What we fix
Most people arrive with a symptom rather than a diagnosis: "it's slow", "it keeps turning itself off", "it makes a noise now". That's fine. Working out which of a dozen possible causes is the real one is the job, and it's exactly what the diagnostic is for.
- Computers that won't power on, won't boot, or stop partway through starting Windows
- Slow performance, freezing, and crashing under normal use
- Blue screens and error messages that keep coming back
- Failed hardware: drives, memory, power supplies, motherboards, fans and cooling
- Overheating, loud fans, and machines that shut down under load
- Laptop-specific faults: charging problems, screens, keyboards, hinges and ports
- Software conflicts, failed updates, and corrupted Windows installs
- Upgrades: more memory, bigger or faster storage, general performance work
How the diagnostic works
Diagnostics run at $50 per hour. We go past the surface symptom to find the underlying cause, because treating the symptom on a machine with a failing drive just means you're back in a fortnight with the same problem.
When we know what's wrong, you get told: what failed, what it costs to fix, how long it will take, and whether we think it's worth doing at all. Nothing else happens until you say go. No surprise invoice, and no work you didn't agree to.
When we'll tell you not to bother
Sometimes the honest answer is that the repair costs more than the machine is worth. A motherboard failure on an eight-year-old budget laptop is a good example. The part and the labour together will exceed what you'd pay for something newer and faster.
We'll say so. We'd rather lose the job and keep the customer. And if there's still data on it you need, we can get that off for you regardless of whether the machine itself is worth saving.
The reverse happens too. Plenty of computers people have already written off just need a $120 SSD upgrade, and they come back feeling genuinely new. It's the single most cost-effective repair in this business.
Before you bring it in
- If your files matter and aren't backed up, say so first. It changes the order we do things in.
- If the machine is making unusual noises, clicking, grinding, stop using it and see data recovery.
- Bring the charger. A surprising number of laptop "faults" turn out to be the power adapter.
- You don't need to know your password to have it looked at, but knowing it speeds things up.
Drop-off, on-site, or remote
Hardware work needs a bench, so anything physical means drop-off at our Anthony Crescent location: by appointment, so call ahead. If the machine can't travel, on-site service is $130 per hour. And if it turns out to be a software problem, remote support at $85 per hour is faster and cheaper than either.
Not sure which you need? Run the free troubleshooter, or just call and describe what it's doing.
Computer & Laptop Repair, answered plainly.
How much will my repair cost?
Will I lose my files?
Do you work on Macs?
Can you just tell me if it's worth fixing?
Do you warranty your repairs?
The one exception: if we tell you what the machine actually needs and you'd rather have the cheaper temporary fix, that repair isn't covered for the problem we told you it wouldn't solve. You'll hear that before you decide, not after, and it goes on your invoice.
Do I need an appointment?
START FROM THE SYMPTOM
Find your fault, and what it usually costs
Most people call describing a symptom rather than a diagnosis, which is exactly right — naming the fault is our job. But if you want to narrow it down first, each of these explains the likely cause, what to try free, and the price if it needs us.
It won’t turn on at all — usually power supply, battery or charger, and your files are almost certainly fine. It runs but the screen stays black — a genuinely different fault, and a torch held at an angle tells you which in about ten seconds.
It has become unbearably slow — nearly always the drive rather than age, and an SSD at $120 does more than anything else you could spend money on. The fan is constantly loud — dust and dried thermal paste, and it gets worse on its own.
It is making noises — this is the one with a deadline. Clicking or grinding means stop now and read data recovery. Fan noise is a clean; drive noise is not.
It won’t charge, blue screens, Windows won’t start — all covered, all with the same rule: you get a number before anything is opened.
DESKTOPS AND LAPTOPS BREAK DIFFERENTLY
Which machine you have changes the job
Desktops are mostly modular. Power supplies, drives, memory and graphics cards are replaceable parts, which means a desktop is very often worth repairing even when it is old — you are swapping a component, not rebuilding a machine. Dust is the other constant: a tower that has sat on carpet for four years is usually running hot enough to throttle itself.
Laptops are the opposite. Everything is tighter, some parts are soldered, and the failures are physical: charging ports that have taken years of cable-yanking, screens and their cables running through the hinge, keyboards, and batteries that have simply aged out. The repair is often straightforward; the question is whether the part cost justifies it on that specific model.
That is why we quote after the diagnostic rather than from a price list. A $50/hr diagnostic on a desktop usually ends with a part swap worth doing. On a seven-year-old budget laptop with a failed board, it usually ends with us saying so and charging you for the hour rather than the rebuild.
WHERE WE ARE
Repair in south Edmonton, and everywhere else
We are on Anthony Crescent in Allard, which is about as far south-west as the city goes. If you are anywhere in south Edmonton — Windermere, Terwillegar, Riverbend, Ellerslie, Heritage Valley, Summerside — you are minutes away and drop-off is easy.
If you are not, it changes nothing about the price. Pick-up and return is $50 flat anywhere in the Edmonton area, which for a bench repair is almost always cheaper than paying anyone to travel. On-site is $130/hr when the fault lives in the building rather than the machine, quoted in full before we set off.
Drop-off is by appointment — call (587) 418-3248 first so somebody is there and the bench is clear. We are open every day, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., including weekends.
WHEN WE SAY DON’T BOTHER
“Called Rightek about getting a screen replaced. They were very honest and said the model of computer I have isn’t made for repairs. Rightek provided the number of another company that might be able to help. That kind of honesty from a business is rare. Thank you Rightek!”
ROBERT ROY · GOOGLE REVIEW · A YEAR AGO
Tell us what it’s doing.
Quotes are free, and we’ll point you at the cheapest thing that actually solves it.