Guest Post by Micah Lahren:
The old computer just won’t perform anymore, and your client needs a new machine. Thankfully, they followed your advice about backing up all their data, in case it failed completely, but they steadfastly refused to get a new machine for years. Now they want all their old programs, pictures, documents, music, and other data to be available and functional on a new machine.

Hopefully they haven’t gone out on their own and purchased one already, as many new machines are equipped with 64 bit operating systems, and those old 32 bit programs may not function at all, even with the so-called ‘compatibility mode’ of Windows operating systems. Even between operating system versions, you will find many programs that simply will not function on a different version than the OS that was intended for them.

Before rushing them into a new computer, find out what they need, and you’ll be in a better position to ensure they won’t regret moving from that old dinosaur to something new. Just grabbing any migration software and setting it to work could be a big mistake. There are many factors to take into consideration such as 32 bit/64 bit, program compatibility, hardware compatibility, and more. I’d recommend following some basic steps to ensure the best results, and client satisfaction, to say nothing of headache prevention for you, the Tech.

Up until very recently I’ve led a double life, so to say. A double life that has spanned just over two and a half years already. No, I wasn’t a secret agent or anything intriguing (relatively speaking, of course; I genuinely love what I do.) If that were the case, computer repair probably wouldn’t be one of my greatest professional passions. However, I did finally make a life decision that I have yet to regret: I quit my day job working technology support & training for a local high school and took my computer repair & tech consulting company FireLogic full time.

Guest Post by Micah Lahren:
I’m sure we’ve all been there before. We’re called in to migrate applications and data from an old machine to a new one, which may or may not include proprietary software from obscure companies who only do business with a limited industry sector. You’ve arrived, and get down to it. You start going through the checklist of items on the old machine, asking the client or the client’s employees exactly what they use on the computer, and what other data will need to be transferred. Meanwhile, they’re more interested in listening to the latest album of their favorite band on their MP3 player than answering your questions. The answers you get?

Guest Post by Adam Sewell:
Let me introduce myself. My name is Adam Sewell, and I run a technology services business in a small town of 20,000. MyGeek Computer Services has been around for a little over two years now, and I’ve had a hard time making my business known in the community, even though I grew up here. I found that marketing my business using conventional advertising methods was ineffective. Yellow Pages, Google Ads, Facebook ads, and other advertisements just didn’t produce the results that I expected. After about a year of failed marketing attempts, I realized something important. My small town reacts differently to marketing compared to a large city. In this article, I will detail what I did, how I did it, and what proved successful.

I have noticed that 4 fantastic Computer Technician products have recently gone on sale that are well worth getting. In fact, are the deepest discounts I have ever seen these products. Up to 50% OFF!
All four of these products should be no stranger to the Technibble readers as I have talked about them a few times before and they are often mentioned on the Technibble forums.

The products that have recently gone on sale are:

• Fabs Autobackup 4 Tech (use the following coupon code during the checkout process: B2YA8J) – Easily migrate and backup customer data (One of my favorite tech tools) – 40% OFF
• Podnutz’s Laptop Repair Videos – Learn how to fix Laptops – 50% OFF
• Tech Site Builder – Create a website for your Computer Business with ease – 50% OFF
• Linux For The Rest Of Us – Learn the basics of Linux Ubuntu – 50% OFF

I dont know how long these are going to remain on sale so get them while you can. I have written about each of these here on Technibble in the past, a few of them being product reviews. Read on for a little bit more information about these products and the links to my past writeups & reviews about these products. Be sure to use the links above as the links in the writeups and reviews are not the discounted ones.

Any computer repair technician should be able to properly recycle an old customer PC after wiping it effectively. But this shouldn’t be the only course of action to recommend to customers. Perhaps a client is looking to make use of a still-capable system in some other manner. Having a few tricks up your sleeve never hurts, which is why I wanted to show some of the ways which my company FireLogic has internally “recycled” older PCs to fit niche functions for customers. All of the options described below entail free or open-source software, and usually require no further upgrades of the hardware inside of the machine in question. If a hardware upgrade is recommended, I make note of it for you.

Before I go over these 5 neat feats of PC re-purposing, I’d like to tackle how these mini projects serve both the customer and your own business in a positive manner. First off, the customer will fully appreciate that you aren’t pushing new hardware on them to fit newfound needs. Saving customers money is what we need to be mindful of whenever we are consulting on projects. Likewise, this will also help us keep hardware out of the recycling centers and put it to good use.

Guest Post by Ronn Hanley:
I have never refused to answer a direct question from a client, but I have been known to cringe a bit when I’m asked for recommendations about specific computer equipment, software or technology purchases.

It’s a lesson that I’ve learned the hard way through trial and error (mostly error…). If you’re in the process of starting any kind of technology based business or even just helping out a friend, it’s important to realize that choices you make for yourself won’t always match your client’s needs.

Here are my six top reasons to always think twice when offering advice or answers to clients about technology choices.

Guest Post by Micah Lahren:
"I’ll just run DBAN on it and that will be good enough."
Is that really good enough? What if the individual or business in question is required by law to complete an erasure protocol up to a certain level of security? In some countries, including the United States, laws requiring secure erasure of data are also accompanied with a punishment if the protocol is not followed, such as fines of $250,000 and 10 years imprisonment.

Does up-selling to your clients make you feel like a used car salesman? Most Computer Technicians come from a technical background so sales and marketing does not come naturally. Now that you are in business, sales is really something that you cannot avoid if you want to make money. I had heard about these WiseTechnician videos mentioned a few times in my Computer Technician circles that focused on the sales side of the Computer Repair business, and I wanted to check it out not only for myself, but for all of Technibbles readers to see if they are worth purchasing. This is my WiseTechnician review.

The SUPERAntiSpyware competition has come to an end and the winners have been randomly chosen. To make sure it was truely random, I used the lowest comment ID and the highest ID that was still within the entry dates. I went to Random.org and generated 20 random numbers between these two numbers. I then linked the random numbers to the corresponding comment IDs (minus comments that didnt enter the competition but commented on Technibble during this time).

Here are the winners: