Just the other day I had someone on the phone who presented me with this question: “I live in Stroudsburg, and the other Stroudsburg computer repair shop would not give me a straight answer. I just wanted to know before I leave my lovely 18360 and drive the 20 minutes to your repair shop in Brodheadsville, can you fix my computer?”
As a computer repair store owner, I hear this one a lot. We are often faced with having to provide a ballpark quote to fix a computer before the client makes the trip to our store. It only makes sense. Who wants to waste time driving to our shop if their computer is not worth fixing or is too old and beyond repair? No one that’s who!
A free diagnostic is key
We offer a free diagnostic so you know if it is worth it or not to repair your computer. Want to know before bringing it to our repair shop in Brodheadsville? No problem at all.
There are just a few pieces of information that you can tell us over the phone to determine if your system is worth it or if it is too old.
Finding out the age of your computer
Age is one of the main factors in determining if a computer is worth it to fix. Just last week, I had a friendly customer from Albrightsville bring their computer down the mountain to our store. It was an old one indeed. Without even turning it on or looking at the inside, we immediately knew the age of the computer from a few telltale signs.
The Windows COA sticker.
The Windows “certificate of authenticity” is a major determining factor. This is a rectangular sticker with a bunch of codes on it, usually white and blue in color, and located on the side or back of the computer. On a laptop, it is located on the bottom. Most laptops and desktops under 10 years old don’t have one of these stickers at all! So if you have one on yours make sure it says at least “Windows 7” on it.
In the case of our friendly client from Albrightsville, his Windows COA said “Windows Vista.” This is far too old to be worth fixing, but luckily we were able to remove the hard drive and recover some of his files.
The processor sticker
This is another factor that helps us determine the age of a computer but to a lesser extent. The processor sticker is often located right on the front of the computer and it is typically small and square. Most processor stickers will say “Intel inside” or “AMD Ryzen” or something of that nature.
Giving us a call and reading off what the processor sticker says will help us let you know how old your computer is. Give it a try.
Knowing the model number
Sometimes this is easier said than done, but if you are able to locate your model number, we can quickly determine its age and find out if it is worth fixing. Most computers have the model number somewhere on the bottom or on the back.
What operating system your computer has
If you are running Windows XP or Windows Vista, your computer is probably too old and not worth fixing. To find out, simply pay attention to what your computer says when it is booting up.
If you have a Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 system then your computer will show a blue Windows logo when it boots up. This is good. This means your computer is probably worth fixing.
“But I may be a little far from your shop”
I hear this one a lot. And if you are too far away, the good news is we accept mail-in repairs. Most of our customers come from Stroudsburg, Saylorsburg, Windgap, Albrightsville, Blakeslee, Effort, and Lehighton to visit our computer repair shop. If you don’t have a local Stroudsburg computer repair shop or anything in whatever town you may be in, we are here for you. If you are more than an hour away though, it makes more sense to just mail your computer to us, especially if it is a laptop.
No matter what you decide to do, TVH Computers makes it easy to find a helping hand. We’ll be your computer guys no matter where you are. If your computer is too old and not worth fixing, we’ll let you know. Sometimes, buying a refurbished laptop or desktop computer is the way to go when your old computer bites the dust for good.
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