I run into the same crap all the time. I have learned a thing or two in the years I have been "the guy who can fix anything" .
[RANT] It is always the same people that have problems. The vast majority of people will never know how to fix their own computers. They don't want to learn, and trying to educate them will only frustrate you. My phone rings at all hours of the day and night. I will usually listen for a few minutes but if its a real noob or someone over 40 my standard answer is back up all of your stuff and bring it in, there will be nothing of yours left when you get it back. I don't know how the people on this forum have the patients to clean scummed up PC's, it never works like a fresh install does. That is the only way to be 100% certain that you are giving them back a clean PC.
There is one thing about the OP that I agree with your friend on. Don't install anything on their computer that isn't needed. No one like's the crap that comes on a new computer so why would you install things they will never use. Its their computer not yours. Even if it is the best browser ever made don't do it. Install a free antivirus, a free office suite, a spyware remover, do all the updates, and install the latest drivers. And most important CHARGE THEM. Unless its family they will be the worse pain in the *** if you don't charge them.
I hate having to back up people's crap all the time. If I hear please can you back up my pictures one more time FFS if your pictures are so important to you why don't you have them backed up. That is my biggest pet peeve having to wait for someone's home movies to copy to an external hdd before I can even start.
Here is a good example of what I have to put up with on a daily basis. There is a guy I used to work with, he is retired now and his wife is handicapped and the computer is very important to her. They each have their own computer and I have been fixing their computers for probably 5 years now. They are great they listen to me and they follow my instructions they have back up drives they use faithfully. Even so once a year I make a trip to their house and clean things up for them, and make sure everything's on the up and up. So when Frank asked me to look at his adult daughters computer, I thought sure. He dropped it off and we were having a beer before he left, I seen the vista home basic label on the front on a brand new dell, so opened it up and just as I thought 512MB's of ram trying to run vista, so before he even left I talked him into 2GB's of ram for $30, Did the usual to it Format, install, added the ram, and got rid of the pre installed crap, and did some things I know. About a month later I get a call from Frank her computer is slow and won't open IE. So again I format it and do a fresh install, this time its only a week and I get another call. Frank wants me to call her, so I do. She describes whats going on, she is getting that fake security center icon that I have seen 100 times, I told her it is infected again she will have to bring it back. Then she starts it has been slow since she got it back bla bla bla, I said listen lady you have 3 teenage kids 2 boys and a girl I know exactly what is going on, bring it over and I will fix it. She keeps going on refusing to accept the fact that it is screwed again. I know why she's doing that she doesn't want to pay, I was like bring it over and I will fix it. She did and I fixed it again. After she was gone I called Frank and said don't bring her over again I don't need the bleeping head ach for $40. She can go pay Future shop 140 to fix it, not to mention they will find some magical hardware failure for god only knows how much.
In summary I don't deal with the retards, I tell them point blank this is it don't bring it back and don't call me. [/RANT]
I like helping people out, that's why I come to these type of forums. But it is also why I don't post here very often. Remember? I don't deal with the retards.
It's legal here, but it is illegal for a muffler shop to do it. ::wink, wink::
