Not exaggerating, there are about 250 BILLION things that can go wrong with a computer!  There is no way to test every one of them, so what we do is use my 28 years of experience to narrow it down quickly.

A computer basically has two major categories, and parts within those:

Hardware: Stuff you can see and touch and buy in a computer store, including:

• Case (nothing ever goes wrong with the OUTSIDE of the computer)
• Power Supply: distributes electricity to the parts inside.  This part goes bad in usually 4 years, and has a bad burning smell.  It costs about $40-$50.  Usually if you turn off the computer and it doesn't turn back on, it is this part.
• Hard Drive: hold all your software and information.  This part lasts usually 5 to 7 years.  When your computer begins to freeze or shows "blue screens" then it is usually a hard drive.
• Motherboard: connects all the parts on your computer.  This is usually cost prohibitive to fix, just because there is a lot of labor to get it working properly.
• Memory: holds your information while you are working on it.  This rarely breaks.

Software:  Computer programs you put onto your hard drive.

• 90% of computer problems are software related.  This includes viruses, pop-ups, backing up, losing data, etc.

Scott Henke