Laptops, computers, and smartphones are the most essential three gadgets that have become a part of our daily life. But sometimes they get damaged, and we face technical problems by using them continuously.
Today here, you will learn about laptops and what you can do before giving them for repair.
So if you are planning to give someone to fix it, here are things to do before giving the laptop for repair.
Before giving your laptop to a repair shop, you need to do some of the practices given below to be on the safer side in terms of the privacy and safety of your device.
You can do these things independently or take advice from your friends or family members and ask them to help make them possible.
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1. Take Backups.
Backups are critical before you give your laptop for repair. Having backups means using the data on another device when you don’t have your primary device.
There are two possible ways that you can take backup.
- Using cloud storage.
- Using Hard-disk drive.
Cloud Backup
Cloud storage is best to use when you have very little data to back up because files to the cloud storage can be backed up to a specific limit, then you need to pay for it.
You can use google photos to store your images and videos for photos and video storage, but it has a 15 Gb backup limit. After that, you have to pay for the storage.
Hard-disk backup
You can buy or borrow someone’s hard disk to back up your essential files before giving the laptop repair. It’s better to have an external hard disk as it can make things much more accessible and is not too expensive compared to other storage devices like SSD.
You can see the various hard disk on Amazon- Click here.
Make sure to put a password on your files if you have borrowed someone’s the hard disk.
Read: How much mobile data does a laptop consume?
2. Remove cache and history.
Most people don’t even consider removing cache and history from their browser before giving it for repair. As browsers save data, images, and site names, anyone can know about your privacy and what things you search on the web.
If it is your laptop, you should consider deleting the history from the browser because people from repair shops can sneak into your browser and your personal browsing history.
3. Logout from all social media accounts and other websites.
Social media accounts are the most sensitive thing on anyone’s laptop. If you give your device to use or repair, log out from social media accounts, then handle your device.
If you use too many platforms, it’s hard for you to log out from every platform. And to do it quickly, you can clear all the passwords from the browser.
Also, enable two-factor authentication so that it will be almost impossible for anyone to open your social media account.
4. Delete personal files.
You can either delete or hide your pictures, videos, and documents but don’t keep them in those folders easily accessible by anyone.
People can misuse your details, so it’s better to take caution first. You can hide the files or put the password on your data if you want the repair guy won’t see it.
5. Reset passwords or remove them.
If you are using a chrome browser, delete the saved passwords from the browser. Using too many websites, most browsers ask you to save the password; the second time, it auto-fills the password when you revisit the site.
You might be in trouble if you do too many banking and fund transactions. Just delete the passwords in the auto-fill settings, and you are ready.
6. Get all your essential documents.
If you have PDFs and document files saved on the computer, copy them onto another drive or back them up.
While repairing the laptop, the files can get deleted if you have especially saved them on the main drive or from a C drive. Suppose you got a problem with the software or operating system.
Move the files to a secondary folder in another drive or external storage space.
7. Make the laptop easier to access.
Having passwords on a personal laptop is a must-have, but if you give it to someone for repair, remove all the passwords so that the guy can easily open it up to do their job.
You can also remove the passwords from files and folders where you are getting problems. Just remember to remove the personal files from another folder.
8. Take out the secondary hard drive if possible.
Modern laptops have two storage drive units. One is a hard disk(HDD), and the second is a solid-state drive(SSD). In SSD, most essential files, including the operating system and programs, are saved because it is fast compared to HDD.
And in HDD, files such as photos, videos, and other things are saved if you got some sensitive files, then you can remove them from the laptop. But do it only if you have previously handled the laptops and computers; otherwise, you will damage your laptop.
Here’s the video that can help you remove the hard disk from your laptop.
9. Estimate the cost of repair.
Repair shop guys can fool you, take advantage of your damaged laptop, and make the repair expensive.
To avoid this, first of all, figure out what went wrong with your laptop. For example, if there’s a technical problem or a hardware-related issue.
On average, the technical problems cost less because they format the laptop to repair them, but if it is a hardware problem related to the processor or ram, it may cost you more.
Also, make sure to take the advice of 2-3 technicians or visit more laptop repair stores before you leave the laptop in a particular shop. Mainly if you are not repairing it from the service center.
10. Search on the internet.
Sometimes things can fix thru the use of the internet. You can use youtube to do this as every type of video is there on the net about repairing a laptop. Figure out what went wrong with your laptop; if it is a minor issue, you can fix it at home.
But if you need to open a laptop to repair it, don’t do this as it will create more mess. It’s better to go to a repair store.
What to do if your laptop won’t start?
The main problem comes when your laptop won’t start and you cannot back up your files. In such a case, you cannot do the following things when you go to a repair store.
Ask the technician to open the laptop and give you the hard disk drive if you have two drives. As in SSD, I had previously told you that it only has OS files and other stuff, and using this, your files will be in your hands.
Inquire about the store before giving the laptop for repair
Before giving the laptop for repair, a couple of things are as follows.
- See the google reviews of customers nowadays. Everyone has listed their shop on google my business. You can get your work done if the reviews and ratings are reasonable.
- Visit at least two- to three shops and determine where you can get the best repair price.
I don’t know whether this question comes to your mind or where you give your laptop for repair.
- Authorized service center.
- Local repair store.
You might think giving in a service center is best if you want things done correctly. And in a local store, the technician is not qualified to do the job right.
But in my personal experience, If you give your laptop to the service center, they will charge you with the same service charge if even you got a slight problem, like if your laptop is hanging or some minor program issues.
Usually, authorized service centers can charge between 350 Rs – and 500 Rs to repair a laptop for minor issues if you are out of warranty. This is why because they have a fixed price point.
Talking about the local repair stores, they can do the repair job as low as possible but don’t buy hardware from local stores as most sell only compatible products.
So if you want excellent and genuine parts or hardware issues in your laptop, get it done from the authorized service center, and if your laptop has some software-related problems, get it done from a nearby local store.
How to send your laptop for repair?
If the service or repair shop is far from your home, you send the laptop thru the mail. You can use any mail service.
- FedEx.
- ShipBob.
- Lasership.
To ship your damaged laptop. Make sure to use a good cardboard box and bubble wrap to secure your laptop to avoid more damage.
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Things to check after getting your laptop
After the laptop is fixed, there are certain things that you need to check. Most of them are the original parts of your laptop and make sure the guys from the store have not changed them.
To check it, what you can do is.
- Check the device manager of your laptop and see your internal device’s brand name. This way, you can understand whether your laptop has all the original parts.
- Check and run your laptop in the repair store for 30 minutes. During this time, use heavy programs on your laptop to know if there’s any problem.
- Check for programs and ask them to install the required ones.
- Give the money only after you are satisfied with their work; otherwise, you need to pay more if the problem is not entirely fixed.
FAQ about giving your laptop for repair.
What to do if there’s no authorized service center in your area?
Search online if you need parts, and if there are minor issues with your laptop, you can get it fixed in any local store.
What to do if someone took the original parts from the laptop?
People do this to make money. They will take out the original ram and replace it will low-quality ram technology as they are cheap they can also do with other parts. In such a case, make sure you have a bill for your laptop, and then you can file a complaint.
Can repair shops steal your data while repairing?
If you leave your private files on your laptop without hiding or removing them, they can likely steal your private files.
