What to Expect from Your Laptop Repair Service
When your laptop suddenly won't boot up, or that full cup of coffee you just poured yourself gets spilt over your laptop keyboard.
How do you go about getting it fixed? Where do you take it? Whoever you take it to, your trusting somebody you don't know to mess with
what is probably a very sacred object to you -- Well, here's a few tips to help you on your way.
Where to get it fixed?
You could send it back to the manufacturers, each laptop company has a service
department, but expect to pay £450-£500 to replace a cracked screen,
or £700-£900 to replace a faulty motherboard. Your local computer
shop may be able to help, but most laptop repairs require specialist knowledge
which they may not have. There are a number of laptop repair companies to
be found on the internet. Just searching for 'laptop repair' on the internet
will bring you a long list of companies willing to do the work for you. In
most cases whichever way you go, unless you very lucky to have one close by,
this means sending/having collected, your laptop for repair.
Services and pricing
Laptop repair companies should clearly describe their repair service prices,
ensuring that there are no hidden fees. Prices should be displayed, and preferably
be a flat fee depending on the repair type. Most repair companies now days
will look at your laptop for free and offer a diagnosis and estimate for repair,
you may well have to pay postage costs, if you turn down the repair. But that
seems fair.
LAPTOP repair warranties?
Any repair company has a duty by law to warranty their work. How long this
warranty lasts is dependent on the laptop repair company, but should be no
less than 6 months. Ensure that the warranty period is clearly written on
any invoices, before you pay them. Ask them about their returns policy, for
instance, who pays the collection/delivery costs if the unit fails again with
the same fault within the warranty period?
How long should it take?
This largely depends on the availability of parts, for common makes like
Dell, Sony, Samsung and compaq, parts are usually in plentifull supply. But
if your unlucky enough to have let's say a 'Multivision' (They're now defunct),
unless you stumble across an independant laptop repair firm that has a secondhand
part, you can expect a long delay, if indeed the parts can be sourced. But
for a 'bread and butter' repair, let's say, 'replacing the screen on a Dell
inspiron' look to a maximum 12-14 days. Most repair places whoever they are
should be able to acheive the repair in this amount of time.
WILL I Loose my data?
The burning question!
If the problem is disk related, there is a small chance you may loose some
data, but in %99 of cases, data can be retreived from even the most damaged
disk, it just depends how much money your prepared to throw at it. Of course
that's a worst case scenario.
If your laptop has a hardware fault that is not disk related, EG. It will
not power on when the 'on' button is depressed. The simple answer is 'NO'.
But if your worried, call around a few companies and describe the problem
to them. They will then be able to advise you of the possibility.
http://www.laptop-repair-service.co.uk
