Desktop & PC repairs

What we fix

• Won't power on or keeps restarting
• Blue screens and crashes
• Failed hard drives and SSDs
• Power supply replacement
• Overheating and dust clean-outs
• Virus removal and Windows reinstall

Symptoms we see in desktops

A desktop that won't power on at all, one that clicks and then does nothing, or one that restarts as soon as a game or large file starts. Blue screens, beeping at start-up, fans running with no picture on the monitor, and a tower that has become loud all bring people to us.

If you notice a burning smell, see smoke or hear a pop from the power supply, switch it off at the wall and leave it off. Turning it back on can damage other parts.

What usually causes them

Power supplies wear out, and a failing one often causes random restarts under load before it fails completely. Memory that has worked loose, a failing hard drive or SSD, dust build-up and graphics card faults are other common causes, along with swollen capacitors on older boards.

On gaming and enthusiast PCs, memory running at an overclocked profile that isn't fully stable can cause crashes that look like hardware failure. A flat CMOS battery on an older PC can cause lost settings and start-up errors.

Crashes that started after a Windows update, a driver install or a new part point in a different direction, so tell us about any recent changes. Details like whether it fails when cold or only after an hour of use help us reproduce the fault.

How we diagnose and test

We swap in known-good parts to isolate faults, starting with the power supply. Memory is tested over several passes, drives are checked for health and bad sectors, and Windows event logs are read to see what happened before each crash.

Any part we need is priced and approved by you before we order it, and the fixed $274 labour covers the job, including the $88 diagnosis. After the repair, the PC runs processor and graphics stress tests while we monitor temperatures and stability, so an intermittent fault shows up here rather than at home.

All-in-one computers, including iMacs, are built more like laptops, with the parts behind the screen, and are handled with the same care.

Getting it to us

Usually only the tower is needed. Unplug everything, take a photo of the cables at the back if you're unsure how they go back in, and leave the keyboard and mouse at home unless they're part of the problem.

Back up what you can if it still starts, and write down your login password. Our $50 pickup and delivery saves carrying a heavy tower.

Typical jobs

A typical job: a home PC that restarts whenever a game or large file starts. We swap in a known-good power supply, confirm the original is failing under load, replace it, and run processor and graphics stress tests so any fault shows up with us rather than at home. Most repairs like this are done within 72 hours.

A typical example: a family desktop that clicks, then does nothing, with the monitor staying black. We test the memory and replace a failed module, check the drive for bad sectors, read the event logs, and fit a new CMOS battery if lost settings were part of the problem.

Another typical job: an all-in-one with a slow hard drive that takes ages to start. Because the parts sit behind the screen, it is opened with care, the hard drive is replaced with an SSD, the system and files are copied across, and it is tested before it goes back.

Repair, upgrade or replace

Desktops are the easiest computers to keep going, because nearly every part can be replaced. A new power supply, drive or memory can extend a PC's life for years.

The limit is usually the processor and motherboard. If they're too old for Windows 11, putting money into other parts rarely makes sense, and we'll say so before you spend it.

If you do replace it, we can move your files, email and programs to the new machine and wipe the old one.

Questions