While there are many computer repair places in the Boston, Ma area, their prices can be high. However, it is possible to find an affordable computer repair technician outside of Boston in surrounding cities like Cambridge, Somerville, and Medford or you can find help online. Many local computer repair centers advertise online and may offer customer savings as online advertising can be cheaper.
Some computer repair problems can be fixed without the help of a computer repair service. If a computer is running slowly, for example, some of the options that can be taken include deleting unnecessary files to save hard drive space. Defragmenting a hard drive can improve performance by rearranging the way files are stored on the hard drive. If the computer seems to be accessing the hard drive more than necessary and the computer is running much slower, two options that might help include increasing the virtual memory size and adding additional RAM to the computer.
Computer RAM is the memory space of a computer that stores the actual information being processed. It can store instructions and data. The instructions would come in the form of an application or program like Microsoft Word or Excel. Data, on the other hand, would be the information being processed, such as text in a Word document or numbers in a spreadsheet. Sometimes, however, the amount of RAM available to applications is reduced. As a result, some of the space on a hard drive is used to supplement RAM. When this happens, the computer runs slower because sending data and instructions from the hard drive is slower than from RAM. Increasing virtual memory may not help speed wise, but it may prevent an out of memory error or crash. One of the best solutions is to increase the amount of RAM a computer uses. Additional RAM can be added by purchasing a suitable memory card for the particular computer.
The additional RAM will reduce the need to access the hard drive when free memory runs out. Another way to increase performance is to kill unnecessary processes running in the background on your computer. These can be seen by invoking the task manager. The task manager can be seen when the control – alt – delete keys are held down at the same time. In the processes tab, you can see the amount of memory for each process. However, it is important not to kill an important process that is already running. Only unnecessary processes should be terminated. Memory can also be saved by checking the start menu to see if unnecessary programs are starting up and taking up memory. Adware, spyware, viruses, worms, and Trojan horses can also drain memory and damage your computer and the information stored on it. A virus scan should also be run to check for problems.
Sometimes there may not be a performance issue. In fact, the computer may not work at all. While there are many types of problems that can affect a computer, there are generally two types of problems. Either the problem is a hardware problem or it is software related. In the case of hardware, there can be issues when the computer has no power, which could be the result of not being plugged in or a bad power supply. Other hardware failures can be caused by the computer having power, but the operating system failing to start due to a hard drive malfunction. Other hardware issues include no sound or video, keyboard errors, etc.
Computer software problems can occur from malware such as viruses, driver-related device conflicts, and a damaged operating system. In the case of Microsoft Windows, a computer user may encounter an error message with a blue background, also known as the “blue screen of death.” However, appearances can be deceiving. A software problem can sometimes really be a hardware problem and vice versa. If in doubt, a computer repair service technician can help.
For someone in or around Boston, there are many options. Some are willing to travel to neighboring towns like Newton, Ma or Waltham. Other cities around Boston may have services such as Chelsea, Everett, and Revere.
