A computer repair technician is a person who repairs and maintains computers and servers. The

technician A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Specialisation The term technician covers many different speciali ...

's responsibilities may extend to include building or configuring new hardware, installing and updating

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

packages, and creating and maintaining

computer network A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ...

Overview

Computer technicians work in a variety of settings, encompassing both the

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

and

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

s. Because of the relatively brief existence of the profession, institutions offer certificate and degree programs designed to prepare new technicians, but computer repairs are frequently performed by experienced and

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

technicians who have little formal training in the field.Computer Support Specialists and Systems Administrators
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, ''Computer Support Specialists : Occupational Outlook Handbook'', 2019. Private sector computer repair technicians can work in corporate

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...

departments, central service centers or in retail computer sales environments. Public sector computer repair technicians might work in the military, national security or law enforcement communities, health or public safety field, or an educational institution. Despite the vast variety of work environments, all computer repair technicians perform similar physical and investigative processes, including

technical support Technical support (abbreviated as tech support) is a call centre type customer service provided by companies to advise and assist registered users with issues concerning their technical products. Traditionally done on the phone, technical suppor ...

and often

customer service Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but in the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that ...

. Experienced computer repair technicians might specialize in fields such as

data recovery In computing, data recovery is a process of retrieving deleted, inaccessible, lost, corrupted, damaged, or formatted data from secondary storage, removable media or files, when the data stored in them cannot be accessed in a usual way. The dat ...

, system administration, networking or

information systems An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems are composed by four components: task, people ...

. Some computer repair technicians are self-employed or own a firm that provides services in a regional area. Some are subcontracted as freelancers or

consultants A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

. This type of computer repair technician ranges from hobbyists and enthusiasts to those who work professionally in the field. Computer malfunctions can range from a minor setting that is incorrect, to

spyware Spyware (a portmanteau for spying software) is software with malicious behaviour that aims to gather information about a person or organization and send it to another entity in a way that harms the user—for example, by violating their priva ...

viruses A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's ...

, and as far as replacing hardware and an entire

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also i ...

. Some technicians provide on-site services, usually at an hourly rate. Others can provide services off-site, where the client can drop their computers and other devices off at the repair shop. Some have pickup and drop off services for convenience. Some technicians may also take back old equipment for

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

. This is required in the EU, under

WEEE The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) is the European Community Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) which, together with the RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU, became European La ...

rules.

Hardware repair

While computer hardware configurations vary widely, a computer repair technician that works on OEM equipment will work with five general categories of hardware; desktop computers, laptops, servers, computer clusters and

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

s / mobile computing devices. Technicians also work with and occasionally repair a range of peripherals, including

input device In computing, an input device is a piece of equipment used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system, such as a computer or information appliance. Examples of input devices include keyboards, mouse, scanners, cameras ...

s (like

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, mice, webcams and

scanners ''Scanners'' is a 1981 Canadian science fiction horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan. In the film, "scanners" are psychics with unusual telepathi ...

output device An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment which converts information into a human-perceptible form or, historically, into a physical machine-readable form for use with other non-computerized equipment. It can be text, graphics, ...

s (like

displays A display device is an output device for presentation of information in visual or tactile form (the latter used for example in tactile electronic displays for blind people). When the input information that is supplied has an electrical signal the ...

printers Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer ( fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * Jam ...

, and

speakers Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

), and data storage devices such as internal and external

hard drives A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magne ...

and disk arrays. Technicians involved in system administration might also work with

networking hardware Networking hardware, also known as network equipment or computer networking devices, are electronic devices which are required for communication and interaction between devices on a computer network. Specifically, they mediate data transmission in ...

, including routers,

switches In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

, cabling, fiber optics, and

wireless network A wireless network is a computer network that uses wireless data connections between network nodes. Wireless networking is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and business installations avoid the costly process of introducing ...

Software repair

When possible, computer repair technicians protect the computer user's data and settings. Following a repair, an ideal scenario will give the user access to the same data and settings that were available to them prior to repair. To address a software problem, the technician could take an action as minor as adjusting a single setting or they may implore more involved techniques such as: installing, uninstalling, or reinstalling various software packages. Advanced software repairs often involve directly editing keys and values in the

Windows Registry The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores low-level settings for the Microsoft Windows operating system and for applications that opt to use the registry. The kernel, device drivers, services, Security Accounts Manager, and ...

or running commands directly from the

command prompt Command Prompt, also known as cmd.exe or cmd, is the default command-line interpreter for the OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS, Microsoft Windows (Windows NT family and Windows CE family), and ReactOS operating systems. On Windows CE .NET 4.2, W ...

