Q.  Is travel time included in your hourly rate?

A. My time starts running when I arrive "ONSITE."  It's billed in half hour increments running to the closest half hour for Troubleshooting and Diagnostics.  If the problem is found to be something that doesn't fall into the category of an "easy fix,"  I can tell you then what I suggest should be done and estimate the costs for this additional work.   Ideally, the initial phone/email contact should give me enough information to give you a good idea of what the service call will involve.  The initial contact is free.  I can give you a good estimate but as with any service provider, there are always unknowns.

Q. My daughter and her friend were playing on the computer and now I don't seem to have a floppy drive or a CD Rom drive. What's wrong?

A.  They may have inadvertently deleted the devices from the hardware manager.  This is something that can be easily remedied.  There could be other more serious problems but nine times out of ten, this is something simple.

Q.  My computer seems to be running really slow compared to when I first purchased it. Can you make it faster?

A.  Yes.  The most likely culprit is your operating system is not efficiently managing your files and programs and it's just  taking a longer time for your system to find what you want to open or use.  This is another common problem and can be easily corrected.  However, there's always the possibility of major hardware/software malfunctions that would require more extensive troubleshooting.

Q.  I keep getting a message that I'm "out of memory"-- what does that mean?

A.  It could be that you have too many programs open and running at the same time or you could be running out of space on your hard drive.  It would have to be determined what you're doing at the time you get this message and how often you get the message. 

Q.  My cursor disappeared.

A.  Chances are you've lost the driver for your mouse and it needs to be reinstalled.

Q.  My computer freezes up in the middle of trying to do something.

A.  Does it unfreeze after a few seconds or is it permanently frozen requiring you to reboot?  If it unfreezes in a few seconds, it could be that the program you are using is malfunctioning or a more serious hardware problem could be around the corner.

Q.  I seem to have lost my sound - I don't hear anything or can't play music.

A.  First check to make sure your speakers are connected in the correct speaker jack and that the speaker volume level is up.  If this doesn't work, it could be a hardware or software conflict.

Q.  My modem won't dial.

A.  If it's an external modem, make sure it's turned on.  If it's an internal modem, it's usually a software problem with the com port. 

Q.  My monitor flickers or sometimes the color isn't right. 

A.  Another instance where the first thing you should do is check all connections from the monitor to the computer.  Secondly, if there are any external controls for the monitor that could have been bumped, you should check that, and, If that doesn't help, your monitor may have more serious problems.

Q.  How do I back up my pc - what is available and what's involved? 

A.  This is a tricky area since if it isn't done absolutely correctly, it can result in a major loss of data, programs, and system files.  Microsoft operating systems do have a built-in program but it's a bit more labor intensive than the home PC user might care to deal with.

Q.  Can you make my PC bigger, better, faster?

A.  Yes.  Very doable.

Q.  My PC won't start up.

A.  Another case of first thing you do is make sure the power is working and connected to the PC.  If that's OK, and still nothing happens, your PC definitely needs help.  Call me.

Q.  My PC won't shut down.

A.  There is probably a program that is not responding to the shut down command and is hanging up the system.  It would need to be determined which program is causing this and why it's causing it.

Q.  When I go to print a Word document, I get an error message that the printer is "Offline" or "Not Ready."

A.  Another "make sure it's plugged in, turned on, and the connections are secure at both the printer and PC."  If all that checks out, it may be that your printer driver is incorrect for your particular printer model.