Clifton and Redland's
local computer advice and repair site
Hi, welcome to bs6.net
We're quite good at repairs, we've had a lot of practice.
- We'll come to you and repair your computer for a £50 flat rate (plus parts if needed)
- If we don't succeed there's no charge
- Ring us on 07772 772935 to book a callout or email wp@bs6.net
We do a good line in advice too. Here are the highlights.
Only this bit is essential:
- Is your computer the only place with a copy of your documents and pictures and music? If it fails will you lose all that information? If the answer's yes then you really do have a potential problem. Nobody can replace those photos or documents for you if they become inaccessible and you don't have safe copies somewhere else. We can try to recover them for you, we can show you how to take a backup onto your DVD writer but nobody can re-invent that information if it's permanently lost.
Here's the rest of the advice. It's not essential but it might be useful.
- Is your computer four or more years old? Yes? You'd do better to replace it with a new one than getting it fixed. Software systems like Windows 7, Vista, XP, Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer keep taking up more space and processing power. On an older machine they consequently become a bit slower each time a new monthly patch is added by Microsoft. A new machine runs faster and has more capacity.
- Do any impressionable children use your computer? Adding a reliable browsing filter is desirable if they do. It will prevent obscene imagery from popping onto the screen, it will give you control of when they can use it and what parts of the Internet they can reach. You can save arguments by having access automatically terminate at bedtime. We can install appropriate software, configure it to your own needs and show you how to adjust the settings.
- Do you have a virus checker and is it up to date? Are you sure it's running? Did you select the trial copy when you bought the computer and then never paid for a subscription or never replaced it with a free alternative? If you've no working virus checker and your computer's been connected to the Internet then it's almost certainly doing background work for criminals. Most of our callouts involve clearing up infections.
- Are you running more than one virus checker? If you are then your computer's quite likely to be slowed down. Some people install a virus checker without first removing previous ones. Some people load an anti-spyware package alongside both an anti-virus package and Windows Defender. The extra workload imposed is easily enough to feel the effect.
- Are you concerned about privacy? If you are, disposing of an old computer with all your old pictures and documents still readable is a bad idea. Scrubbing it clean isn't simple. Having your computer stolen puts your information at risk too unless you've actively prevented access with password encryption. For the price of typing in a password each time you power your computer on, encrypting your data can be worth thinking about as an option.
Here are some software tools you might like to look at if you want to fix the machine yourself:
and here's a checklist of what we're likely to ask if you ring us:
- What's your name, address and phone number?
- What does the label on the back of the machine give as the Computer Model?
- What Operating System title appears when you start the machine (such as Windows 7, Vista, XP)?
- What symptoms are bothering you?
- What would you like us to do about it?
- When would you like us to visit?
and finally some other local places which offer a computer repair service: