The official "Starting my own business" thread, but need help with pricing!

[tin10]

Guys, I am proud to say I, at the age of 21, here by call myself S-Tech Computer Services. I am starting my own business, and by January 1st, 2005, I plan to put it into full effect. I will be an in-home/pickup computer service person, also including web design, building computers, and many many many other types of service, in which I will list soon. I am doing this because in the town I live in, of 30k people, and a county of 60k people, there is but 1-3 computer repair shops, charging OUTRAGEOUS prices, and do a pretty crappy job (part of the business exploration/check my competition plans). Therfore, I have spoke and surveyed many people who think the service I will offer is long over-due and is welcomed by many, plus they think I will make a hell of alot of money at it.

So I am here today to ask you guys a few questions. My 1st question is a very important one. With myself performing services for customers, and not providing an actual product, do u think repairing, upgrading, servicing computers require me to obtain a sales tax permit in the state of TX and charge customers TAXES, or would it be perfectly legal to do this straight out of my home (plan to open a small shop later) and perform my services and charge my rate, and not have to pay the state TAXES on any of it? I really need to speak to a lawyer about this, but I thought I would ask the kind people here, who mostly likely a few of you do this yourself and could give me some pointers and legal advice on the matter.

My next line of questions would be this. I plan to get my business in simply this way. Instead of charging an HOURLY rate, I could charge a lower "job" or "service" rate. What I mean is instead of charing $xx amount of money for reformating and reinstalling windows PER HOUR, which the local computer shop here charges $55 per hr, I could instead charge a JOB rate, meaning, no matter how long I am there, the customer knows how much they are being charged. This may sound crazy, but I mean, this is how I plan to underdog the shops around here now, and gradually make my money and respect of customers and basically do a word of mouth and show the customer that "I am here to help you, and not take a huge chunk out of you wallet". So here is the question, or lines of questions I have. I want to know what u guys think I should charge for the following "jobs" or "services":

- A in-home/pickup fee - bascially getting gas money or something just for coming to there home/business(should I even do this fee or not?)

- A simple BENCHMARK fee - A small fee that would promise me I didnt travel to there place to not get anything out of it and test to see what the problem was, in case they think that its not worth there money to fix the problem(should I also do this fee or not?)

Now I am going to list possible scenerios of problems:

- Virus removal fee - I was thinking $75 since I would probably have to reformat, backup there stuff type thing

- Reformat straight up - if they seem to be unfixable because of anything, plus a reformat would be nice for them, a fresh new OS with NO junk on there - $75

- Upgrade or install hardware - if the customer buys hardware and I install it - $50 for first item, $10 per additional item

- Backup of there system - show them and do it for them in case they seem to have the need to do it - $50

These are just a FEW but very common issues for customers I have had in the past, well since I did do small jobs for people I knew in the past. Do you guys think I should charge a set rate of $50-75 per job on anything I do, or should I break down into different catergories? If so, possibly list yourself some scenerios and prices u would/already have charged in the past, your help will be much appreciated, and will not go unlooked from my wallet, once the cash flow comes in, I will help each person with there help they have done to me, by simply mailing u what I think your advice was worth, or even paypaling you for it. Although this might sound crazy, but I think that more people should be more appreciative of the advice given around here, so to all that help me, thanks in advance and I "will not" forget your help

 

[bob4432]

don't take this the wrong way and i respect your enthusiasm, but what type of skill level are you at? honestly, if you start whoring yourself out, people will not respect you as much, sorry but it is true. in the past i have helped out friends for free (i will not charge for my services to friends) and sometimes you get an easy case and others might take you many hours to figure out, especially will all of those nice spyware f*cking files.

virus removal fee - depending on how much damage was done, remember these people may not have any virus software at all, are you going to give them yours?

backup - are you talking a full mirror or just files? remember, most people don't put their files in one place, the are scattered all over the d@mn place and if you do a backup for them, and then they actually need to use it and you missed their beloved dog, your name is going to be in the mud.

i don't know anything about you but you need to know that there are going to be so many problems it is not funny and you will soon find out why those shops are charging so much.

i could go on for hours, but the reality of what will happen is the other computer shops will talk sh!t about you and always question your knowledge/ability.

save yourself the grief and take this advice with a grain of salt from a person who at one point was as excited to help out others as you, even ran my own biz for about a year, and stopped it not because i wasn't making money or in need, but because the people get so irritating. not trying to be a buzzkill, but you will end up hating computers in less than 2 years....

