[ The PC Guide | Troubleshooting and Repair Guide ]

Repairs, Returns and Refunds

There's a fine line that is drawn between troubleshooting and repair. Simplistically, troubleshooting refers to figuring out what is wrong with something, and repair refers to fixing it. In the PC world, however, repair usually refers more specifically to taking a PC in to a repair shop, or trying to fix broken components. Usually components on PCs are just replaced, instead of repairing them. Also, many (if not most) problems with PCs are not due to anything being broken, just incorrectly installed or set up, so in most cases repair is not required.

You may find in the course of troubleshooting a problem with your PC that there is legitimately something wrong that needs to be fixed. This may be a component that is bad, or the whole PC itself; you may not even be sure of which. It is at this time that you need to look at either getting your hardware repaired, or if it was recently purchased, replaced or returned.

This chapter takes a look at the various issues involved in dealing with the repair of PCs or components, returning them for refund or replacement, and similar issues. This includes a full discussion on how to deal with companies through the exchange, and how to effectively use your warranty or guarantee, if appropriate.

Note: If you have just discovered a problem of some sort with your machine, and you haven't read through the other chapters of the Troubleshooting Guide, I'd recommend doing that first. Repair, replacement or returns are generally going to cost you time, and possibly money, so best to avoid them if you can by fixing simpler problems yourself.

Next: Determining the Feasibility of Repair

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