[Rockn]

A muti-meter is a pretty basic piece of diagnostic equipment.

[Alex Ethridge]

Hind-sight is always 20-20.

It wasn't a lot of trouble. I have the equipment on my bench and every new problem is a challenge--and more importantly, a learning experience. Careful, scientific analysys always teaches you more.

Another shop had diagnosed it as a bad board. The customer brought it to me for a second opinion. If he had done the board, it would have been a waste of money. First impressions aren't always the most accurate.

[gotrootdude]

I've never had to reformat a client's PC.. Normally, I have the problem solved in under 30 minutes.. First you pry what the symptoms are out of the client, then you normally can guess what's wrong immediately..

I've always thought techs who reformat don't have proper training!

There's only a few problems I've ever had trouble diagnosing the error immediately, one was a stick of memory with a bad spot (which I didn't catch right off due to not running a memtest), another was a few years back when I had person come in with a hard drive that tested OK using the manufacturer's utilities but showed cyclic redundancy errors with further testing using other utilities.. Hmm, OK, maybe there were only two problems I couldn't diagnose and fix quick..

Pretty good for working on around 2 PC's a day for the last several years.. I don't work for a computer company, but once people find out you're good with PC's, everyone brings you theirs to fix..

I do have a laptop sitting on the shelf waiting to fix, but it needs it's battery reconditioned (maybe I'll try the freezing trick on the battery).. And, one Compaq all-in-one monitor/PC with a bad power inverter that I can't fix due to it costing more than it's worth..

[Stoner]

Hi gotrootdude

Saw the referrence to the 'freezing trick on the battery' and was curious what it was.

[jiml8]

Originally Posted by gotrootdude

I've never had to reformat a client's PC.. Normally, I have the problem solved in under 30 minutes.. First you pry what the symptoms are out of the client, then you normally can guess what's wrong immediately..

I have cleaned up machines that had as many as 4,000 different pieces of malware on them, including several hundred tracking cookies, but also including literally hundreds of copies of the Klez virus. On machines in this kind of shape, it can take hours to even run the software to identify/remove the bad stuff.

I recall sitting in a hospital waiting room in the middle of the night about 2 years ago (emergency surgery on a relative...) and playing with a computer that was connected to the internet through the university's network there. I downloaded an assortment of tools and went to work on it. Took about 3 hours to clean it up. Win 98. Old. Slow. But I didn't have anything better to do.

[primetime212]

Originally Posted by jiml8

I have cleaned up machines that had as many as 4,000 different pieces of malware on them, including several hundred tracking cookies, but also including literally hundreds of copies of the Klez virus. On machines in this kind of shape, it can take hours to even run the software to identify/remove the bad stuff.

I recall sitting in a hospital waiting room in the middle of the night about 2 years ago (emergency surgery on a relative...) and playing with a computer that was connected to the internet through the university's network there. I downloaded an assortment of tools and went to work on it. Took about 3 hours to clean it up. Win 98. Old. Slow. But I didn't have anything better to do.

only 4,000 ?

[gotrootdude]

Supposedly, freezing the battery before charging, then discharging fully, then repeating the process can resurrect a battery that won't hold a charge..

http://www.svca.org/articles/batteries.htm

[PixieStrange]

The average (for what I see anyway) tends to be between 3,000-5,000.

Thin the worst I've ever seen was one that had over 30,000 spyware/adware/malware, and about 1,500 viruses/trojans.

That was a NASTY little buggar. Was also about the time that Aurora was first really starting to spread, before there were any spiffy removal tools for it (which even still, none of them are reliable, and I don't trust the removal tool that the makers of Aurora have released).

It wasn't fun but.... WinPE -> Removal Tools -> Various Scans -> Manual Removals -> Registry Walk -> Registry Cleaner = Clean System.

What can I say? I have no social life LOL

[Valen]

Y'know, I'm not really sure where I sit on this issue. Being a Geek Squad-ee makes the act of agreeing with the subject matter an act of condemning myself.

Mind you, It came down to me not having enough money to purchase top ramen and realizing that the location I chose to live in had a zero percent technical job market. However, the day came when I actually gave in and applied for work at Best Buy. Granted, the management there had no idea what my resume meant.. or what those weird/crazy/technical mumbo jumbo ramblings qualified me for. The one saving grace the management here has is that they were wise enough to hire me.

Unfortunately, their blind luck does not change the tragedy that is the current hiring practices of Best Buy, and the Geek Squad brand. It is my professional opinion that roughly 90% of the current Geek Squad is horribly under qualified to perform the jobs that they do. When you consider the limitations placed upon the precinct by Corporate, that gives you a glimpse at exactly how large the technical ability black hole is at BBY.
Currently at my precinct there is eleven employees, two of which are seasonal. Only TWO of those listed employees have *any* prior valid work experience. A third apparently has his MSCE, but from the ability and knowledge said person has displayed, it may as well be alphabet soup.

