going on inside your computer in regards to hardware. Many years ago, hardware was easy and fairly cheap to replace. These days, some issues are not so cheap to fix as some of things inside your computer are working together. If one thing breaks, you must replace many things.

Why we are staying out of hardware…because there are enough hardware repair businesses out there. I am good at software, the market is there, the software problems are there, so why not do what I do well and focus on that. My competition doesn’t understand how I can survive off software, but in all reality, it makes sense.

What is software? Any programs on your computer that you use to enjoy your computer time. Your internet, office programs, cameras and printers, Gmail, Hotmail, antivirus, Firefox, Facebook..the list could go on and on.

A few answers for you…

• Yep, most viruses are software related (we can fix these, even remotely)
• Yep, most computer crashes are due to software (we can usually fix these, not all remotely)
• Yep, if your internet works, the chance we can fix your software problem remotely is GOOD.
• Nope, if your computer doesn’t boot up at all, it’s probably a hardware issue and needs to go to a repair shop.
• Yep, feel free to call us and ask us what we think before you take it to a shop 612-865-4475

Please consider Call That Girl next time you have a computer glitch or something is going wrong. If the computer boots up, it’s something we can tackle!

Tags: Computer Repair St. Paul MN, Computer support St. Paul Minnesota, Saint Paul Computer repair

Category: General