 

[tin10]

well I dont know wether to say thanks or what, lol but I understand your point.

I do however have a level of education in the field that will be my trunk of the business, I do know what you are saying in terms of what a person and there problem is, I am sure I will run into MANY different types of problems, but I enjoy sovling problems, and dont care if the competition says bad things about me, people will know who to trust based upon JOB QUALITY.

As for me still being excited, I am, my goal is to make the potential $450k I "could possibly make" in one year, but the fact that this will be a way for me to do alot of things I cant ROUGHLY afford right now waiting tables and going to college, including: A. Having my own place, wether it be an apartment, rent house, or potentially my own home B. HELP ME TO PAY FOR COLLEGE C. Enjoy the field I have ALWAYS and probably will alway enjoy for a long time to come, I enjoy DRIVING myself nuts with computer problems, but what insane person doesnt enjoy this? D. Possibly teaching myself the dos and donts of owning my own business, because in the long run, I dont want to WORK for anyone, I have to 6 years now and f'in hate the fact that at any given time, my job could be replaced by anyone, job insecurtiy is the worst fear I think, at least with your own business, you can work around what service/product you do or have.

All in all I appreciate your instructive critizism, but it wont detour me from the road I have mapped out, but nice try anyways, possibly in teh 2 years I will say to myself I should have listened to bob4432, but I am 21, what do I have to loose?

Plus the fact that I think you got so irratated is the fact that u may not be a good people person, and that the average person is DUMPFOUNDED when it comes to computers, but the fact is I am a people person, and would love to teach and show people the fundementals of computers, and help and solve there problems along the way.

 

[bob4432]

you are correct, i am currently not a good people person, but i use to be atleast an average people person. after dealing with what i did in the computer arena for in such i short time, i realized why the computer shops do charge what they do.

as far as what do you have to lose? your sanity

good luck and let us know how it goes - you are going to need to raise your rates above $75/job because to hit your goal you will need to do 16jobs a day, 365 days a year. remember, a good deal is a good deal, but don't whore yourself out. sometimes a little more $$$ and less volume is a good thing.

 

[tin10]

I mean, dont get me wrong, being 21 I will admit I dont know the first thing about starting this business, I mean, I plan to spread the word with CARDS and FLYERS at first, lol, because I dont want to put ad's in papers and what not, plus I know lots of people who will "spread the word" for me.

I could use any advice u have to give me, and one question I do have and it VERY VERY VERY important to me is what I stated above:
"So I am here today to ask you guys a few questions. My 1st question is a very important one. With myself performing services for customers, and not providing an actual product, do u think repairing, upgrading, servicing computers require me to obtain a sales tax permit in the state of TX and charge customers TAXES, or would it be perfectly legal to do this straight out of my home (plan to open a small shop later) and perform my services and charge my rate, and not have to pay the state TAXES on any of it? I really need to speak to a lawyer about this, but I thought I would ask the kind people here, who mostly likely a few of you do this yourself and could give me some pointers and legal advice on the matter. "

So please, give me any pointers on this topic, and well, throw in what you think I should do that u possibly did wrong, any help will be much apprecaited!

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: tin10
I mean, dont get me wrong, being 21 I will admit I dont know the first thing about starting this business, I mean, I plan to spread the word with CARDS and FLYERS at first, lol, because I dont want to put ad's in papers and what not, plus I know lots of people who will "spread the word" for me.

I could use any advice u have to give me, and one question I do have and it VERY VERY VERY important to me is what I stated above:
"So I am here today to ask you guys a few questions. My 1st question is a very important one. With myself performing services for customers, and not providing an actual product, do u think repairing, upgrading, servicing computers require me to obtain a sales tax permit in the state of TX and charge customers TAXES, or would it be perfectly legal to do this straight out of my home (plan to open a small shop later) and perform my services and charge my rate, and not have to pay the state TAXES on any of it? I really need to speak to a lawyer about this, but I thought I would ask the kind people here, who mostly likely a few of you do this yourself and could give me some pointers and legal advice on the matter. "

So please, give me any pointers on this topic, and well, throw in what you think I should do that u possibly did wrong, any help will be much apprecaited!

what i did was charge people an hourly rate and they would supply the item. that way i didn't need to do anything with taxes ( i think) since i was just providing a service and not the actual product. somebody else will pop in here and let you know for sure. my tax guy just took out my expenses and added the remainder to my other monies from other jobs. he said it was the way to do it, but he could have been wrong.

