Most Computer Business owners will eventually come across a client that needs their computer fixed yesterday. These clients will often bring a computer into your workshop and expect to pick it up just a few hours later. If you dont have any other work to do before them, this usually isnt a problem. However, if you have other computers that are waiting to be put on the bench then you may not be able to get it fixed within a few hours. Here are some handy ways to deal with such a client.
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LAN Speed test is a small, portable application designed to quickly and accurately test LAN speeds. There are two versions, version 1.1 is free for any type of use where version 2.0 is $5 per commercial license but it can be used on unlimited computers. The older v1.1 is slower and has less features, but to just test LAN speed it is just as good as v2.0.

The way it works is that it writes a fairly large file, the default is 100mb but you can choose, to a system across the network. It then clears the windows file cache to keep read times from being skewed too high, reads the file back, clears the cache again, deletes the file, and displays the results.

The application is very portable requiring no install and it doesn’t change the registry. Version 1.1 works on Windows 98SE and up and version 2.0 works on Windows 2000 and up.

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In this article I would like to show you how I book my computer repair jobs as an Onsite Computer Technician. While I am not telling you that this is how you must do it, its a way that has worked great for me over the years.
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LiberKey isn’t technically a repair tool but it is a great and easy way to organize your portable applications on your USB flash drive. It’s a totally free program that you use to build an interface of your portable applications so they are accessible via right-click menu. LiberKey comes with an online catalog of 304 applications available to download, to use the catalog you have to enable file associations in LiberKey first or your browser won’t know what to do. When downloading applications, just choose which ones you want and LiberKey will download them and install them into your library. There is also the option to download a few different versions of LiberKey with pre-loaded applications and additional applications can be added on.
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In this article, I would like to talk about a great position to be in if you own a Computer Business. This position is being “a cog in your clients business machine”.

So, what do I mean by a “Business Machine”? Most businesses are a series of systems where one gear turns the other. For example, when you order a burger at McDonalds, the front desk person takes you order and enters it into the computer. Your order then shows up on the screens in the back area where the burgers are made and then someone makes your burger. That is the simplest part of it but there are other systems such as ordering the produce, managing staff etc..
McDonalds have mastered their systems and it is well documented in manuals. This is why all pretty much all McDonalds operate the same way. Most McDonalds restaurants order the same product from the same supplier nationwide and that is why the taste is consistent regardless of which one you goto. These suppliers are part of the McDonalds machine and it is a great opportunity for them because the franchises dont shop around for produce, they just go with whatever supplier is part of “the machine”.

Now how does this apply to the Computer Business?
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I would like to share with you the way that I quote new PCs so that it increases the amount that I sell.
When a client asks for a quote, most computer stores will create a quote that looks like an invoice. It will have the businesses name and address up the top with the computers specifications down the bottom. The specifications would be something like this:
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SafeMSI.exe is a tiny, portable, freeware application designed to let you uninstall programs in safe mode. When the computer is in safe mode, the Windows Installer service isn’t started so most programs can’t be uninstalled. Since technicians do a lot of work in safe mode and being unable to uninstall is a huge bother. It is also not possible to start the service manually, an error message will come up saying “Could not start the Windows Installer service on Local Computer. Error 1084: This service cannot be started in Safe Mode”. This tool will do a registry tweak so that Windows Installer is made a safe service and it will launch the Windows Installer service. The tool is meant to be used after you are already in safe mode, it is a tiny .exe that just needs to be double-clicked or run and it runs very quickly.
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About a month ago, I got a call from a client who asked me a question about an anti-spam product that I installed for her a few months ago. She told me that the anti-spam product wants to update and was wondering whether it would be OK to do so. After spending a few minutes determining whether it was a legitimate message, I told her it would be fine and she went on her way.

A few days later I got another call from her regarding another problem and again, I helped her out over the phone. My personal rule with providing free help over the phone is to only do so if it can be solved in under 10 minutes and if I have done paid work for them in the past. This particular issue fit both of these criteria so I am quite happy to help her since it builds up client relationships and has always worked well for me in the past.
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Beep Codes Viewer is a small, portable, freeware application designed to give you a quick place to look up what beep codes mean. As we know, the POST runs when the computer boots up to check that the computer meets minimum system requirements and that all hardware is working properly. When the test completes it will make a single beep or two beeps depending on motherboard manufacturer to indicate all is well and continue to boot. If the test fails it will emit no beep or a series of beeps as a beep code. This tool offers a quick directory to look up that code, with different codes by motherboard manufacturer, and see what the problem is.

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“You want me to pay how much!?”. It is a sentence that Computer Technicians dread.
It often starts with a phone call where the client tells you about their problem, you say you know how to fix this particular problem, a time is arranged and the computer is fixed. The technician then tells the client that it will be $200 for the repairs and then the client explodes.

It is the sound of mismanaged expectations and either side can be at fault. Sometimes the Technician didn’t make the client aware of the costs upfront, and sometimes the Technician did everything right and the client is still unreasonable.

While we cant control unreasonable clients, there are some things we can do to minimize the chances of this event happening.
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