PITTSBURGH -- Anyone who uses a computer knows how frustrating it can be when things aren't working right.
Many users have had the same experiences of freezing, slowness and the dreaded blue screen of death.
But if you think your local computer repair shop has all of the answers, Jim Parsons' Team 4 investigation may make you think twice.
What follows is a transcript of Parsons' report.
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We did a simple consumer test for this story. We took a computer that wasn't working to three different retailers. And we got three different answers about what was wrong with it, as well as three different prices to fix it.
What do you do with a malfunctioning computer?
Team 4 took our PC to Office Depot, the Geek Squad at Best Buy and to a locally owned repair shop, Superior Electronics in Dravosburg. But before we did that, we had to create a problem with it.
First, we brought it to Ken Heiss at Spectrum Computers in Lawrenceville to make sure the well-running PC didn't have any hidden bugs.
Kenn Heiss: "At this time, it doesn't look like it's being impaired by any viruses, adware, or any other things. Seems quite normal."
Jim Parsons: "Seems normal? OK. Give it a nice cleaning and we'll be on our way."
Kenn Heiss: OK.
Next, we brought the PC to Michael Tsai, a grad student at Carnegie Mellon University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. We asked Michael to double-check for trouble.
Michael Tsai: "There were four minor spyware type of things and I just went ahead and removed it with the software I installed.
Jim Parsons: "So you found four viruses?"
Michael Tsai: "Yes."
Jim Parsons: "And you removed them?"
Michael Tsai: "Yes."
And then, Michael did something else. He installed an empty partition in the hard drive, something he says could easily happen if the owner incorrectly downloads and installs a new operating system. The computer got stuck on the empty partition and refused to load Windows, instead showing a black screen.
Michael Tsai: "If you have some experience fixing computers, I would say you would be able to figure that out."
Especially with this hint that automatically pops up on the screen: "bad PBR." It may not mean anything to most of us, but Michael says veteran computer techs know it means "bad partition boot record."
Even rookie techs will find 4000 Google hits on "Bad PBR."
Michael Tsai: "It's a real quick fix. If he knows what the problem is, he can fix it in, like, five minutes."
But it wasn't five minutes at Best Buy's Geek Squad. Not even five days. They charged us $70 up front and took more than a week to call us back with this voicemail message:
Best Buy Voicemail Message: "Your computer has, uh, they found 51 traces of viruses and spyware. Could be why the unit will not boot into the Windows. What they recommend you do is get an ADR, which is an advanced diagnostic and repair, that's how we get rid of viruses, it's $130."
One-hundred thirty dollars, on top of the $70 we already spent. Plus, the agent recommended we spend another $100.
Best Buy Voicemail Message: "You will lose all of the data on your computer if we do the restore and I would recommend you getting a data back-up if your information is important to you."
All told, the Geek Squad wanted $300 for a diagnosis that our expert says was incorrect.
Michael Tsai: "That is not the cause of this problem because I set up the problem myself. I know."
Next, we went to Office Depot, which offers free PC check-ups. But the tech here told us he couldn't determine our problem at the store, that he would have to ship it to the company's central repair facility and the minimum cost for a diagnosis would be $150.
And finally, Superior Electronics charged us $30 up front to look at the computer. The tech here did correctly determine the problem was in the computer's partition boot record, but instead of the quick fix that our expert described, he deleted everything out of the hard drive, without our authorization.
Michael Tsai: "Instead of just solving the problem in three minutes, you need to re-install the operating system, which will probably take hours."
And Superior told us to get that re-install, we would have to pay them another $77, for a total of $107.
David Radin, Web Developer: "These retailers aren't bad. There's nothing wrong with them, there's nothing wrong with the people. You just have to get the right one at the right time.
Tech entrepreneur David Radin, of Mount Lebanon, says consumers who take their broken computers to retailers have to keep this in mind.
David Radin, Web Developer: "You can go in at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and get a guy who helps you out tremendously and go back 15 minutes later, he's on break, and you'll get somebody who can't help you."
So here are David's three best tips for choosing someone to fix your computer:
You should be talking to people to see who they have had help them. Because there are a lot of good people out there.
No. 2 is for companies that help you make the repairs yourself over the phone.
David Radin, Web Developer: "When I find a customer support person, a technical support person, that I feel is doing a good job for me, I ask his name, find out where he is, and I ask him if he has a direct number so that next time I can call him directly."
And No. 3? Don't be afraid to get a good "how-to" book and do it yourself. Some repairs, like installing more memory, can be remarkably simple.
David Radin, Web Developer: "You'd be surprised at just how easy it is to find the right chip, to be able to maximize your computer, and to be able to put it in."
We should mention that in tonight's report, the repairs that Geek Squad and Superior Electronics proposed to us for our computer, reinstalling the operating system, would have actually fixed the problem. But as our expert said, there was a much simpler solution that would cost a lot less.
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For more information about computer fixes, read our
Computer Tech Support Guide.
Chat Wrapup: Read the question-and-answer session that Parsons did with WTAE viewers on ThePittsbrughChannel.com --------------------
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