Lets say your PC has become slow, or its time to replace that hard drive due to a failure. If you have the PC brought to our office, we can normally turn it around in a few days (4 to 8 Days) .It normally takes 4 or so hours of keyboard/billable time to reformat a PC. All work will be done over the course of a few days. All time spent on the machine isn’t billable.
A good rule of thumb is a reformat of a PC is 4 or so Hours. (without any data backup) – The choice for you to make is do you want to invest in repairing the dekstop, or do you want to just buy a new one. Big Sur will support you either way.
We are often asked about a warranty. The warranty you get with the machine is between you and the manufacture. You are able to call them yourselves, but most customers prefer we do it for them. Even when you call and they send you a new drive. 9 out of 10 times, its blank. They will not move your data or install windows and prepare it on your network.
- Windows 3.1 – Come back to the Future Marty!
- Windows 95/98 – Replace the machine, don’t spend any time looking to repair it.
- Windows XP – Replace the machine, don’t spend any time looking to repair it.
- Windows Vista – Replace the machine, don’t spend any time looking to repair it.
- Windows 7 – Still most likely a good machine.
- Windows 8 – Current model computer.
Average Cost to install a new drive and re-install windows = $480 – $690
Average Cost of a NEW PC = $500-$900
Below is the breakout of the time spent.
- Locate Windows Media – (1 Hour Estimate + Purchase of Media) – If you did not provide us the CD’s that came with the system, we may need to order them. When we need to call the vendor, it can take time to get to the right team to get the software we are looking for. This is also just for windows. The only media that we can install is the one that matches your license code on the side of the machine. No code means we need to sell you a new copy of Windows which could be in the range of $400 or so.
- Backing Up of Data – (3 Hour Estimate) – Depending on the health of the machine and the amount of data, a backup of your files can take around 3 hours or so.
- Re-install of Windows with Media Provided (2 Hour Estimate) – This is the easy part. This is just walking thorough the installer.
- Installing Drivers (1 to 2 Hour Estimate) – Now depending on the model and manufacture, finding drivers can be a bit of a Challenge.. This just takes time. If you provide all recovery disks, it will be a bit faster.
- Windows Updates (4 to 6 Hour Estimate) – Depending on the version of Windows – There could be literally 100’s of updates. Windows 7 has a known 300+ that need to get installed on a fresh Windows 7 Install.
- Install Customer Provided Software (1 to 2 Hour Estimate) – Depending on what the software is we can handle this for you.
- Install AntiVirus (1/2 Hour Estimate) – If the machine is not under management, we need to install your antivirus software. Big Sur Offers Desktop AV @ $2.00 per Month.
- Delivery of PC (1 Hour Estimate) If we need to bring the PC to your office, there will be a charge to do so.
- Setup PC at your Desk (1 to 2 Hours Estimate) – This is the time to setup your profile, install printers, join to domain etc.