Don't get ripped off when your PC is out for repair or upgrade

Belarc Advisor.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Well the easiest ways I can tell are:
1) ask for the box(es)for the new parts
2) ask for the origonal driver disk (cd, dvd)
3) right click on my computer, click on properties, then click on hardware devices, then click on the device(s) that was to be changed, that will tellyou exactly what is installed on your computer.
4) Finnally, open it up amd look inside and seee for your self

Programs like Sandra, will tell you what type of "Guts" your PC has

hi john k,
before you try anything technical, open up every application(one at a time) with a right click then go to properties, this should give you all the info that you need if this leaves you in any doubt, then go to a PRIVATE EXPERT, he should be able to tell you if your computers hardware/software is adequate.
best of luck dave

My advice to you John,

Before you take your computer in for whatever repairs or hardware installation, you need to install some free system auditing software. This will enable you to retrieve the exact hardware model and specs that is installed on your machine for each hardware device. Some really good freeware programs that won't cost you anything are programs like: Everest, SIW, Fresh Diagnose, Sisoft Sandra, and Belarc Advisor. You can download these by doing a search on Google. Using a combination of these audit programs you should be able to gather and list all of your hardware model numbers, serial numbers in some cases, and other identifiable information for your hardware.

Now after you have this information, then take your computer in for repairs. When you pick up your computer after the repairs are done, simply run these system audit programs again to compare any differences of hardware that was installed. If you really look at the data available to you, you will quickly find out if anything is suspicious or questionable.

Hope this helps you some.

My suggestion is: download a "Belarc Advisor" from www.belarc.com run it on your computer,save the resulting report and use it to check it against a new "belarc" report on your "repared" unit. By comparison you will soon confirm if any changes were made to your equipment. QED.
-submited by arw.

This is a favorite topic for me (from some bad and good experiences)

First: Back up your data files (letters, emails, photos, documents - things you want to be sure don't get lost!) I bought a 400 Gig Western Digital USB external Hard Drive on sale. It's been one of the most practical & important additions to my computer set up.
If you want to try, back up other things from your computer also.
Be sure to save all CD/DVD sources for programs you have on hyour computer. Remember, Tech services, are staffed by people, and sometimes people make mistakes. (not often - but prevention is a lot happier state than disappointment.)

Second: download (unless you have it already)a neat freebee: [BeLarc www.belarc.com ] It is a small utility that searches your whole computer system and lists all the hardware, software in an amazing detail, often including the registration codes of your software. I find it invaluable and quite adequate in detail. Run the utility and SAVE the web page to a secure place (on and off your computer) I'd recommend printing out the results. AFTER your upgrade, re-run the software, it will reveal ALL that is on your computer, and by comparison with the previous scan, you can identify the changes made by the Tech service who upgraded your computer.

Third: print out (insist on it) a detail listing of what will be done to your computer. Have the list include manufacturer, model number, maybe even the spec sheet for each upgrade you ask for. And get a hard copy (on paper) of that listing. Show your interest and appreciation for their services, but by asking for these details, it will alert them that you are aware and will be watching the results of their work. It sometimes helps insure better quality of service.
And they are human too, they like to be appreciated!

Fourth: Ask them (inside politely) that they SAVE and give you the packing boxes, the instructions, the software CD/DVD, and extra stuff left from the installation. Then you will have the original 'stuff' that you can read over, save if you wish. (Be sure to save the instruction manuals, and the CD/DVD resources that came with your new upgrades.

Fifth: Enjoy the new results, run your computer when you get home, make sure it works well. If there are questions or problems, let them know immediately.

Hope this is a help for you and others.

sailnow@bluefrog.com

the simplest way is to navigate through the control panel and then to click on system, now you should see a smaller window. all you have to do is click on hardware then device manger and you should find a list detailing every item of hardware on your computer, hope this helps and good luck.
fat tommy.

