Choosing the right computer doctor or technician to repair your PC comes down to 3 main factors. This article steps through these factors so that you get the right company to do your PC repairs.

Before selecting a technician/shop, you should consider the fact that each computer doctor will specialize in specific technologies or services. Some specialize in fixing computers according to the operating system type (windows, linux, apple) while other provide specific services such as virus removal, computer maintenance, upgrades training, data recovery, etc.

Depending on what you need done to your computer, check that the company can support your specification of machine and also that they have experience in the work you require. A regular PC repair shop may be ideal for doing RAM upgrades but weak at data recovery of corrupted drives.

Next, consider the location of the computer service. For simple tasks like upgrades, email setup and broadband setup you would be best going with a local PC repairs service/shop that can handle these tasks. In addition, they are familiar with local networks (including phone networks) so will be used to the nuances of configuring these systems.

For more specialized tasks including mechanical repairs or advanced data recovery (e.g. recovering lost data from a flooded PC) then shipping your laptop/device to an out-of-town could provide better results.

Finally, the cost factor has to be considered. Most services provides quotes for their services (even for data recovery) so this should be established upfront. Again, a non-local service may be cheaper, especially if they are providing free/low-cost shipping as part of their service.

One final thing to consider is whether you need a computer doctor in the first place. With the wealth of useful information on the web and online PC repair tools it is possible for individuals to attempt most PC repairs themselves.