Is computer repair a black craft? What will you encounter if you attempt a computer repair? Will your computer repair result in smoke and flames? Should you just leave the computer repair to a professional?

Most of my friends are computer dorky kind of people and they insist on doing computer repair themselves. I’m much like that too, computer repair can be fun, but its not for everyone.

There is a lot of computer repair that you can do with simply a philips screwdriver and bit of finesse.

If you are uncomfortable with computer hardware in general, if you bought a pre-built computer and have never plugged of unplugged the outside cables yourself you’d probably be better going to a computer shop to get things done. Ask your friends or other people in the office where they get their computers fixed. A lot of people can open a computer and fiddle, but not as many can truly repair your problems, offer you honest advice and predict future problems. If you trust your computer repairman you’ll have a lot less worry about keeping your computer running smoothly.

For those who like DIY or those who are just adventurous there is not too much to the computer itself.

The case comes undone with screws at the back.

The sides slide off to reveal the inner parts.

The power supply gives power to all the inner parts. Cables are shaped to avoid connecting incorrectly.

All the parts connect to the motherboard.

Expansion cards go in the slots that show out the back.

The processor connects to the motherboard with a large fan on it.

Completely disconnect power, disconnect what you need to remove, unscrew it and wiggle it out.

Just reconnect at the end, plug in the computer and things will run again.

Alright, computer repair is a little more complicated that, and there are a few little things which require a few trickly movements, but really there is not much to it. The hard part is finding what exactly is wrong and what needs to be fixed or changed.

Computer repair with software is a much more complex thing and usually involves Microsoft Windows. Being the most widely available and most commonly used operating system there are a multitude of things which could go wrong, but which don’t happen too often. The days of “the blue screen of death” are mostly behind us, but regular backups of you data will ensure that even complete operating system failure will not mean the end of you data.