Computer Repair Overland Park

When our guys are onsite fixing computer issues, we get asked the same old question.  How can I have fix my own computer issues? Before we get into that, I’d like to tell you a story. A couple of weeks back I was at a customer’s home. His laptop computer was frozen and he didn’t know what to do. The first thing I noticed was the mouse wasn’t responding. In additional, an expired copy of Norton’s antivirus engulfed the entire screen.

As I sat down at his desk, he pulled up a seat directly behind me and went on to say he needed to learn what I was doing. This is really common. Most people are savvy when it comes to using a PC. When it comes to fixing issues that go wrong, there are some people who become angry when they can’t fix the issue themselves.  As I began to look through the registry and launch other diagnostic utilities, I immediately lost him. Since these are not common programs that most people are used to, it unfortunately just flies right over their head. As much as people would like to repair all of their computer issues, the reality is, sometimes you have to call a pro.

To help you begin the process of fixing your own computer issues, here are a few simple troubleshooting steps that may save you time and the expense of hiring a professional technician to visit your home.

1. Make sure all cables are properly connected. I know that sounds silly but in the example above the ladies computer was completely disabled in her eyes because the mouse wasn’t moving. The red laser was lit up but the cursor wasn’t moving. Basically she was plugging a USB mouse into a USB to PS2 converter. This may have been practical back in the day before USB posts, but the general rule of thumb is to eliminate all unnecessary adapters if possible.

2. Next step was to un-install Norton from her computer. Norton had not updated itself in more than 2 years yet was using up an extreme amount of resources each time she started her computer. I initially had issues removing Norton as it gets really imbedded into the operating system. If this happens to you, search Google for the Norton Uninstaller. It does the trick every time. AVG free edition is still a great choice for free antivirus.

3. This next step is probably one of the more important steps that a lot of people over look. Remove all unneeded applications from your computer and remove unused applications from starting up with Windows. Use the Add/Remove Programs or Programs and Features section in the Control Panel to find all applications that you don’t use and/or don’t remember installing on your computer. Next click on Start > Run or click on Start and in the search box type MSCONFIG. Go to the Startup tab and uncheck all applications that you don’t need starting up each time you turn on your computer.

If you follow these 3 easy steps, you should be able to troubleshoot and/or resolve some issues that have been plaguing your PC. Thx for reading.

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Computer Repair Overland Park | PC Repair Overland Park | Computer Repair Kansas City