Well John, there are a couple things you can do . Both are relatively easy also.
1.) Before you pull the plug to take your computer for a ride do this. Go to Start, Programs Accessories, System Tools, System Information. When this window opens it will read System Summary. On the right side is the tree and you can obtain all the info on each component of your computer. As you open each one , print the page. When you get your computer back check the info on your computer against the printouts you made before you took it in. (Take into account for new hardware installed of course!)
2.) Before I go any farther, I must tell you that in this paragraph I will be telling you to open your computer. IF, you are retuning it to a company that built it for you or returning it to the manufacterer, DO NOT OPEN THE CASE. The people that assembled your machine get very angry if you open it and they put little sticky tags where the covers meet the rest of the case. When you open it those little stickers tear and they know you were inside. Worse yet it will violate your warranty. Be forewarned.
All that aside lets move on. Now John when you have pulled the plug(s) and have you best friend sitting on the kitchen table, remove the cover. Each unit has (usually) four to five hex heads or flat tip screws on the back holding the cover on. Some have larger thumb screws and there are an increasingly larger number with quick release latches. Either way look at it, figure it out and remove the cover. When that is done touch nothing inside! If you don't understand it DON'T TOUCH!. Now take a camera and snap away. This way you can compare the pics to the finished product when you get it back.
Hope this helps. Good luck

There's a free product called Belarc Advisor (http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html)that scans your system and returns a page showing everything you need to know from CPU model to Motherboard make to software versions and Windows updates. The only thing it doesn't show is memory and HD make/speed. You can also go into your system set up when you boot (follow your mfg instructions for that) and scan the various tabs. Just make sure you select "Exit without saving changes" so you don't mess anything up.

Hi John,
You have a good question, one I hear occassionally from my clients. I've learned that these clients proved to be generally untrusting of most everyone in their life.
If you are concerned with getting ripped off by guys who are installing hardware (probably much less powerful than what is in their personal machine), then you can do at lease one of two things:
1. Before leaving the repair shop, have them walk you through the box and identify your upgrade (show and explain what they've done). Once you've recognized your specific upgrade - you are good to go.
2. Some upgrades (Video Cards for example)will show in your hardware resourced of a Windows operating system. However, there is nothing like identifing the hardware with your own eyes.
What you are talking about has never happened to me. In fact, in 15 years, I've never heard of anything like this happening - where the consumer buys an upgrade and the installer pulls a switch.
Frankly, this would be the equivalant of buying a top of the line GPS system with DVD and internet connectivity for your car and getting a cassette tape deck instead. You would definately find out and end up back at the store demanding the right stuff.
If you know what you are buying - then you will be able to recognize it once the parts are in your computer case.
At prices what they are for new computers, it sounds as though you might be better off buying a new box (unless you knew how to install the components themselves).
Good luck.

Do it yourself. Cnet has classes on this subject. They are great!!!!

I would recommend Belarc Advisor. It is a free download from http://www.belarc.com/ba5.html?B and can only be use for personal home use. From the website is one of their paragraph: "The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, missing Microsoft hotfixes, anti-virus status, CIS (Center for Internet Security) benchmarks, and displays the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server." Run this before you take the computer to the shop and print it out. Do the same when you get the computer back and compare. If I recall correctly, the printed report is dated and time stamped. I usually get approximately five pages of a detailed report detailing my hardwares and softwares installed. Good luck with your upgrade.

There is a free program ?siw?. I have downloaded it frpm http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4387.html. This program gives everything. I have yet to see any other program of this versatility /depth.
Before one goes for upgrade one must run siw and create a log file (File Menu/create a log file). And after upgrade run siw again and make log file again and compare the two log files.
This is how I would do. There could be better ways than this also but I do not know?

The best way to know what was installed is to learn to install the items yourself.

