bad service by PC repair shop - should I be refunded?

highdef

I have had terrible problems with my PC for several months. Most of the time the PC will not boot up into windows. After trying everything I could think of to try remedy it (including forking out almost €700 in new parts), I could still not fix it but I reckoned the power supply was faulty.

I brought it to a PC repair shop and after they looked at it, they said the operating system was faulty and they would have to reinstall it (€45 to look at it and about €90 to reinstall the operating system). Got it back with all my programs wiped (I knew I would have hours of hassle reinstalling all my programs). Fault still there. Then the power supply blew and I brought it back to the repair shop. they repaired (not replaced) the power supply at another cost of €70. Fault still remained although they said it was working for them.

Brought it back again and after they looked at it, they said there was an error log causing the problem - no charge this time. got PC back....fault STILL there! brought it back AGAIN and they said there was nothing else they could do and I would have to "live with it". I asked if they could try a different power supply and he said that they didn't have one of that wattage. And this was after handing over €200 quid to them.

So I'm down over €200 quid with my PC still in the same state as before. Have I any comeback? I'm gonna have to fork out over €100 to buy a power supply and try that myself but I really can't afford to spend anymore on this PC.
:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Gulliver

TBH wiping the OS is shorthand for "I haven't a fecking clue what's causing this" or just a Hail Mary from someone trying to fob you off.

If they're anyway serious as a business, they're bound to have a stockpile of parts and PCs in for repair that they could use to solve this.

I used to work in IT and saw some really awful attempts at "repair" by some shops and even my own colleagues.

And "repairing" a PSU? Most places don't even crack PSUs open any more never mind repair them. I'd question them about this.

highdef

Thank you very much for your reply, Gulliver. I have actually posted up a more detail post regarding the nature of this fault in the building & upgrading section of the computers & technology section. I kept this post more consumer related on purpose. It's not a double post....it's just two aspects of the one subject.

I agree with you about the wiping the OS situation. It does sound like a case of " I can't see anything wrong with it. Let's wipe the drive and start from scratch and see what happens".

And thank you about the "repair" job of the PSU. I did think it was a bit odd that they allegedly repair it. If the repair shop is as reputable as it is alleged to be, would they have records and a log of what exactly they did, including the PSU "repair"? And would I be entitled to view those logs?

Gulliver

highdef wrote: »

Thank you very much for your reply, Gulliver. I have actually posted up a more detail post regarding the nature of this fault in the building & upgrading section of the computers & technology section. I kept this post more consumer related on purpose. It's not a double post....it's just two aspects of the one subject.

I agree with you about the wiping the OS situation. It does sound like a case of " I can't see anything wrong with it. Let's wipe the drive and start from scratch and see what happens".

And thank you about the "repair" job of the PSU. I did think it was a bit odd that they allegedly repair it. If the repair shop is as reputable as it is alleged to be, would they have records and a log of what exactly they did, including the PSU "repair"? And would I be entitled to view those logs?

I'm not saying they couldn't repair it, just that most techs (myself included) wouldn't as PSUs are usually cheap enough to replace (unless it's a high-spec one). Maybe they have an old-school tech and he/she gave it a go.

I'd be looking at the RAM and the Motherboard rather than the PSU if I were you, I'm sure that was probably mentioned in the building forum.

They probably would have their own internal log to account for tech hours, but I seriously doubt they'll let you see it. The place I used to work in would give a copy of the tech's worksheet to the customer, but I gather this is not done in most places.

Unless this is a gaming rig or sentimental value, (don't laugh, it does happen - I still have my Pentium 166 MMX in the garage. Still works!) I'd call it quits at €700 and start saving for a new one.

EDIT
Just read your other post - it is a gaming rig and you've already done some serious work! Have to admit it looks like the PSU, however there was this time I had a similar case and I tried everything. In the end, it turned out that the underside of the MOBO was making unshielded contact with the metal of the case. Put spacers on the mounting screws and no further problems.

Another idea would be to examine the case's power/reset switch connectors for the MOBO. Some of them can be tricky to seat or labelled completely incorrectly in the manual.

As this is the consumer affairs forum, I would recommend you ask the repair shop did they put the PC on extended test after wiping the OS, how they "repaired" the PSU and that the repair wasn't complete so either a refund or failing that order you a new PSU in lieu of refund of the second repair.

highdef

Unfortunately, it's a video editing machine, custom built for editing HDV and AVCHD so it's not a run of the mill.

I have already swapped out the motherboard for a brand new X58 and have 3 new DDR3 sticks of RAM. There's also a brand new i7 processor. The PC is basically upgraded now, the only thing being that it still ain't working and the symptoms are exactly as they were before I changed the above parts.

Anyway, I'm going slightly off topic. What I really want to know of this thread is should I be entitled to some sort or refund? Even if it's for the cost of reinstalling the OS, which is very apparant that it was completely un-needed and it was extremely obvious (to a person who knows an inkling about PCs) that a PC not getting past the initial stages of BIOS checks wold have nothing to do with the OS.

Gulliver, reply/comment about the first two paragraphs if you like.....any feedback is appreciated

the_syco

highdef wrote: »

I brought it to a PC repair shop and after they looked at it, they said the operating system was faulty and they would have to reinstall it (€45 to look at it and about €90 to reinstall the operating system). Got it back with all my programs wiped (I knew I would have hours of hassle reinstalling all my programs). Fault still there. Then the power supply blew and I brought it back to the repair shop. they repaired (not replaced) the power supply at another cost of €70. Fault still remained although they said it was working for them.

Did you give them the disks to reinstall Windows, or did they do so from a pre-installed partition? Start > Run > winver > click okay, and see who the PC is registered to.

highdef

I didn't give them the original windows disc and when I checked who the OS is registered to, it says it's me. Is there an implication to this?

Sponge Bob

Have you taken all the cards out and tried booting it without them?? , sometimes adding the cards one at a time resets the bus and stops lockups too. Sometimes a slot goes 'bad' sometimes a card is banjaxed and locks the whole pc up. Sometimes it is a bit of dirt.

If they are PCI cards you will have a lot of trouble finding a modern machine that will take them, the slots changed in the past few years.

highdef

Hi Spongebob. yeah, I had tried booting with just the bare minumum of devices fitted and still the same. Cards are PCI express

The_Conductor

You say you've forked out almost EUR700 in spare parts to remedy this situation- aside from the EUR200 you've given the shop? What spare parts have you purchased? Have you tried a different PSU? Even a top of the range PSU with a stable dual rail- is less than EUR200 (you can pay a lot more- but you don't need a 2KW PSU etc)

From the info you've given, it sounds like you haven't actually tried a good quality PSU in the machine- which would be a logical step.

Regarding repairing the PSU- I've built a few thousand custom machines over the last 16 years- and I have never ever repaired a PSU- even in the days when they were pricey.......

If you want to rule out the HDD and the o/s try booting from a disk of Mint or another distro- they have good diagnostic programmes, that might enlighten.......?

Cabaal

Gulliver wrote: »

And "repairing" a PSU? Most places don't even crack PSUs open any more never mind repair them. I'd question them about this.

repairing a PSU, it doesn't happen tbh places just buy new one's

highdef

smccarrick wrote: »

You say you've forked out almost EUR700 in spare parts to remedy this situation- aside from the EUR200 you've given the shop? What spare parts have you purchased? Have you tried a different PSU? Even a top of the range PSU with a stable dual rail- is less than EUR200 (you can pay a lot more- but you don't need a 2KW PSU etc)

From the info you've given, it sounds like you haven't actually tried a good quality PSU in the machine- which would be a logical step.

Thanks for that. The spare parts were an X58 motherboard, 3x 2GB DDR3 RAM and an i7 processor - I decided to get it upgraded as part of the "repair". The problem with trying a good quality PSU is that I have been able to acquire one to date so I am going to have to go and buy one. Going to get an Antec 750w as they are supposed to be good. Ironically, I currently have the older model of the Antec 750w currently fitted!

smccarrick wrote: »

Regarding repairing the PSU- I've built a few thousand custom machines over the last 16 years- and I have never ever repaired a PSU- even in the days when they were pricey.......

Do you think it would be worthwhile contacting the shop and demand that they tell what they did to "repair" the PSU, seeing as it is in the same state as before it was "repaired"? I have a gut feeling that they did something simple like stick a mutlimeter on to it to check voltages and nothing else.

smccarrick wrote: »

If you want to rule out the HDD and the o/s try booting from a disk of Mint or another distro- they have good diagnostic programmes, that might enlighten......

The problem with this is that I can't boot anything when the fault is showing itself, which is most of the time. It doesn't even get past the BIOS check.....the LED diagnostics display does not show anything and the onboard power switch does not light up. A few other LEDs do light up so there is power on the board itself.

MunsterCycling

Have you checked the grounding of the board as already suggested?

ShooterSF

highdef wrote: »

Do you think it would be worthwhile contacting the shop and demand that they tell what they did to "repair" the PSU, seeing as it is in the same state as before it was "repaired"? I have a gut feeling that they did something simple like stick a mutlimeter on to it to check voltages and nothing else.

You could ask but if they have lied to you before what's stopping them now? The only repair people will do on a psu is changing a fuse if it's blown and even then most won't risk it as it's a dangerous piece to open up.

I suppose you could ask what was wrong with the PSU that needed fixing but they'll probably spew out some tech babble to try and confuse ya

highdef

Yeah, checked grounding on the motherboard, case and everything else I could stick a multimeter onto.

Still haven't got my hands on a new PSU as haven't the cash at the moment. PC is sometimes working.....sometimes boots up when powered up from cold after being unplugged. Same fault as before