CPU and mobo test software

[Softus]

...but this sounds like an old baby.

Not that old - just coming up to its 4th birthday. And I haven't personally seen a failed Dell m/b at that age before.

New machine might be more economical in the long run.

...recommend replacement.

I know where you're both coming from, but I always prefer to pass that decision on to the customer.

In this instance the decision is pretty much made for him by the cost of a new m/b, which Dell are quoting at a few pence over £182. They might as well just say "we'd prefer not to sell you one"; I mean, we're not talking about an SMP server with an on board wake-on-LAN coffee maker.

 

[eggplant]

£182 !!!
They are having a laugh. What buggers it up to an extent is the ram, ok a new board and cpu, fine, but then you need to add on another £50 or there abouts for 512 DDR unless you want to try and find a board thate takes RIMMS! That said, I'd say you could probably do a half decent board, cpu and ram for £182 which I imagine would be much faster than the existing system. I dont know what you charge time wise, I dont always charge the exact amount of time I spent, especially if its "one of those problems" that in theory should take an hour but takes ages like this one. I usually work out what it "should" have taken and add a bit.
Bear in mind its looking likely that windows will need reinstalling, therefore transfer of user data so the bill is getting bigger all the time!
On the plus side, you might end up with a couple of rimms for future use, I always, always offer the faulty or spare parts to the customer, sometimes they take them away, but often they say to just keep them, this tends to happen most if I've been right with them about the time/cost as in this case...

 

[Softus]

I agree completely eggplant.

One of the trivial but annoying problems with fitting a non-Dell m/b to a Dell case is the proprietary connection to the case bezel - it's an IDC + ribbon cable, and a pain in the a***. From experience when upgrading a Dell m/b it's usually better to buy a new bare-bones assembly (case, m/b, CPU, heat sink, RAM) and transfer the old peripherals to it.

I knew in my bones that this particular job was going to be awkward, and therefore made the the customer fully aware before taking the machine away. I have a no fix / no fee policy, but I told him for something like this I would charge a minimum of an hour, which, as per your observation, nowhere near covers the time spent on things like phoning five Dell departments to get the correct part number and therefore price. B*stards.

Anyway, taking a bit of a hit on problems like this is usually an effective loss leader. Sooner or later I'm gonna have to get an Ultra-X PCI board though...

 

[eggplant]

Yeah proprietry cases/fittings are a total pain.
I also offer a no fix-no fee policy but it also states that if I cant fix it then they dont pay, IF however, I can tell them whats wrong with it and they then decide not to go ahead with the repair, then a call out (if a home visit) or a small fee if it came into the shop. This is to stop people from getting me to tell them whats wrong with it, then getting theor mate or whoever to sort it and also to cover time to an extent. MY no fix no fee doesnt apply to businesses, just home users.
Do you do this full time or is it a sideline? where abouts are you?

 

[Softus]

eggplant, Email me and I shall tell you more.