That question depends on how you specify what parts you want. If you say specifically "this part number from this manufacturer", figuring out if they really got that part is simple. Find a reference image of that part online and compare it to the inside of your case. Sites like Newegg or TigerDirect usually have images for anything they carry, and those are good sites to estimate the wholesale prices they're probably getting their parts from so you know about what the parts should cost.
However, if you only say "I want it to do this", or "it needs this much RAM", it's a matter of double-checking within your copy of Windows. Your system settings (right-clicking "My Computer" and selecting "Properties) tells you the basics. Run a benchmark program to verify your performance , as most advanced programs can find out what parts you use when they start up. This can also catch poorly refurbished products, as they sometimes dip in performance when compared to what you should be getting out of a new part.
Insofar as making sure they don't swipe your existing hardware, that's easy. I would take a sharpie and put a small dot in an inconspicuous part of each component you are worried about, not on any of the circuitry, but near the edges of the board.
Personally, I've found that it's often far cheaper and more rewarding to do the work yourself. Sure, you have to put a lot of research into it if you want it done right, but you end up with four benefits: You know EXACTLY what parts are installed and thus what performance to expect, you don't have to pay someone $60 an hour to do potentially very easy work, you eventually gain the ability to diagnose problems yourself instead of relying on others for it, and you have the 'cool factor' of being able to tell your friends "I built it myself."

One quick thing you can do is to go to "belarc.com" and download, and run, the advsor. Among many other very informatioal items, it will list the equipment installed.

First of all go to: http://www.belarc.com/
They have a system inventory program, that will list were it can every card. Your motherboard/mainboard, hard disc drives, CD DVD/CD ROM's and burners, floppy, other storage device (such as flash drives, IOMega's). How many memory modules, what slots they are in so on so forth. Software and if it has a product number associated with it, even that is recorded. What version Windows operating system even an update number, what updates to the version of Windows you have. This information is displayed on a html page in your default browser, that can be printed out. Which is what should be done. Print up a couple of these listings.

Being as you are taking the computer in to be upgraded instead of you doing the upgrade yourself (yourself is the cheapest way to upgrade). It isn't going to be easy to tell, but it can be done.

Flashlight
Magnifying Glass
Portable Ultra Violet Light source
Invisible Ink Marker

Before you even take your computer to be upgraded do the following:
Take the cover off and one by one take your cards out of their respective slots one at a time, when you are done put it back in and take the next one out. Now you do not have take off any wires leave them on as you are not going to remove them. You are going to record the following;
make
model
serial number from if the cards have serial numbers.
If need be use the magnifying glass and the flashlight to see better.
At this point it would be a good time to use the Invisible Ink marker and mark your initials, or vehicle operator's number. Why the vehicle operators number and not Soc numbers!? Well with identity theft would you use your Soc Numbers? Besides your vehicle operators number does not vary by much from state to state. Mark on a non-conductive surface just to be safe, re-insert the card. Mark your hard drives, do not remove them as they can be real pistols to get back in. Mark on the side or end of the hard drive your initials, same with your CD or CD/DVD ROM's or burners. As far as memory modules go just mark them with the Invisible Ink someplace. Mark someplace on the motherboard/mainboard. Nice thing about Invisible Ink is that it does not show up on the surface to mar it up visibly. After you have marked the surfaces of your parts, check them out with the Ultra Violet light. This is how you would check out your computer after it came back from an upgrade or repair. The replaced part or repair will not have the markings. If parts have been removed and replaced with inferior parts, this is how you would tell. Now with the duplicate inventory listing, indicate where each card or board has been marked with the Invisible Ink, then file it away.

By doing the following you have taken one tooth out of the possibility of being cheated. This is the same technique that investigators use to make sure that the part has been replaced or the repairs are done on an item. If your computer has been stolen it will also come in handy when it is recovered. A caveat here; most home owner's insurance does not cover computers and related equipment. So what you might want to look into is a rider that would cover the computer equipment.

Like the auto repair business, at least in the state of Michigan, the repair service has to return the parts to the customer. The only time they do not is if the part is a core for a rebuilt part or like a transmission, it is too big but has to be seen by the owner to insure it was replaced. Well you can do the same, have the tech show you the parts that were or are replaced. In fact have them return the upgraded cards to you. With Good reason if the upgraded parts fail you have at least a temporary replacement. Unless the tech is going to give you some kind of break by using your part as a trade-in then I would demand that the cards be returned.

It is not that your tech is dishonest, but it will keep him honest. My Uncle had a saying; "Locks are there to keep honest people honest!"
A side note here: Those that are interested in genealogy will recognize what is being said here. The first three numbers on an operators license are what is called "sounddex" numbers, even from state to state. As an example my Michigan operators license has a sounddex of 200. Because my name starts out with "bu", same as the Presidents, which his state of Texas operators number would start out with B200.

