Which computer repair service should i go to for my desktop?

You mean send it off? bad idea. just go to a local pc store they should be happy to sort it out for you!

I can tell you from personal experience that Geek Squad is most certainly NOT reliable or knowledgeable or even capable. They are, however, horribly overpriced and undereducated. I, personally, would trust a smaller business specializing in computer repair and upgrades more-so than either Firedog or GS.

They both suck. Just go to a kid who is in high school without any education in computers and those who say “Yes, I know about computers.” That’s what those companies are basically doing too.

Go to a small shop… or get a friend to do it for some beer (if they’re old enough).

You will probably do better (and help local business) if you find a small computer repair shop in your town. The reason why I say this is because you get better, personalized service from the little guys. Just make sure they have been in business for a while and you go and talk to them FIRST. Feel them out and get a feeling for their attitude, their geek knowledge and so forth. If they come across as being jerks, they cannot answer some simple computer questions or they appear to be in outer space,. then avoid them and go elsewhere. A good place to have your computer fixed or upgraded is a local one man operation who has been in business a while, and makes his living from doing IT work and hardware upgrades for business. These guys work with business problems every day and have a lot of troubleshooting business, whereas the big chain store people hire people with little or no practical day-to-day business hardware experience or troubleshooting skills.

The only BAD experiences I ever had was going to one of the big outlet repair places and the only good ones I have ever had have been from the little guys. Just visit two or three stores on your own and based on your best judgment, select one. Get to know the “owner,” who is usually tending the front of the store when he is not in back fixing computers. This is my recommendation.

PS – After being rifted by one of the big outlet stores years ago, I decided to learn how to build my own computers and have been doing so for about 15 years now. I still keep contact with the small shop owners because I learn from them even after all these years.