What a computer tune-up visit actually includes

The list

A tune-up clears startup drag, applies waiting updates, and checks how full the drive is. We look at the browser only if pages are the complaint. We do not install a stack of optimizers. Those tools are a common reason the computer feels worse a month later.

You stay with the machine. On an online visit you approve the screen share and can disconnect. On an in-home visit the same list is followed, and the notes land in your account.

What is extra

Moving years of photos, removing malware, or reinstalling the operating system are different services with their own prices. If the tune-up finds one of those, the technician stops and tells you before the scope grows.

Hardware replacement, such as a battery or a drive, is not included. If a part is required, you hear that before anyone orders it.

How to prepare

Plug the laptop in. Know the Windows or Apple password. If mail is part of the complaint, have the mailbox password available or a phone that can approve the sign-in. We do not need your banking passwords.

Write one sentence about the problem: slow at startup, slow in the browser, or slow only on video calls. That sentence decides which part of the list comes first.

Keep reading

• Why a laptop feels slow after a Windows update

  The first hour after an update is often indexing and disk work, not a dead computer.

• What a malware removal visit covers

  Scan, remove, and a short list of habits. Not a promise that no one can ever phish you.

• How to tell a full disk from a failing drive

  A full drive is a cleanup. A failing drive is a copy-first emergency.