That said, I have run into one.. or two semi qualified people in my time with the Geek Squad. Now, when I accepted this job I had convinced myself that it was temporary and I was going to move out of the area. After careful consideration and getting to know the blue shirts inside the store I have come to a completely different branch of thought.
The Geek Squad being as large and nationwide as it is, provides me as a Reserve Soldier with the Army the perfect platform for job stability and flexibility of location.

That said, I have resigned myself to attempting to teach and/or lead this motley crue of "technicians" out of the Best Buy induced dark ages and into something resembling a credible IT support staff.

.. Beh, I'm done speaking.

[Valen]

Originally Posted by gotrootdude

I've always thought techs who reformat don't have proper training!

Thats a pretty broad statement bud, any technician who has spent a moderate amount of time in the channel should know that the time comes when you have/are going to spend a unpractical amount of time removing said infections/issues with an operating system and it becomes unprofitable to sink that amount of time into the repair when you can have it going in a matter of an hour by reformating.

.. God, that was one hell of a run-on sentence.

[I Fix 4 U]

Originally Posted by jiml8

I recall sitting in a hospital waiting room in the middle of the night about 2 years ago (emergency surgery on a relative...) and playing with a computer that was connected to the internet through the university's network there. I downloaded an assortment of tools and went to work on it. Took about 3 hours to clean it up. Win 98. Old. Slow. But I didn't have anything better to do.

Hospital with university network? Was it a university hospital?? And they just let u randomly walk up to one of their computers in the office/room and start messin with it?
Lucky...


-------
Oh and valen, I dont usually reformat either, and besides, if you charge by a fixed rate say $x/hr, wouldn't it be nice to spend 3-5 hours fixing it? I mean if you have som1 else's computer to fix well think about it, u chargin the same price why use gas money, unless you have to get to that client for fear of losing a potential paying person who is computer illiterate and will call you twice a month

how's that for run on?

[rodeognome]

Valen, just as a matter of interest..in your area..wherever that is...what percentage of GS customers are "emergency" customers..secondly what is the reaction of the customers to GS's prices ?

[Valen]

Well, that would be if 3 to 5 hours billed was practical.. Maybe, *maybe* that might work with a small customer base, or even a customer base of primarily home users. However, if your base exists inside the SMB market, or even if you have a large dedicated customer base.. You are going to want to establish a repoiur based upon fair, practical prices.
Hell, that is *if* you are hourly. Alot of companies inside the channel have gone to flat rate jobs. Managed services just aren't that practical based upon an hourly rate these days. Not to mention the fact that most end users are going to want to have an idea of what you *think* the problem is, and what the estimated cost is going to end up being. Establishing a pattern of cost with the customer base that works both with their wallets, and works toward your overhead builds both revenue and dedicated customers.
Sure, you can tell Joe Blow that you'll be able to repair his hosed operating system knowing it will cost you upwards of three hours, but when he hears the estimated cost.. Nine out of ten times he'll pickup that box and go over to Joe's Computer Sheck and get his drive wiped and O/S installed for a quarter of that price.

Not to mention the concern of que management! Look at it this way, you've got a staff of anywhere from ten to twenty technicians servicing a rolling que of roughly 200 machines *in* shop, outside contracts not withstanding.. You can't afford to have them spend three to five hours cleaning spyware or viruses off of someones box for a bill that the customer may, or may not be happy with.
The channel is just to crowded these days, and the SMB market, along with middle class America just doesen't have the patience for unexpected large tabs, when they can go next door and be told exactly what they want to hear.

.. Not to mention, if the person is *truely* illiterate, they won't even realize solution providers exist near them. They'll walk straight over to Best Buy and have the men dressed like Bible Salesmen fix their 'putar right straight!

[Valen]

Well, in my *area* I'd say about 15% of the GS walkins are "emergencies". I use that word subjectively..
As far as reaction to price.. Thats not really the big thing with the GS customers. That is, unless we're talking In-Home services. What really, *really* pisses people off when they deal with the GS would be people who purchased their PCs from BBY and did NOT purchase the "PSP". (Better known as Best Buy's extended warranty)

[primetime212]

Originally Posted by Valen

Thats a pretty broad statement bud, any technician who has spent a moderate amount of time in the channel should know that the time comes when you have/are going to spend a unpractical amount of time removing said infections/issues with an operating system and it becomes unprofitable to sink that amount of time into the repair when you can have it going in a matter of an hour by reformating.

.. God, that was one hell of a run-on sentence.

true..but what customer wants to reinstall all of his stuff over again ?? not me ..thats why any informed customer wont choose the guy who reformats at the drop of hat...any tech guy in business foir himself can take advantage of this fact