A few things to do before you drop a computer off

If it still turns on, back it up first. An external drive or OneDrive or iCloud, whatever You already use … five minutes now saves a lot of worry later!!

If it wont turn on and theres files on it that matter, say so when you book in. Its much easier to plan a repair around the files than to find out about them halfway through!!

Deleted something important? Stop using the computer straight away. Every new file you save can land on top of the one you want back …. and don’t try recovery software before talking to me, some of it makes things worse!!

Newer Windows laptops are often encrypted with BitLocker. If the board gets replaced or some settings change it can ask for a recovery key on the next start, and without that key the data is gone for good. Sign in at aka.ms/myrecoverykey with Your Microsoft account and write the key down before You bring it in. If its a work laptop, ask your IT people first!!

Bring the charger, especially if the fault is the battery or charging. Sometimes it’s the charger that’s faulty and not the laptop … having both here sorts that out straight away.

Dont assume the worst either. Had a desktop in from Kellyville that wouldnt boot properly … turned out to be the power supply, $190 and it was all good again!!

If it’s had a drink spilt on it, turn it off, unplug it and don’t try charging it to see if it still works. A liquid damage assessment starts from $149 … the sooner it gets opened up the better the odds!!

All my starting prices are on one page, there’s a page on what most repairs end up costing, and if you’re still deciding whether an old one is even worth fixing, theres a few honest rules of thumb on that too.