Practical guidance for people who want to understand a computer, Wi-Fi, device, or security problem before deciding what to do next. Written by Dan Perciballi, owner of SilverTech Assist LLC.
Every guide here covers the same three things: what is most likely causing the problem, what you can safely try yourself, and the point at which carrying on alone stops being worth it. Several of them will save you a service call entirely, which is the intention. I would rather you fixed it in ten minutes and remembered who told you how.
They are written for people who do not work in technology. There is no assumed knowledge, and nothing here needs you to know what a router is before you start.
These resolve a genuine share of the calls I get, and none of them can make anything worse.
Shut down, wait ten seconds, start again. Closing a laptop lid or letting a screen sleep is not the same thing, and a machine that has not truly restarted in weeks accumulates problems that clear themselves on a real reboot.
Power out at the wall, wait thirty seconds, power back in, then wait a full two minutes before testing. Most people plug it back in and test after ten seconds, decide it did not work, and move on.
If there is an error message, write down or photograph exactly what it says. “It said something about a certificate” and the actual text are two completely different amounts of information, and the second one often identifies the problem immediately.
An update, a new device, a storm, a provider visit, a power cut. Problems rarely begin for no reason, and the thing that changed just before is usually the thing to look at.
These two are the most urgent guides on the site. If a message or a phone call has you worried right now, read the relevant one before doing anything else — and do not call any number that appeared on your screen.
A full-screen warning claims your computer is infected or locked, often with an alarm sound and a phone number. This covers the red flags, how to close it safely, and what to do if you already called or gave someone access.
Read this one first if there is something on your screen right now.
Someone rings claiming to be from Microsoft, your internet provider, or “the computer department.” The warning signs, what to do while you are still on the call, and the steps that matter afterwards if you let them in.
The short version that covers almost every case: no legitimate company will ever phone you unprompted about your computer, and any warning that supplies a phone number to call is a scam. If you think something already happened, see virus removal and scam help.
A surprising number of “slow computer” complaints turn out to be network problems wearing a disguise.
Why the signal is fine beside the router and useless two rooms away: walls and what they are made of, distance, interference from neighbors, router placement, the difference between 2.4 and 5 GHz, and whether a mesh system is actually the answer.
Dead zones, drops at particular times of day, and speeds well below what you pay for are all measurable on-site in a way they simply are not over the phone. See Wi-Fi and network support for what that involves.
How to weigh it honestly: which Windows version it can still run, whether an SSD or more memory would genuinely transform it, what a battery is worth replacing on, and the failures that mean the machine is finished. Age on its own decides nothing.
If the repair costs more than about half of a replacement that would properly suit you, replacing usually wins. But an SSD in a machine that is otherwise fine is often the best money anyone spends on a computer, and plenty of laptops written off as too old just need one.
Getting FaceTime or Zoom working so that calling the grandchildren is easy rather than an ordeal — the common problems, why the camera or microphone sometimes will not work, and how to make it repeatable.
You can book a visit for someone else and stay involved from anywhere, including out of state. See family tech support for how that works.
Send the question in plain English, however basic it feels. Questions that come up repeatedly become guides here, with all personal details removed.
Would rather someone just looked at it? See what a visit looks like or check the areas served.