 

[tin10]

anyone with the legal advice please step in now, bob4432 thanks and if u can think of anything else, please post it!

 

[avijay]

All the best with your new business. btw, you might wanna pick up some good book on legal liabilities. You can get advice here but a book explaining in detail your liabilities is more useful. Or if you have friends in the law circle ask them for help.

 

[trenchfoot]

just off the top of my head:

get somebody to back you up in case you get laid up somehow. maybe try to work up a deal with one of the other established repair shops where they can catch your work overflow and vice-versa. other mutually advantageous business arrangements can also be struck at that time.

before you even start an advertising campaign, make sure you are not under-capitalized, as expenses that you could never dream of will be a major part of your overhead for at least the first annual operating cycle. (get a good accountant. he/she will quickly become your best friend.)

get a resellers license as quickly as you can qualify.

understand that your first 10 customers will be your seed crop for future business referrals so make sure to get off to a good start- word of mouth, especially in a small town is vital to your survival. *your business plan must be rock-solid from the get-go* call your closest sba rep and see what kind of assistance they can give you in the way of preparing your business plan.

avoid those potential customers that create and perpetuate the business-killing "come-back syndrome", where everything that breaks or goes wrong after your repair is your fault so all repairs on that box from then on is gratis.

have in place an exit strategy should you decide for some reason that you no longer see your business being an entity that makes you happy.

12 to 16 hr. work days will be a common occurrence. prepare family and loved ones for that eventuality.

get the best diagnostic hardware and software you can get your hands on.

set up your benches completely before hanging your shingle.

be realistic, be flexible, be adaptable and above all be honest to yourself and your customers.

i could go on and on with stuff like this.....but it's not appropriate for this venue.

best of luck. tweaks

 

[Agamar]

I did basically the same thing you did when I was in college. The best thing to remember is to not try to make money on hardware, at all. Don't even charge your customers for any hardware. If it cost you $1, charge them the exact cost, then charge $50 to put it in (labor). I still run my side business this way (I now have a partner and we service small to mid sized businesses).

One more thing, try to stay away from the homes. I am not kidding, they are real time sinks. Businesses will not bat an eye when it takes you 3 hours to clean up an infested machine at $50 - 75 an hour. A home user will sometimes flip out. And home users tend to "bird-dog" you while you are working on their machines. Constantly asking questions and wasting your time. The only good thing about a home customer is the potential to get a business referral from them.

As far as your rates go, start out cheap, like $25 - 35 an hour. Work up from there once you get about 4-6 steady business customers. I have just now raised my rates to $60 hr for one guy and $75 for two onsite. I am still cheaper than my closest competitor, who is charging $80 for one guy.

Tools / Toys: Don't forget to write off any home office, business expenses of any kind. Keep up with mileage. You buy a laptop, write it off. You get broadband, write it off. If you own a home or larger apartement, you can write of the percentage of the house that you use for the office.

Oh, and good luck. My business is a good supplement for my day job (which is being an IT guy), so I get to buy all sorts of nice "toys" and write them off. Maybe you will be able to do the same.

 

[ZYFER]

don't call it a Benchmark fee, I suggest calling it a Diagnostic fee, it is more appealing to people for you to mention it as that as it will make it seem you are actually doing something major. Some places do like to do this as free as incentive, since people won't come to you without needing you to help them out.

 

[Fern]

So I am here today to ask you guys a few questions. My 1st question is a very important one. With myself performing services for customers, and not providing an actual product, do u think repairing, upgrading, servicing computers require me to obtain a sales tax permit in the state of TX and charge customers TAXES, or would it be perfectly legal to do this straight out of my home (plan to open a small shop later) and perform my services and charge my rate, and not have to pay the state TAXES on any of it? I really need to speak to a lawyer about this, but I thought I would ask the kind people here, who mostly likely a few of you do this yourself and could give me some pointers and legal advice on the matter.

Forget the lawyer. I'm a CPA, either ask one of them or even better, call the Texas Dept of Revenue. They'll tell you the answer for FREE.

I'm in NC, there's no sales tax on service. Only product purchases. If it's the same in TX. You won't need a sales tax certificate and number if you only charge for labor/service.

Whether you operate out of your house or another location is irrelevent. Call the city/county you're in and see if you need a biz license. Here, if you're in the county-no, in the city-yes.

