How Computer Repair Issues Are Classified

It’s a common situation among computer owners: Your machine is experiencing issues you’re confident can be repaired. That said, how much will these fixes cost you, and what factors influence the way they’re classified and the repair services required for them?

At FixIT Mobile in Mesa, we’re proud to offer a huge range of computer repair services to all our clients in need, plus numerous other device repair solutions as-needed. Within each of these areas, basic issue classification is an important factor in not only the cost of your device repair, but also the future life of your device. Let’s use computer repair as our example here: There are several types of computer issues or concerns that may crop up, but part of our job is simplifying things to clients and helping them easily grasp the practical elements of the repair needs facing them. Here are some basic classification methods you’re likely to hear about with regard to computer repair.

Hardware Concerns

In many situations, the biggest determinant of not only the cost of repairs, but also the severity of the issue and the likelihood of future problems, is whether the issue is a hardware or software concern. Hardware, as the name suggests, refers to anything that’s part of the physical infrastructure of the computer itself. Hardware includes items like the central processing unit, disc drive, keyboard, case, power source and even a wide variety of accessories like monitors, speakers and others. As you can imagine (or have experienced directly), these items are all at least somewhat susceptible to physical damage if they’re dropped, hit or otherwise impacted, or even in certain other cases as well. Some of them are also prone to basic wear-and-tear over time.

Software Concerns

On the flip side here are software concerns, which refer rather to the code that runs the computer in question. Software issues don’t take place based on physical damage – rather, they’re caused by hackers or viruses aimed at disrupting software, or may take place if a computer is not configured correctly during setup.

An example of this latter issue is programs that are not compatible with one another, or operating systems that don’t work with a certain computer peripheral without updated software. Even certain anti-virus programs, which are meant to guard against software issues, may interfere with one another and cause such issues.

Financial Considerations

While we will typically classify a computer repair issue as either hardware of software-related, we know clients also want to know what repairs will run them monetarily. For this reason, a separate common classification will be financially-based: Will the repair require a minor cost and very little time, moderate amounts of each, or in some cases such extreme repairs that upgrading to a new computer might simply be the better choice? This helps you evaluate your budget and make the prudent decision.

For more on computer repair classifications, or to learn about any of our device repair services such as phone repair, tablet repair or others, speak to the staff at FixIT Mobile in Mesa today.