Computer repair service?

roseym

My laptop is on the fritz so I need a good cheap computer repair service in or around the Ennis/Corofin/West Clare area....any suggestions?

Keano

roseym wrote: »

My laptop is on the fritz so I need a good cheap computer repair service in or around the Ennis/Corofin/West Clare area....any suggestions?

Are you having hardware(the machine itself) or software(viruses etc) issues?

jhud

I fix computers but what is the problem your having with it. Can you give more details.

roseym

Hi, sorry for some reason I didn't get my alerts about replies to this.

I think it's the motherboard gone spoke with Dell and that's what they told me it is. They quoted me a ridiculous amount to repair it, I could get a new laptop for the same money! Sickened cos it was a fairly high end laptop when I got it (for me anyway), and it's only two yrs old.

It was working fine the night before it broke and then when I went to turn it on the next day it just didn't respond at all, not a gig out of it, no flashing lights, no warning at all. The adapter light turns off as soon as I plug it into the laptop. Other than that there isn't much I can tell. The battery charge indicator on the back says that the battery is fully charged.

jhud

Sorry to hear the computer is that bad. Dell have very low prices on buying the computers but its the repair and parts side is where they make the money.

Let me know what the model number is and i will let you know if the price of a new motherboard. You still might be shocked with price.

Any questions just ask.

tagoona

Just make sure you don't throw the laptop out.
Take the disk drive out and if you can get hold of a caddy, you'll still be able to access all your data.

ianol89

If the motherboard is gone it could be xpensive try btech in the quin road industrial estate in ennis i find it cheapest by 50 euro compared toother shops to fix my screen

Shapey Fiend

Laptops are often quite expensive to repair.

On the plus side prices have plummeted in the last couple of years so you can probably get one that's of equivalent power for 350 euro.

I know it's still money though. I'm in dire need of a laptop. My main one died so now I'm on an 8 year old Optiplex.

jhud

I repair and upgrade laptops and desktops but i would recommed you buy a new laptop like ASUS or Toshiba as they have a far less failure rate then the rest. Its like everything you can always get a few bad ones.You laptop might cost more then its worth to repair. I know of Dell extended warranty they sometimes still cant repair the computer and give a refund. Another way is to see if you can get an extended warranty and see if the price is not too big you could take it out then claim for it to be repaired this way it might be cheaper then the repair if thats the way you want to go. Also with the one you currently have you can save all you data stored on the disk by investing in an enclosure for the hard drive thus converting it into an external hard drive. I would be happy to help you if need this done.

roseym

Thanks for the recommendations and advice everyone. I managed to get around Dell in the end to fix it outside of warranty (statutory rights are the bomb ). The Dell technician called out today and replaced the motherboard for free. So I'm ok this time around but if the problem happens again I'll probably just cut my losses and go get a new one.

jhud

roseym wrote: »

Thanks for the recommendations and advice everyone. I managed to get around Dell in the end to fix it outside of warranty (statutory rights are the bomb ). The Dell technician called out today and replaced the motherboard for free. So I'm ok this time around but if the problem happens again I'll probably just cut my losses and go get a new one.

How did you manage this?

CptSternn

jhud wrote: »

How did you manage this?

I know! I had a Dell laptop I took up to the recycling centre a few weeks ago. It had a fault on the motherboard, a fault known by Dell and listed on their website, but because it was over 1 year old they said I would have to post it to AMERICA and pay to have it fixed!

I am typing this on my new Acer now as I will never buy another Dell product.

Shapey Fiend

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/hiner/acer-makes-the-shoddiest-laptops-according-to-it-professionals/5721

Acer are widely regarded as the worst built. Although there's not much between most of the major manufacturers. The fact is now laptops have gotten so cheap the reliability has decreased exponentially. That said you can buy 3 laptops for the price 1 would have cost you a few years back. I just look at them as disposable at this point. Back up all your stuff and expect to have to get a new one every 3 years tops.

Clareman

Folks,

If you want to discuss the merits of the different brand of computers feel free to go to the relevant forum in Technology, this thread was opened to discuss getting a laptop repaired.

For what it's worth I would be regarded as a major Dell fanboy, I've worked in the IT industry for almost 15 years and would only recommend Dell to anyone, I find it absolutely amazing that if you have a problem with your system you call someone up, they do troubleshooting over the phone and if needed they'll send someone out to your house the next day to replace the parts, other manufactures normally get you to send back your system (sometimes you have to pay for it yourself) .

Also, I believe Dell use a global model which is split into a number of regions, it can be awkward to get an American laptop fixed in Europe, I know this because in the past the President of the company I worked for came over and needed his laptop fixed, but Dell still managed to have it sorted (within 4 hours in fact).

roseym

jhud wrote: »

How did you manage this?

After a little googling I discovered that there is a known fault with the nvidia chip used in my laptop. Seeing as it's a known design fault, and with me being very broke, I decided to try get a repair out of them by saying that it was covered under my statutory rights (Sale of Goods Act - a bit more info on that at http://www.consumerassociation.ie/rights_knowrights.html). God loves a trier and all that jazz

The more I thought about it the more I reckoned I had a case. It was an expensive laptop so it was reasonable for me to not expect it to completely die after 2 yrs. Irish law is great this way - reasonably durable is very arguable, whereas I think over in the UK there's a cut off point of 2 years.

Got nowhere with them on the phone (they were actually quite aggressive). Dell did themselves no favours on the phone, I had an Indian lady (apparently the head of customer service but the guy before her told me he was going to get the legal team to call me back, I don't know what she was but I doubt she was head of anything) shout at me a lot and then more or less tell me to go to court because I wasn't going to get anything from them. She then hang up on me so needless to say that got my back up a bit! After that call I sent Dell a registered letter saying that I had tried unsuccessfully to resolve my issue with their customer service agents and legal team, and that I was giving them 10 days from the date of the letter to come up with a satisfactory solution to my problem, or else I was going to be taking a case to the Small Claims Court. On day 10 Dell contacted me offering a free repair in my home, and I have reserved my right to a replacement or refund if the problem reoccurs soon. Happy days