Here in NC, if it's a mix of product and service (like in doing a repair you find you must sell them a new part), break it down on the invoice. I.e., seperate the charge for parts from the charge for service. That way you only charge sales tax on the portion of the fee relating relating to the new part. Ask the TX Dept of Rev (or whatever they call themselves over there) about this too.

Try to find a seminar sponsored by a Community College or chamber of commerce etc for new businesses so you understand record keeping, estimated Fed income taxes (including self employment) and other tax rules, like maybe writing off vehicle and cell phone expenses. Later, think of incorporating and filing Form 2553 to become an "S-Corp".

Good Luck with it!

Fern

 

[wseyller]

I repair laser printers in north carolina. Sales tax here is only for products you sell. Labor is not taxed. If you provide labor only you will not need a tax id number. Your state government probably has a website and will show you want you need to do to start your business. To be legal you will probably need to start a proprietorship. You can probably get the form from your state gov. website and you could get it notorized. You will probably need a business license as well for the areas you run your business that you renew annually.

 

[NautikaL 8]

I started my own business with another person around a year ago. In just this past 3 weeks, ive made 650$. Two computer sales, networking, and 3 reformats. Im only 14

so all the power to you....you can do it

 

[slash196]

Good luck to you, man. I hope all goes well. I can't personally offer any advice, but I think there's a lot of potential in your idea. If everything pans out, you can easily start selling computers, too. With all the major retailers of computers overcharging for everything, small buisnesses can be very competetive in the PC market.

 

[Agamar]

I didn't know a 14 year old could legally earn money via working, without working for a parent.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Agamar
I didn't know a 14 year old could legally earn money via working, without working for a parent.

here come the men in black....

 

[Mrvile]

Wow Nautikal sounds like business is booming. I'm curious, being about your age and not being able to get a regular job (at 15 the only jobs available are dish washing...uh...), making money is usually always high-priority for me. pm me and tell me more, I'd appreciate it.

Anyway tin best of luck with your business, sounds like a lot of good competition, I'd love to see you making half a million a year off fixing computers, doing something you love. Good luck!

 

[Jeff7]

Best of luck to you. It may be wearing though. I tried my hand at it, and if you prove yourself to be capable, you'll be on-call from your customers all the time. You will be the magician that can make their computer work better than when it was new. It's like an addictive drug too. They'll mess it up again and again too, and then lie to you.
"Do you run Ad-Aware and update it every few days?"
"Yes, I do that, and Spybot, and AV."

Then at their house, you check the log files. The last time the AV scan was done was the day you were there. And Ad-Aware reports that it hasn't been updated in 30 days.

I imagine it must be similar to auto mechanics. We normal people mistreat our cars (You haven't changed your oil in HOW long?), and always expect them to work. Same with computers - the manufacturers make you believe that the computer will go online for you, and scratch your back while getting you a bottle of soda.


Now, I've only done a little bit of it, as I've not exactly been sure it's what I want to do. I think the best idea would be compulsory classes for people with computers, but that might not work either. I have been told I'm good at explaining things - trouble is then, actually getting the people to do the stuff that their computer needs, like chkdsk, adware checks, AV, and various program updates. Cars at least have a somewhat intuitive interface - two pedals (maybe three), and a wheel. You can get around ok without extensive instruction. Computers - intuitive seems to be a matter of opinion. What I find to be simplistic (right-click on anything to find additional menus, keep an eye out for unusual icons/notifications) may not come naturally to most people, and their computer's performance suffers as a result.

So there's that bit of it. Next thing is pay rate. I charge $30 an hour, regardless of what it is. I try my best to decide if it's worth saving the installation, vs formatting - sometimes the spyware, or whatever the problem is, has done so much damage to the system's files and registry, that no amount of repair work will really rejuvenate it. This means a full reinstall will be necessary. And this can mean that the customer might lose some data, because EVERYONE backs up their stuff to a safe location.:roll: I lost a 60GB hard drive, and all but 85MB of data was lost. I now have a RAID 5 fileserver that holds all my important data. But not everyone has a RAID 5 server and a network, and the know-how to set up a good backup regiment.
So some stuff might be lost. If you want to take the time, you can do a full-drive image, and restore anything you miss when you try to back up just their imporatant files.

