I have been in the computer consulting business locally for almost a year now. I have had a great time and met some very nice people. The vast majority of my clients are sensitive and easy to work with. But when you are in business for a while, you are bound to pick up a few exceptions. I thought long and hard about writing this column, because it seems self-serving. But, speaking frankly, there are not a lot of computer or computer service firms here in the area and this small number seems to be going down, not up. Perhaps some insight into the frustrations of the business might help, not only in the computer business but also in any business in which a service is being sold.
Probably the biggest frustration is people not taking backups of their hard drives. Computers do fail, and both hardware errors and software errors can cause you to lose all your data. Very few people are prepared for this, and when you tell them that you can repair the hard drive or reinstall Windows but that all their data are gone, they look at me as if it was my fault, not theirs.
Then there is Mr. Know-It-All. He hires me as a consultant and then ignores my advice. A variant of this type is the one who messes up his computer by installing every game and whizbang free application he can find, then blames me for not being able to repair the mess.
Ms. My-Time-Is-Your-Time insists on calling at all hours of the day, night or weekend. I suppose they believe that if a computer can be used 24 hours a day, therefore I must be available at all hours to answer their questions.
Finally, Mr. Freebie often appears. After consulting with him once or twice, he believes that any remaining service calls or phone calls should be "on the house", even if not at all related to the service I did for him.
A little more seriously, there is one situation concerning Windows that is very frustrating. In order to be more cost competitive, many dealers now sell computers without a full version of Windows. Microsoft allows computer manufacturers to put Windows on the PC's hard drive, but not actually give you the Windows CD. This lowers the manufacturer's cost. There is one simple way to tell if you have a full version of Windows - you will have a CD-ROM clearly showing it as from Microsoft (NOT from the computer vendor) and you will have a Windows "Proof of Purchase" booklet with the long and complicated Product Key number.
If you do not have a Windows CD-ROM, you probably got a CD-ROM from the manufacturer that can "restore" your hard drive, including Windows. But these restore CDs often completely erase your hard drive and restore the computer just as it was when you took it out of the box - all your data and installed programs are gone. These CDs do not contain Windows, only an image of it, and cannot be used to reinstall Windows. This does so little good that I am surprised that dealers can give it to you with a straight face.
Reinstalling Windows is actually a fairly common occurrence. But you can only reinstall from a full CD. My only recommendation to clients in this situation is that they have to purchase a full license of Windows, which can be expensive.
What happens next is predictable - the client asks me to use MY Windows CD to fix the problem. Their perception is that they paid for Windows and I should be able to restore it from any CD available. This is in fact not true, and in order to get that cheap price on the computer they in fact did NOT get a full Windows license. The bottom line here: next time you buy a computer, insist on a full version of Windows, including CD.
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport / Oak Island area. You can visit his website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail him at bsc@bobseidel.com).