Computer newbies forum: Poll: Who do you trust for your computer repair?

In the 'Poll' I see Big-box chain store retailer as the first two entries and My local self-owned computer repair shop is missing. In my case I only trust myself. I have worked for a chain store and they will do what they can which will either be clean it or reinstall. They can generally do backups as well (before they reinstall), and put most of the stuff back (you don't want the viruses back). Factory/OEM technicians are no different and can be associated with the Big-box chains. My friends or family can take more time than the others (except yourself), but might not be as good.

Myself and then to a local repair/tech shop.

I trust myself mostly for tech support and after that I look on forums etc. If it comes to it I would take it to my local self-owned computer repair shop.

So far, any problems I've had with my own pcs, I've been able to fix myself. I have been lucky, though, since nothing has been very complicated. It's usually been either software/OS issues, replacing RAM & drives. There were a few things where I found help/answers in forums and I followed the advice to fix a pc.

If something comes up that's more complicated, I am not sure who I would go to. I had a laptop my family bought for a nephew for Christmas where the screen was suddenly black, but we bought an extended warranty through a well-known warranty company and they fixed it very quickly. So far my dealings with this company have been pleasant and the service quick. So I think I might trust them for other gadgets. Aside from this, I think I would do some research to try to find a reputable local repair facility.

I frequently use Cnet & WinHelpOnline for researching issues I come across, and use simple tools such as "Startup Delayer", "Tune Up Utilities", and a few others to analyze and manage active processes on all my systems. For physical hardware that needs to be repaired or replaced, I often buy parts from online sources such as my computer's manufacturer since it's cheap, abundant, and easy to locate exactly what I need which isn't often available at retail stores.

I generally fix things for myself no matter if it's my computer, my car, my home, or anywhere else, I just find it easier to do things for myself rather than have to rely on others which can be both a hassle and inconvenient to them and to myself, not to mention that if I mess things up, I only have myself to blame whereas if someone else messes up, it may only make things worse then I'd blame myself for not just doing it myself to begin with, if that makes sense.

Big-box chain store retailer.