Now, the $30/hour thing. I currently have a craptacular job at Walmart, so $30 an hour is quite a good boost in pay. Not only that, but it also gives me the leeway to do a thorough job. If you charge a lot of money, the customers will want you to work fast, and the computer won't always allow it. Try doing a full spyware scan on a 500MHz processor sometime. It takes a long time, and you usually have to do it 2-3 times on a heavily infected system.
Neat thing about this is, you get paid a good bit of money to sit there and stare at a screen, waiting for it to do something. And if you charge less than the others, the customers will still think that it's a good deal. Most other repair shops in my area charge $60/hour, and similar rates for simple things like motherboard install ($100 flat rate at the one place, plus labor).
But again, I've not done any extensive upgrades yet - the most I've done in that respect was a memory upgrade on one system (which needed a complete OS reinstall as well), and a hard drive upgrade on another (and spyware cleaning, plus moving files to the new drive, and teaching the family how to use the new drive).

Sorry if this isn't exactly organized here; I'm just writing this as it comes to mind. Some final thoughts on rates - if you charge a flat rate, you'll win sometimes, and lose sometimes. Flat virus-removal rate for example - sometimes, it'll mean downloading and running a cleaning program, and that's it. Done in a few minutes. Other times, it can mean attempting to extract data from a hard drive with corrupted partition tables, and then a reinstall, eating up a few hours. Charge $60 for that, and your hourly rate can really take a plunge. Now, you can have a minimum charge for those 5 minute jobs. Just don't make it too high, or else it'll discourage people. One of my jobs was as a coroner basically. They had a dead monitor. I went, and in 10 minutes, confirmed that it was really most sincerely dead. It wasn't much out of my way though, so I only charged them $5. However, if they decide to get a new monitor or computer, they're more likely to call me first for help, so even little jobs can be important, as a form of advertising.

good luck and let us know how it goes - you are going to need to raise your rates above $75/job because to hit your goal you will need to do 16jobs a day, 365 days a year. remember, a good deal is a good deal, but don't whore yourself out. sometimes a little more $$$ and less volume is a good thing.

Just remember too - money will mean nothing if you don't take the time to enjoy it. Don't forget to relax. I'm one who thinks that this society is stressing itself to death. We're so impatient, and trying to do so much in our lives to make them "better", that we actually wind up feeling worse. You race around all day, and when you get home, you're so tired or pissed off at the world, that you can't relax and enjoy yourself.

what i did was charge people an hourly rate and they would supply the item. that way i didn't need to do anything with taxes ( i think) since i was just providing a service and not the actual product. somebody else will pop in here and let you know for sure. my tax guy just took out my expenses and added the remainder to my other monies from other jobs. he said it was the way to do it, but he could have been wrong.

Similar thing here - I will provide parts, but I'll charge the customer what I paid for the parts. My money comes from the work I do.

12 to 16 hr. work days will be a common occurrence. prepare family and loved ones for that eventuality.

Back to the point about long hours, and no time for yourself. At $30 an hour, I could work two or even three 8 hour days a week, and I'd consider that to be fair income.

One more thing, try to stay away from the homes. I am not kidding, they are real time sinks. Businesses will not bat an eye when it takes you 3 hours to clean up an infested machine at $50 - 75 an hour. A home user will sometimes flip out. And home users tend to "bird-dog" you while you are working on their machines. Constantly asking questions and wasting your time. The only good thing about a home customer is the potential to get a business referral from them.

Some users will watch you and ask questions. That's where you can really help yourself. Suggest that they take notes on things, like how to use Spybot or an AV program, because they will forget. You can guide their questions too, by the answers you give. And be detailed if you can. If they ask "What are you doing?", explain to them that you are installing updates, and tell them what they do, and why it's good to have updates installed. "This update is to patch some code in Microsoft products that allows malicious users to implant viral code in images. The patch plugs that security hole, but there are still others there, which are found over time, so future upgrades are always needed. This is why you should have Automatic Updates installed, etc etc."


Legal issues, I can't advise on. I've not made enough money yet to be held liable for taxes on it. If I advertised more, maybe I would. But again, this was just sort of a "testing the waters" thing, and I'm not sure I like what the oceans have to offer. Computer user ignorance seems to be a huge problem, and it just seems overwhelming. For me, if a single spyware app gets on the system, I'll pick it up myself pretty quickly, just by the way the thing acts. Sometimes the hard drive accesses the drive in unusual patterns, or else it just gets a wee bit slower. Most people aren't nearly so in-tune with their computer's behavior, and they only notice it when it takes a minute to load IE, instead of only 15 seconds like when it was new. And by that time, there's probably a lot wrong with the system.
That's why classes on real-world computer use would be of great benefit to many people, but not everyone with a computer will take them. Only those willing to take the time (and pay the money) for a class will attend, whereas it should be something more like public school - you want a computer, you take the class, like a license to operate a PC.

