ClickAway IT specialist Bhim Rai offers some advice on knowing when your computer is ready for a check-up.

For me, fixing computers is just like being a doctor. People know when they are sick. If they don’t know what is wrong, they go to the doctor.

In the same way, they know when their computer is unwell. If it isn’t working properly, they want to ta lk to someone who can figure out what the problem is, and make it go away.

The most difficult job for a doctor is finding out what is wrong with the patient. The patient knows all about the symptoms and may have some ideas about the cause. But the doctor must find out exactly what is wrong before he or she can find the cure.

Experience Counts

For us, fixing computers is usually the easiest part of the job. Finding out what is wrong is the part that takes training, experience and lots of patience. Most times, people come to us and their computer is not doing what it is supposed to be doing. It is obviously suffering from performance issues. Many people assume that they have been hit with a virus.

However, we find that this is the case only about 30% of the time. More often, something has just gone wrong without any outside cause.

We spend the most time diagnosing the problem. Is it a virus? if so, we will soon find out. There are always new viruses to watch out for, and they are fiendishly clever. Our tools will get to the bottom of the problem.

Sometimes we have to go through the computer’s files in detail, and it does take time going through each folder and file, looking for clues. Most people don’t want to have to do this themselves.

Hardware Issues

If it’s a hardware problem, we’ll find it quickly. Computers are very robust these days, but they are still made from lots of component parts, and if something goes wrong, it can make a big difference to performance.

I’ve looked at thousands of computers so I know which models are susceptible to certain problems. This knowledge can also save a lot of time.

My job is to make sure the customer goes home happy. We know that every customer wants their computer fixed fast. They don’t want to spend a lot of money. And they want their files kept intact. Those are the priorities for us. Friendly and efficient service will make a happy customer, and happy customers are repeat customers. They tell their friends. That’s how our business grows

Also, we don’t want to be those guys who make people feel stupid because they don’t know everything about computers. Look, computers are complicated. It takes a certain kind of person to really enjoy poking around inside a computer looking for problems, fixing things. It’s not for everyone. I get annoyed by people who think that knowing about computers makes them better or smarter than other people. Everybody is good at something. This is just something we love to do well.

No Need for Drama

Just to go back to the doctor analogy. Many times a person feels unwell or gets into a scrape and they know how to fix the problem, They can get a Band-Aid or go buy some off-the-shelf medicine or just have a lie down. Again, it’s the same with computers. Sometimes it’s just a matter of tidying up files or restarting your computer, or running a scan or deleting something that is slowing you down.

But I think most people know when something is really wrong, and they need to speak to a specialist. They know that if they try to fix a problem they don’t understand, they might just make the situation worse.

We will figure out the problem, we’ll fix it and we’ll send the customer home with a computer that’s working well. One big difference with doctors, ClickAway is not like Grey's Anatomy or E.R. There’s no drama and that’s how it should be.