Computer Help

Need some help with your computer?  Looking for some answers?  Need some unbiased opinion?  You've come to the right place.    Pastor Norman isn't a professional computer technician, but he has worked on these things since about 1986 so he does have a few years experience.   If you feel more comfortable hiring a professional technician, feel free to call and ask for recommendations.

Please note, any one working on any computer can never fully guarantee that there will not be any data loss in the attempt to fix a computer.  If your data is important to you, you should have it backed up (preferably before you encountered a problem).

VERY IMPORTANT: Need to install new software?  Best way to do so is through NINITE.COM.  Just select all the software you want, click "Get Installer" and then give it permission to run.

NEW: How to Banish Bloatware.

NEW:  PC World has an excellent article: "What to do with a New Computer".  They cover much the same things that I've been telling people the last couple years!

Free Repairs

Is your computer running slow or perhaps not running at all?  Are you ready to throw it out the window?  Do you often turn on your computer and then walk away for five minutes while it starts up?  Chances are you could use some of our free repair services.

What services do you provide?
The vast majority of computer problems are solved with what's called a "nuke & pave", where basically everything is wiped clean and the computer operating system is reinstalled from scratch.  By doing this, your computer will run as fast, and very possibly faster then it's ever run, even when it was new.  If this is what your computer needs, we'll do it for you.

Sometimes  there is a hardware failure.  It could be a hard drive that's going bad, or more likely a RAM card or a power supply.  Often times we can diagnose which problem it is and sometimes we even have the spare parts for you.  Basically, if we didn't need to pay for the parts, we don't charge for the parts we give you.

One thing we won't do is install an operating system (from scratch) if you don't have a license for it.  In most cases the license is a sticker attached to your computer.  In some cases there is no sticker, but the operating system is part of a hidden recovery partition. If it's there, we can use that to re install your system.

What do I bring?
If it is a laptop computer, just bring the computer, power supply, and any disks that originally came with the computer.  If it is a desktop computer, just bring the main computer box without the keyboard, mouse or monitor.  Again, if you have and disks that originally came with the computer, bring those also.

What about my data?
If your computer needs a nuke & pave then everything on your computer's main drive will be deleted.  This means that all your photos, documents, music, email (unless you're using a web based email) and anything else on there should be backed up ahead of time.

If you have personal or sensitive data that you don't want to leave behind, for a $20 deposit you can borrow the tools needed to backup your data from a dead computer to a working computer in the convenience of your own home.  Instructions will be provided.

When can I use your service and where do I bring it?
Our free computer repair service is on an "on-call" basis.  Basically, you bring it any time and I will work on it when I can.  Usually your computer should be ready in a day or two. 
Your best chance to have a quick repair is if you bring it early in the week.  Like everyone else, the later in the week it gets, the less time I have to help out! 

Suggestions & Recommendations

Everyone who fixes computers has their own opinion on what works and what doesn't.  My thoughts on the following topics can be seen through the links below:

How to Use Macrium Reflect

Backing up Data

Setting up a New Computer

Setting up Security and Antivirus

Fixing a Slow Computer

Create Your Own Web Page EASILY and FREE

Help! I Might Have a Virus!
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Reinstall Windows Like a Pro

Important Web Sites

Need to Uninstall a Program?  Don't just use the uninstall feature; use one of these Free Program Uninstallers for best results.

Learn how to Never Re-install Windows Again.  If you can do what this web page suggests you will be very grateful one day.

You may also want to know How to Completely Reinstall Windows (a "clean" install).  Very helpful if you are going to nuke & pave.

Best place to look for free software, with reviews on what is the best in each category, check out Gizmo's Freeware Reviews.

How do I create a partition and why is that important?

Want to stay out of harmful web sites?  Try K9 Web Protection.  Don't go online without it!  Highly recommended.