Dear John:
I am going to assume that you are taking your PC to a retail place like Best Buy or Circuit City, but this answer applies to practically every other establishment as well. Usually a lot of places let you pick the components you want installed on your PC, so you know before hand what's going inside your box. You, as a customer, have the right to inspect the PC before picking it up from repair or upgrade. Once the upgrade has been completed, do not hesitate to ask them to open up the box and show you the installed components and well and have them save the boxes the components came with. This will assure you that they installed the parts that you picked. If you do not know what parts are needed, you can always Google your PC model or go to the manufacturer's website and review what connections are on the motherboard and what components are compatible. Usually the Best Buy people or Circuit City can tell you what you need but be weary of this, they might always try to up-sell you, so it is best that you do your homework beforehand.
Good Luck, hope this answers your question.

You really can't go wrong with Nikon - specifically the D40 model (I have the predecessor - the D50). It will do all that you asked about and then some - allowing you to grow as your skills improve. More importantly, there are plenty of instructional DVDs and books for the Nikon, and also lenses and accessories (tip - stay with the Nikon brand for all of that.) The integrated electronic flash system available with the Nikon Speedlight SB600 and SB800 is really impressive. Nikon also has Nikon Capture software that allows electronic editing of the proprietary RAW files - to an extent far greater than Photoshop or other third party software. As an aside, I buy all of my photo and professional video gear through B&H in NYC - searching the web has always brought me back to them for price, and customer service is unbeatable.

John,

There is actually a little known tool built into the Microsoft Office products that can help you with this.

Go into any MS Office product and click on HELP on the menu. Next choose ABOUT MICROSOFT.... (whatever the product is). From there, you should see a button that says SYSTEM INFO... Go ahead and click it. Now, most people don't know that MS actually uses this tool to track hardward changes. To see the HISTORY LOG:

On the menu of the System Information program, click VIEW. Now change to SYSTEM HISTORY. On the left side you will now see a choice for COMPONENTS. Click on that and the log will show you every hardward component that has changed on your system.

Hope this helps...

Ron P.
www.TrinitySolutionsInc.com

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http://photography-on-the.net/forum/ every question you can imagine they have answered, all you have to do is use the search , I also shoot sports action of the local schools I have taken over 14,000 picture in the last year
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Stefan, your concern is justifiable. Your best insurance against rip-off in any repair or upgrade is knowledge about your item and the poeple who you are dealing with. Limiting to computers, you ought to find out what is in the current box you have and what would give a substantial increase in performance and usability. If you are the original owner of your computer you should have a record of the memory, speed, operating system, hard-drive specs and devices such as USB and ethernet ports. If you bought used or inherited your machine and are unsure of what's in it, then download Belarc Advisor or another system information software and printout the results.
That was the beginning, next you need to research what you really need. Retailers want to make money and will sell you what you ask for without many questions, I know this personally. So read user forums like CNET to see what works and what don't. Decide if you want all to be done at once or incremental. Specify the upgrades you want and ask for an estimate. Get more than one estimate, keep records, get warranties, and by all means, an itemized statement of work done. Ask to see inside the case when picking-up and match the brands of shiny, new parts to the statement.
Labor charges are a grey area that can vary widely from shop to shop. They should have a form or sign stating their service prices for you to review prior to installation. There is a trade-off as the large chains cost more but provide fast turn-around. A flea market vendor might be cheap but have a full-time job and other repairs to do by his/herself.

Charles

Hi. The easyist way of checking the hardware installed in your PC is to use the "System Information" section. This can be accessed by going to: Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Information. Once loaded, this gives any and all hardware information, such as model, and manufacture. My sugestion would be to print the sections that you want for reference/comparison. These could be usefull after your PC is upgraded.
Hope this helps,
Jerry

I currently use "Belarc", it is a free program that will not change your computer configuration but will analyze the components of your computer and give you a printable readout of all the hardware and software you currently have installed at that time. So if you send your system in for service you can do another scan when you get the system back and compare the two readouts to see what has changed if anything. I recomend this just in case there is a problem introduced by the service techs trying to fix or upgrade your system. Good Luck.
www.belarc.com