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Never fix people computers for free, when they get issues thats not your fault they will just ask you again and again.  Plus many dont value the time or they dont value whats free at all.

Agreed, in my early days i would do that. People will just use you and then you're just the guy they call to fix their computer. I stopped doing this a while back and now i charge people to fix their computers or smartphones, yes even friends (unless i happen to be at their house for some activity and the problem just pops up). It was weird at first but it's important to setup that boundary otherwise people will call you every time they have a problem with no respect for your time. If someone doesn't respect that then they're not worth your time.


The problem is many people view fixing computers as something that's not worth paying for, they just see you do a few clicks and type in some stuff and boom it's done, ignoring the fact that you're able to fix it because of knowledge and experience that they don't have. They won't expect an accountant friend to do their taxes for free for example. This is one of the main reasons IT Guys don't get respect in most companies.

There is nothing free, even fixing a computer costs. But if you're talking about people you know, It all depends on the problem if it takes effort and time to fix you will probably ask to get paid.

I only fix computers for free if they have a skill that I could use in the future.

The secretary, factory worker, forklift driver, accountant, etc. that I work with or my fiancee's coworkers that work at a convenience store? Pay up.

The guy who builds race engines, is trying to get rid of his girlfriends 496BBC in trade for a 383SBC+cash (where I already possess the 383SBC) and needs a laptop fixed? I'm already in on that shit.

Half the stuff people ask for you to fix isn't time consuming to fix so why not give it a try for free.

Everyones ask for free, but very few will do it free.  :)

Maybe the mills should hire me.

Guy few doors down, has a son that is a computer tech mill worker, services the computers. Well, the son and another guy could not get the guys PC to stop blue screening and get everything back.

I brought it into my PC room, hooked my monitor cords ect, seen the problem and solved it......

I used windows disk & sfc tool provided. Which all admins should know of sfc.

as it had a HDD, the repair took like 3 hours and 20 min.

I do have a skills et to find problems in PC's and fix em. I think Theymos has this in his brain for the forums software ect, dunno about HW.

I love HW.

Yup, makes then think twice before downloading a virus infected screen saver or corrupting the OS.

Charge'em: "joe" Hm, was the 40 bucks worth it last time? Nah, I wont make this mistake twice.

Free: Do it for free, "joe" does it repeatedly.

Those who love HW and end up fixing HW lack intelligence required for SW. That's why they love HW because they are not smart and have below average IQ levels and inferior genetics

U might be and might not be right.

Same goes for grease monkeys, they can build a car, but they also can use the computer to program the chipsets.

This could be a two way street for anyone or a one way street.

I know exactly what you mean but isn't it like this for anything? If you're good at doing something or have a certain skillset people will just come to you for a free solution most of the time.

Repair some hardware and you'll become their software tech support for 10 years.  Better to have them go to www.dell.com

i don't mind doing it.. i installed my aunt's desktop yesterday. when i was removing the old computer, she asked me if i needed to transfer the email from the old computer to the new one  :D

it can be a hassle to take care of shit for my uncle, but he's helped me so much that i do it without complaining.

Like my dad once told me, if you are good at something, never do it for free. :)

ROFL.  I do this for immediate family now and no one else.  I would do it for an older person or someone else possibly.  I started out doing this to get some of my relatives on the internet because I thought their kids needed to be on the internet or have access to computers.  (Think 20 years back).  Then you come to find out how moochy and demanding they are. 

Somewhat recently, I hadn't seen them in years and years and I go over there and the father comes out asking me to come look at his computer because dip**** can't stay off pornsites and do stuff to get his computer owned by malware.  At that point I felt ok telling him no. ;)  There is always Best Buy and geeksquad or something.

Yes you are right, the same happened to me some years ago, I cleaned a friend's pc from hundreds of viruses and toolbars but after a week he
wanted me to pay his broken mouse button (lol).

I never knew if "Joker" had a child!   :D

Good advice By the way!

LOL...I've learned how to keep a straight face for that kinda people and do my laughing later. My grandmother could never figure out why her task bar keeps bouncing between the bottom and side of her computer screen even though I've shown her about a dozen times how to put it back the way it was.

i must have told them at least 10 times throughout to stop using internet explorer, but every time i'm over there.. they click on that little blue e icon.. i've already told them that it's not only slower, but will likely end up causing more problems with your computer.. yet they stick with what they are comfortable with.

LOL yeah. Even my mother knows Internet Explorer is lame. But I can't get my grandmother to make the switch to either Firefox or Chrome.