So in closing, good luck. Try not to lose your sanity. And be sure to have an exit-strategy.

 

[tin10]

"That's why classes on real-world computer use would be of great benefit to many people, but not everyone with a computer will take them. Only those willing to take the time (and pay the money) for a class will attend, whereas it should be something more like public school - you want a computer, you take the class, like a license to operate a PC. "




then people like me wouldnt have such a money making idea.....

 

[NautikaL 8]

Originally posted by: Agamar
I didn't know a 14 year old could legally earn money via working, without working for a parent.

yea man. those ten year olds that shovel snow sure are doing illegal things. Man we should just arrest them all...i mean wtf theyre getting paid for working!

i think its you have to be 15 to legally hold a job and be employed by someone. Its not illegal for people under the age of 15 to earn money...

 

[slash196]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
That's why classes on real-world computer use would be of great benefit to many people, but not everyone with a computer will take them. Only those willing to take the time (and pay the money) for a class will attend, whereas it should be something more like public school - you want a computer, you take the class, like a license to operate a PC.
q]

Here here. Some people are total morons about PC use, even the basics. Like, they close Word without saving, and then are pissed when their stuff is gone the next time they open it. That's why Word has to ask you, "Are you sure you want to quit without saving?" On the other end of the spectrum is total computer paranoia. My mom wants me to back up her files every time I install anything, be it a game, utility...anything.

 

[piasabird]

I had a friend who had a tree trimming business and people always ask if you are bonded or have insurance. People want a guarantee. You need to have a written guarantee you can give people. They also need to know what your minimum charge is for work done if you travel to someones house. Most businesses charge $50.00 or more just to show up at someone's house. If you need a refrigerator or a washing machine fixed you will see what I mean. I had a stereo fixed 10 years ago and they charged me a Minimum $50 fee just to open the case and take a look. The minimum fee should be standard and that should cover just your being a professional, and your time and travel to the location.

Another big thing peope may ask is what your qualifications are. What school made you qualified? Do you have a Certificate? What is your experience? If you are selling a service, then you are selling your image as a dependable trustworthy person. A big plus would be some people willing to write how you did such a good job for them and put it in the form of a testimonial. Also some people you can give as references. Belonging to an association or a professional group is something you can mention that may impress some people.

What I see happening is some person will call you up and ask you to work on their PC. So you say shure and when you get to their house they will have some old 386 or 486 and you may not know how to fix it. You can barely find parts for anything that old. So you need to screen all service calls. It might be a great tool to have a laptop with some way to download files, manuals, and some basic software to run diagnostics. One big problem is a lot of people who need help just do not know what they have. You may want to point out that if a PC is under warranty, that you do not want to break any rules in their warranty or extended service agreement. Removing one screw may violate a warranty.

Then there will be a customer that may say that you broke or damaged their priceless 20 year old computer. If you refuse to work on old junky computers, that might help a little; however, most computers that need to be fixed are junky old computers.

You might want to make friends with some stores or merchants that sell computers. Maybe you can get kickbacks for referrals or something. Helping people to find the best deal may be worthwile for your customer and yourself. Helping people to avoid buying less computer than they need may be useful too.

One thing people at home may want is to install a network or a firewall.

Instead of $30.00 an Hour you could come up with a list of things that commonly go wrong and charge a flat fee. For instance replacing a Hard drive requires a bit of work. You have to get a hard drive physically remove the old one and hook up the new one, which also means you have to get rid of 10 pounds of dust. Then you have to set it up in the BIOS. Then if it is XP you just insert the disk, Partition it and format it, and install the OS. Get drivers to work for Network, Modem, VGA, Sound Card, etc. That could take a good two hours if everything else is in working order. If they actually have all the driver disks and the Motherboard Chipset Drivers It might go easy. If not it could take up to a week to get parts in and find all the drivers for a proprietary name brand computer.

Worst case scenario is they dont have a disk for the operating system because it is on a hidden image on the hard drive. This is getting common. Then it might be an old HP with the CMOS on the hard drive which is fun to mess with.

Good Luck.

 

[tin10]

but cant i install a copy of the one I have, since they already own the license of the one on there computer?

 

[tin10]

anyone else