Over a period of time, for most it’s several years, your computer has collected an arrangement of music, documents, photos and movies. These items are precious, and finding a way to safeguard your files is as important to us as it is to you. You cannot put a price on memories and your files are just that, memories stored in a little tiny box.
In the spirit of analogies let us compare your computer to a tree. As a tree grows the roots spread deeper into the ground and branch out into many different places. Sometimes you can up root a tree with little effort and others it becomes complicated due to the nature of those roots. The same is to be said about computers. Depending on the system you are thinking of replacing or possibly repairing, there are some factors you need to look into:
Some factors to consider when you want to repair or replace your computer:
The programs – Not all computer programs will work on just any machine, even if you were to modify those programs to run in a compatibility they may just not work on the newer operating systems. For specialty programs that you have already invested time and money into this may not be something you wish to give up. Yes, programs have evolved and in many instances, there are really good upgrades that are worth the change to upgrade rather than repair but this option is not always available due to possible cost factors. Remember you can’t transfer programs from one computer to another, you have to install those programs in those new systems, if you no longer have the media to do so, and cannot go without said software, this makes the option to repair a better choice.
External (peripheral) devices – From the home user to the small business owner, external devices should always be considered prior to investing into a newer machine. Reason? Cost! Mice, keyboards, audio devices, and printers; Laser, ink-jet, receipt or even impact printers, are all specialty devices that do not always allow you to just connect to a newer device. The cables, ports, and drivers to those devices are not always compatible and this leads to increased costs when considering the repair or replace options.
In an example of this could be impact printers (for some these are still used even today) for specialty forms that you currently have and use. Most programs that rely on impact printers for those forms cannot simply be attached to a new computer and work. This would require a newer printer, form, and possibly even newer business software to use those printers. Those costs need to be weighed into the possible reasons to either repair or replace your computing unit.
Possible improvements – Technology is an ever-changing creature. Vast improvements in sometimes as little as a few months, weeks, days or even hours. Computers created in the days of windows 98, xp, vista, 7, and 8 have increased one after the other in storage space, speed, power and abilities. Sometimes those changes are amazingly wonderful, other times they are extremely painful. In an example the vista operating system, for many users this “upgrade” was a reminder that not everything new is good and wonderful. Now that does not mean avoid upgrading to a newer computer system or even just the operating system, but understanding that the latest is not always the greatest is some of the best advice we can give.
There are many different kinds of computers and everyone is going to have different situations, so being able to give advice that suits everyone is not always possible. We do hope that this gives you a bit to think about and if you have any questions feel free to stop in our shop, visit our website at http://www.softechcomputers.com or give us a call at 928-443-8770 and schedule some time to chat with one of our techs and come up with a solution that works best for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment