Recommend pc remote repair company?

ssky

I've searched the forums for this but i've not yet seen any threads where people have testified to trying any of them out. Apart from crossloop.com i've seen mentioned on here but i'm not quite sure what this site is about really. I am looking for the most economical with the best buy after service warranty. I've done a google & digg search & i got about 10 different online companies, 2 of which i've posted below which appear to be uk based. I'm not sure of the spam policy on here so i'm not posting the urls of the other 8 that i found.

internetgeneration.co.uk - apparently this one has a flat fee of only £30 which is the cheapest i've found.

remote-computer-repairs.com

I'm pretty cautious about who to go with as i don't know if any of them could just be a scam or offer a shoddy service. I would like to hear from other customers who have used any pc remote repair companies, i don't want to sign up to someone even with testimonials on their own sites, i'd like to hear from any happy customers on this forum, (that's if there are any). Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Strider590

What's wrong with your PC? or are you looking for long term support for say a business?

ssky

Freezes, blue screen, installation problems. I've tried all the registry cleaners that's out there so i'm left with getting a technician to solve things. It's not for business, either short term or long term support will do, some of the companies guarantee x amount of days after sales service where they will fix for free if the same problems are encountered. I'm just looking for the best buy. Can you recommend one?

Marty_J

Save yourself £30; backup all your stuff, and reinstall whatever OS you're using.

gbellamy

ssky. It would be a bit of a waste getting a remote company if you are getting blue screens. If you can't connect to the internet then they can't remote you.

As Marty suggests, first call is reinstall the OS.

Having said the above I have heard that geek-squad are good, though would never use such a service myself.

Strider590

Its the kinda service you'd hear someone touting on the golf course after they fixed something really stupidly simple for him.

But as mentioned, with major issues your unlikely to find them useful.....

If your getting bluescreens you most likely have driver problems, try downloading and installing the chipset drivers, graphics drivers and sound drivers.

ssky

I'm looking for the easiest option & this is not an option for me. I don't have the original CDs needed to reinstall & besides what if i do all of this & then still encounter the same problems? Besides i'd rather pay someone who knows what they're doing rather than me meddling around with what i'm unsure about.

Marty_J wrote: »

Save yourself £30; backup all your stuff, and reinstall whatever OS you're using.

I can connect to the internet. The blue screen happens only upon start up.

gbellamy wrote: »

ssky. It would be a bit of a waste getting a remote company if you are getting blue screens. If you can't connect to the internet then they can't remote you.

Strider590 wrote: »

If your getting bluescreens you most likely have driver problems, try downloading and installing the chipset drivers, graphics drivers and sound drivers.

Can i get those downloads free at all? Do you have any links? I can't update them manually as i don't have the disks. Should i try download.cnet.com ?

gaming_guy

ssky wrote: »

Can i get those downloads free at all? Do you have any links? I can't update them manually as i don't have the disks. Should i try download.cnet.com ?

what about the PC manufacturers (Dell, HP, Mesh etc) website?

if it was a custom build PC, try the motherboard manufacturer's (gigabyte, asus etc) site.

and they should all be free to download

buglawton

Most remote repair cos will charge for the advice that you should reinstall, they might be able to advise on how to back up beforeand and restore your programs/emails etc after that reinstall. The install disk will be needed for many fixes anyway, unless maybe you have an install partition hidden on your computer.

It's a funny business: Anyone trying to enter the market finds themselves competing with 'free' advice from customers' relatives or finds customers expectations of what can get done for x amount of money totally unrealistic. A self employed motor mechanic will easily charge £50/hour. Are you willing to pay that for your computer?

And I suspect that the big name support companies are just middlemen between technician and customer, taking a large cut and brass-necking it out when their customers complain about poor value for money or wrong advice.

Marty_J

ssky wrote: »

I don't have the original CDs needed to reinstall

Can you borrow some?

besides what if i do all of this & then still encounter the same problems

Then it's probably a hardware problem, and no amount of remote assistance from an "expert" will fix that.

Caveat Emptor and all that.

DatabaseError

you really need to get the details of the bluescreen (STOP:xxxxxx) and post them here, it may be something obvious and easy, or diagnosable as hardware, in which case no remote fiddling is ever gonna sort it out