Computer Repair in Eugene/Springfield
When your computer needs repair, dealing with tech support can be extremely painful. Spending hours on the phone with a computer repair service isn't exactly the best way to spend your time.
That's where we come in.
Our philosophy is that computer skills alone are not enough. A computer consultant should have strong communication, empathy and social skills. You should come away feeling confident that you understood pretty much everything we said. Above all, you should feel that you were treated with respect. Everything else is secondary.
Before contacting any computer repair service, we strongly encourage you to check out client testimonials and to verify that the company is legitimate and registered to do business in the State of Oregon. Knowing if they are insured, licenced and/or bonded to provide technology services is also important. Finally, check to see if any negative reviews have been posted with the regional Better Business Bureau.
Why provide local computer repair in the Eugene/Springfield area, we're often asked. Why not the entire State of Oregon? Well, Eugene is a wonderful city filled with natural beauty and is often referred to as the "outdoor lifestyle" town. It's the second-largest city in the State of Oregon and is home to both the University of Oregon and access to the Willamette and McKenzie rivers. It currently consists of over 23 neighborhoods, and while it rains more often here than in other areas of the Pacific NorthWest, it is amazingly bright and sunny more often than not. It's a nice, easy-paced town where getting across from one side to the other takes fifteen minutes at most, something to be proud of for anyone coming from a larger metropolitan area. Springfield is adjacent and also easily accessible, as is Creswell and Coburg in a pinch.
Remember, many things can affect a computer system: Failing hard drives, networking problems and virus infections tend to be some of the most common culprits. Often what is suspected to be the cause tends to be just a symptom of the true underlying problem. A diagnostic of your computer is the best way to sort out what might be going on and how to best intervene.
On-Site, Emergency Response
Often, as is the case, computer problems happen at precisely the wrong moment. Computers crash, backups fail and productivity crawls to a halt. This type of "pain management" for dealing with a crisis situation is absolutely essential. After assessing the issues on-site, we'll work with you in determining the best approach to resolving whatever issues you might be facing.
Data Recovery
If you've ever lost data before, you can understand how unexpected it feels. What's worse is when your computer crashes and you find out that your backup wasn't working either. To prevent this sort of catastrophe, we recommend using a minimum of two completely different backup methods. For example, doing an online backup along with a local backup to an external hard drive increases the odds that, if one backup method fails, another will at least have taken up the slack. Perhaps even more critical, however, is the need to double-check your backup settings on a regular basis to make sure that the files you need backed up are actually being backed up. Remember, you don't want to lose your important documents, photos, Firefox bookmarks and other critical files — as the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Virus/Spyware Removal
Some viruses try to steal your passwords; others want to use your computer as a "hiding spot" for storing illegal or illicit material. Many viruses pretend to be helpful programs, games, screen savers or even anti-virus programs themselves. In your attempts to protect yourself, you can inadvertently become infected by these "fake" anti-virus programs. If you think you're dealing with a virus, you can read more about what to do when your computer is infected.
Computer Repair
Many things can affect a computer system: Failing hard drives, bad memory, corrupted file systems, electrical surges and virus infections tend to be some of the most common culprits. Often what is suspected to be the cause tends to be just a symptom of the true underlying problem. A full diagnostic and assessment of your system is the best way to make sure that thing start off in the right direction from the start.
Support for Local Businesses
Computers are an essential business asset. Unfortunately, the realities of the modern economy make it difficult to plan around unexpected computer downtime and loss of network/Internet access. We address these issues by focusing on the business-aspect model: How can we minimize the impact that your computer problems are having on your business?
University & College Students
Computer problems are the last thing a student wants to deal with. It never happens at a good time and there are always issues surrounding the loss of a computer. Occasionally, we're contacted directly by parents of current students here in Eugene that are in dire need of assistance. We provide services to all students attending the University of Oregon, Lane Community College and Northwest Christian University, to name a few.
Windows & Macintosh Troubleshooting
With a significant share of the market, Microsoft's Windows operating system continues to be an important part of our daily life. Sometimes we use it by choice; other times, it's required for our school or business. However, many people are starting to use Macintosh computers in both home and work life. Oregon Tech Support is one of the few local businesses that provides service and repair for both.
Build a Better Website
If your business website isn't performing as well as you think it should, we can provide Search Engine Optimization for your business to increase your ranking with Google. First, we'll assess how your website is performing; next, we'll make the necessary changes and monitor the results. If you're having problems getting your business listed with the local search engines, we'll address this as well. Of course, you might need to build your website too.
Certified Professionals
In addition to being authorized as a a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), we also hold certifications as a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA).
