Recently Walmart had (still has as of this writing) refurbished computers for sale. The special is Dell Refurbished GX520 Deskkop PC with Intel Pentium 4 Processor, 2GB Memory, 500GB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Home Premium on the system. The price was $188 which is not bad at all. So we ordered a few systems and received them about two days later. Now we have purchased refurbished computers in the past and typically don’t have a problem with them.

Now this is the typical definition of refurbished - refurbished refers to “old” or used computer equipment that has been restored to like-new working condition and/or appearance or computer devices that have been sent back to the factory to fix a flaw.

So we received these two systems in and the first one we put on the bench got it all plugged in and turned it on…Wait..wait..wait..that’s right nothing came on. Popped the side and looked around and all appeared to be plugged in correctly and everything looked like it was seated correctly. No matter what we did (troubleshooting steps) it would not come on. Now, maybe if it was a customers computer we would put even more time into the system to identify exactly what the problem is. But, in this case I have no patience to pay for something that should work automatically and it does not work. So unplugged it and put it back in the box.

Now we open the second computer, plug it in and go to fire it up and you guessed it same as before nothing happens. Again we pop the side off to check the inside out hoping maybe a cable just came loose but no such luck. What we did find is this:

That’s correct…tape holding the hard drive in place. Now I explained before what refurbished is and using tape to hold a hard drive in place is “not” a part of doing a refurbish to a system. So after seeing this, again the computer goes in the box and back to Walmart.

Now I am sure this will not deter us from purchasing more refurbished computers. Typically we have very good fortune with these systems and will continue to purchase them. What I do caution is to make sure if you do buy “ANY” refurbished system that even if it works correctly when you turn it on then do yourself a favor and pop it open and see what the inside looks like. It would be terrible to have it work correctly, you sell it to a customer and then a few months later the customer has a problem and when you go to look at it you find something wrong on the inside i.e. tape holding it together.

Source:Computer Repair Blog

Serving Waverly Ohio, Circleville Ohio, Greenfield Ohio, Piketon Ohio, Washington Court House Ohio, Frankfort Ohio,and Bainbridge Ohio

Serving the following areas with your computer repair needs.... Waverly, Circleville, Greenfield, Piketon, Washington CH, Frankfort, and Bainbridge, Ohio

Choosing a member of a trade body such as a Computer Repair Network member helps you avoid the above problems, as all members have agreed to abide by the Computer Repair Network Code of Practice. We hope the following information will also help you in choosing acomputer repairer: The most recent Windows programmes allow remote service, and this is usually cheaper and quicker than having computer repairs actually carried out by a visit to you on site. The downside of this, is that remote computer repairs are only available if your internet is still working, so if your computer isn't working at all this will usually not be an option. It works like this. You contact the computer repairs company, and you follow their instructions over the phone. This allows them to access your computer, and to work on it over the internet, just as though they were sitting in front of it. The repairer will explain what they are doing at every stage, and if your problem is software related it is often repairable quite quickly. Of course, if your computer repairs problem is hardware related, or not suitable for remote repair, then you have two choices. To take it to the repairer, or for the repairer to come to you. If you take your computer to a repairer, you will usually only need to take the desktop itself, not the keyboard, mouse or monitor. The advantage of doing this is that the computer repairs company often has better facilities or more spare parts to hand, and it may turn out to be cheaper than the repairer visiting on site. It's also obviously easier if some diagnostic software has to be left running overnight, as you won't be getting charged for the time it takes to do that. If the computer repairs are done by a visit to you on site there are some obvious precautions that you should consider. If possible, try to ensure that you are not alone, and make sure you see some credible ID before letting a stranger have access to your premises and access to all your confidential information. The great advantage of having someone on site is that you don't have to dismantle anything, and you will be able to see what the computer repairer does. This, coupled with a few questions and answers, may mean that you gain enough knowledge to repair your own computer should it develop a similar fault in the future. Most problems are more complex though, so developing a good working relationship with a computer repairs company you can trust, means you can call them again with confidence. Choosing a Computer Repairer We hope that the above information helps you in choosing a computer repairer, and that using a Registered Computer Repair company, coupled with the above advice, will help to get your computer back working as quickly as possible.

Serving Waverly, Circleville, Greenfield, Piketon, Washington CH, Frankfort and Bainbridge Ohio with your Computer Repair needs.......