Getting to the Point

My name is Dale Powell, the founder/owner of ComputerAfterCare.com. ComputerAfterCare is website with video tutorial training about how to perform proper preventive computer maintenance for both hardware and software components of Desktop and Laptop PCs. The training is divided into several modules starting with the tools, materials and software to get started, followed by easy to follow, yet detailed procedures in video format to perform daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual, and as-needed maintenance in addition to a module on malware prevention.

But to understand the reason why ComputerAfterCare came to life, I need to explain the demographics behind the never-ending pool of computer repair customers I had been servicing everyday. Having seen first hand the root causes for most of the computer failures I see over and over again, it wasn’t hard to reverse engineer the process to come up with a solution to all these premature computer failures. While the solution is no secret, it hasn’t been published from a computer shop’s perspective in a timeline format with step-by-step videos targeted at the average computer user. In short, it is all about Preventive Computer Maintenance

A Little Tough Love

The knowledge you’ll get from this training has evolved from years of experience and frustration trying to perfect the ultimate troubleshooting methods to do our job faster and better. .

But to put in bluntly, it made me see how the bulk of our business was a direct result of customers who ignore their maintenance, either through ignorance about what to do, naivete or outright laziness towards performing any preventive maintenance on their computers at all. In other words, they just used their computers until they ran it into the ground. It’s an all too common story. Sure, we appreciate your business, but it can be depressing hearing all the reasons why you need your computer fixed right away, especially when most of the failures we see were preventable.

While many of these people might even say that they are computer illiterate, they already know how to check email, surf the web, download music, watch online videos, and buy things online. By illiterate, I think they mean that they are reluctant to learn how to take care of their computer.

Preventive Computer Maintenance vs Corrective Maintenance (Repair)

Preventive Maintenance was a huge part of my daily routine while I was an Electronics Technician in the US Navy. For 20 years, I performed Preventive Maintenance (PMS) on communications systems whether it needed it or not. It was a very strict and well documented system, and was critical to our mission readiness.

As a computer repair business out to help customers, while making a profit at the same time, it was clear that we could reach far more computer owners by shifting our focus towards prevention, instead of repair. As a technician, I’ll admit that preventive maintenance can be boring, and that I definitely prefer the challenge of repairing a computer instead.

Even so, I despise ever having to perform “corrective” maintenance on my own computers. To that end, I always prepare my computers for a disaster with Windows Image and Data Backups, so that if something did happen, I can usually be up and running again in less than an hour. For some reason, 99.99% of my customers are reluctant to adopt this disaster strategy and prefer to take their chances, yet when their computers do break again, they expect miracles.

It’s Your Choice

Anyway, the choice is yours, but I can tell you that prevention is much cheaper than repair. With a little knowledge, you can finally take control of your computer’s health and you don’t have to learn how to become a technician. When customers pick-up their computer after being repaired, they expect some magic words how to avoid another break-down. So rather than giving watered down lectures again and again, day after day, for weeks, months, and years, I have decided to publish that information here on this website, but you won’t find any watered down information here!

The price of computers has come down so far that many households have more than one computer now, not to mention a broadband internet connection. Some people even view their computers now as somewhat disposable … until it breaks. And then they realize the headache they will have to go through setting up a new computer. And what about the data? They soon realize that it would be easier just to have their old computer fixed. There’s nothing wrong with getting a new computer, just don’t get forced into it when you aren’t ready.

So ComputerAfterCare is all about caring for your computer … after you buy it, after you get it repaired, after you use it.

Thank you,

Dale Powell