Additional Resources
We also have a list of additional resources available for your review. For the ultra-tech types out there, we also host a selection of various in-depth tech articles (including our primer on iptables icmp and rp_filter filtering) and the infamous Unofficial Samba HOWTO.
Locally Owned and Operated
Oregon Tech Support is a Eugene-based, locally owned business established in 2006. We enjoy long-term relationships with our clients and receive most of our new clients through referrals. Feel free to read what some of our clients are saying about their experience with us.
Specialized in Focus
No one company should provide everything. That's why we specialize in a few key areas and avoid trying to be a "jack-of-all-trades" We feel that when you need urgent computer help, you need an expert that knows what they are doing, and not simply a "generalist" who attempts to know everything, but can resolve nothing.
We provide service and support on-site to all residents located in Eugene, Oregon. This allows us to include you in the initial diagnostic and discussion of your computer. We find it extremely helpful to examine a computer in its natural environment; how often have you taken a computer in to be fixed, only to be told that they couldn't reproduce the problem? By being on-site, we can actually see and examine the problem as it's happening, something we find invaluable with computer repair.
General Troubleshooting Tips
One area that is commonly overlooked is the issue of heat. If left unchecked, your laptop can accumulate enough dust to act as both a heat insulator and a blockage for ventilation. Both prevent the laptop from removing internal heat. The more heat that a laptop has, the shorter its lifespan becomes. Some blockages can't easily be seen from the outside and require that the laptop be taken apart and cleaned. Even a standard visual inspection of the inside of your computer can give you a false sense of security. Even removing the fan from the top of the heatsink might show that everything is clean, however the blockage can be hidden even further — accumulating into a thick sheet of dust, something that can't easily be seen from a casual visual inspection. On average, this single issue can cause a computer to run 10-30 degrees hotter than normal, something dangerous to a PC's lifespan.
Sometimes an error message can be misleading, and in some cases, it doesn't help us pin down much of anything whatsoever. However, these three pieces of information increase our odds in troubleshooting what possibly went wrong in the first place. Write down these three pieces of information and send them in an e-mail to your computer support professional; this will allow them to more easily research the error.
Additional questions to ponder: What happened immediately prior to the crash? Was a particular program running or exhibiting bizarre or slow behavior? Did anything out of the ordinary, aside from the crash, happen recently? Did anything new get installed (software or hardware) on the computer recently? When was the last time your computer was serviced? Again, many of these questions can be misleading and may not help us in our quest for an answer, however they often times are more revealing than we realize.
Computer Maintenance Recommendations
On a regular basis, you'll want to perform the following tasks below. In addition, we have a handout summarizing how to keep your computer safe available for your reference.
- Download the latest critical patches and security updates from Microsoft.
- Download and install any updates to any critical programs installed on your computer.
- Remove temporary files to help speed up your computer using the built-in Disk Cleaner program.
- Update your anti-virus program. Your anti-virus program can't protect you if it doesn't know about the latest viruses and threats.
- Scan your computer for any previously undetected viruses or spyware.
- Run a full system backup using the built-in Windows Backup program.
- Defragment your hard disk using the built-in Disk Defragmenter program.
- If you have a desktop, clean out the interior using a can of compressed air.
What to do if a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Appears
When your computer crashes with the dreaded Blue Screen of Death ("BSOD"), you can't easily capture the necessary information without either getting writer's cramp or being lost in a sea of technobabble. Fortunately, most of the technobabble can be ignored. In a nutshell, here is what is considered important when writing down information about a crash:
- Item #1 tells us what error happened (IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL)
- Item #2 tells us where the error happened (STOP: 0x0000000A…)
- Item #3 tells us who caused the error to happen (SPCMDCON.SYS - Address FBFE7617...)
Oddly enough, item #3 is often ignored and forgotten; this is, perhaps, the most important piece of information on the entire page. And yes, recording all the numbers alongside each of the three items of information is very, very important.
The Following File is Missing or Corrupt
Occasionally, you'll receive a message on a black screen indicating that a file is missing. This is usually a critical system file that tells Windows how it should be configured for your computer. Typically, it must be repaired or restored from backup. Fortunately, it often means that your hard drive and personal files are safe as the damage is specifically with Windows.
Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the original Setup CD-ROM. Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.
NTLDR is missing
This message is the computer's way of telling us that it cannot locate a critical file required before it can even start loading Windows. In this case as well, it must be repaired or restored. This is also good news as it likely means that your hard drive and personal files are safe as the damage is also, in this case, specifically with Windows.
NTLDR is missing Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart
