Buy the right machine, then have it set up right.
We don't sell you the computer, so the buying advice is straight. Then we move your files, email, and accounts across, and wipe the old one before it leaves the house.
Advice with nothing behind it
Ask us before you buy. We have no hardware to move and no vendor to keep happy, so when we say the cheaper machine is fine for what you do, that's what we mean.
Tell us what you actually use the computer for and we'll tell you what matters and what doesn't. Shops sell most people more processor than they'll ever use and not enough memory or storage, which are the two things you notice every day. We'll give you a spec and a rough budget, and you buy it wherever you like.
Sometimes the answer is that your current machine needs a drive and more memory, not replacing. If that's the case we'll say so. See computer repair for what that involves.
Out of the box and into use
A new machine comes with a first-run process designed to sign you up for things. We go through it screen by screen, turn off what you don't want, and leave you with a computer that behaves.
- Windows or macOS set up with your account, updates applied before you start using it
- Preinstalled trial software and the nagging that comes with it removed
- Email set up in the app you prefer, on the computer and on your phone
- Printer, scanner, and WiFi connected and tested
- The software you actually use installed and signed in
- Backup turned on before you fill the machine up, not after. See data backup and recovery
Files and accounts, carried across and checked
The files are the easy part. What catches people out is everything attached to the files: which email account was configured how, the bookmarks, the passwords saved in the old browser, the licensed software that needs a key nobody can find, and the scanned documents sitting in a folder on the desktop.
We go through it with you, move it, and then open things on the new machine to confirm they work. Your old computer stays exactly as it is until you've told us everything's there. Nothing gets erased on a promise.
Wiping it before it leaves
Deleting your files doesn't remove them, and neither does a factory reset on every machine. An old laptop passed to a relative or dropped at a recycling center still holds tax returns, saved passwords, and years of email unless someone actually erases the drive.
Once you've confirmed the new machine has everything, we erase the old drive so the files can't be recovered, and sign you out of the accounts tied to it so the device isn't still linked to you. Then we'll tell you your options: keep it as a spare, hand it on, or recycle it. If you want it recycled, ask and we'll look up where to take it locally rather than take it off your hands and charge you for the privilege.
What it costs
- Flat $85 diagnostic if you want us to look at the old machine first and tell you if it's worth replacing at all
- We quote setup and migration in writing before we start, so you know the total up front
- Approved work is $85 per hour, remote or on-site
- Rush and after-hours work adds a flat $85
Buying advice on its own is a short conversation, and we're happy to have it. Call or email with what you use the computer for. See full pricing.
About to buy a computer?
Ask us first. We reply to new inquiries within one business day.