. A reliable, but somewhat more complicated procedure for addressing software issues is known as a

system restore System Restore is a feature in Microsoft Windows that allows the user to revert their computer's state (including system files, installed applications, Windows Registry, and system settings) to that of a previous point in time, which can be used ...

(also referred to as imaging, and/or reimaging), in which the computer's original installation image (including

and original applications) is reapplied to a formatted hard drive. Anything unique such as settings or personal files will be destroyed if not backed up on external media, as this reverts everything back to its original unused state. The computer technician can only reimage if there is an image of the hard drive for that computer either in a separate partition or stored elsewhere. On a Microsoft Windows system, if there is a restore point that was saved (normally saved on the hard drive of the computer) then the installed applications and

can be restored to that point. This procedure may solve problems that have arisen after the time the restore point was created. If no image or system restore point is available, a fresh copy of the operating system is recommended. Formatting and reinstalling the operating system will require the license information from the initial purchase. If none is available, the operating system may require a new licence to be used.

Data recovery

One of the most common tasks performed by computer repair technicians after software updates and screen repairs is

. This is the process of recovering lost data from a corrupted or otherwise inaccessible hard drive. In most cases a third-party data recovery software is used to retrieve the data and transfer it to a new hard drive. Specialists say in about 15% of the cases the data is unable to be recovered as the hard disk is damaged to a point where it will no longer function. ''Blackblaze's'' annual report indicates that the hard drive failure rate for the first quarter of 2020 was 1.07%.

Education

Education requirements vary by company and individual proprietor. The entry level requirement is generally based on the extent of the work expected. Often a 4 year degree will be required for a more specialized technician, where as a general support technician may only require a 2 year degree or some post secondary classes.

Certification

Common Certifications

The most common certification for computer repair technicians are the

CompTIA The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is an American non-profit trade association that issues professional certifications for the information technology (IT) industry. It is considered one of the IT industry's top trade associ ...

A+ Certification The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is an American non-profit trade association that issues professional certifications for the information technology (IT) industry. It is considered one of the IT industry's top trade associ ...

and Network+ Certifications.

Additional Certifications

Additional certifications are useful when technicians are expanding their skill set. These will be useful when seeking advanced, higher paying positions. These are generally offered by specific software or hardware providers and will give the technician an in-depth knowledge of the systems related to that software or hardware. For instance, the

Microsoft Technology Associate Microsoft Technology Associate was an entry-level certification that validates fundamental technology skills and knowledge in Microsoft products. MTA exams were designed to assess and validate core technical concepts in three primary areas: Database ...

and Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate certifications give the technician proof that they have mastered PC fundamentals.

Additional Computer Technician Certifications

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

( MCSE, MCITP, MCTS) *

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

(ACSP, ACTC) * International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium ( CISSP) * Information Systems Audit and Control Association (

ISACA ISACA is an international professional association focused on IT (information technology) governance. On its IRS filings, it is known as the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, although ISACA now goes by its acronym only.

) *

Project Management Professional Project Management Professional (PMP) is an internationally recognized professional designation offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI). As of 31 July 2020, there are 1,036,368 active PMP-certified individuals and 314 chartered chapters ...

(PMP)

Additional Network Technician Certifications

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...

CCNA and

CCNP A Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) is a person in the IT industry who has achieved the professional level of Cisco Career Certification. Professional certifications Prior to February 2020 there were approximately eight professional-le ...

* Cisco

CCIE The Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert, or CCIE, is a technical certification offered by Cisco Systems. The Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) and Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE) certifications were established to assist the indu ...

Enterprise Infrastructure and CCIE Enterprise Wireless *

SolarWinds SolarWinds Corporation is an American company that develops software for businesses to help manage their networks, systems, and information technology infrastructure. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with sales and product development offi ...

Certified Professional *

Wireshark Wireshark is a free and open-source packet analyzer. It is used for network troubleshooting, analysis, software and communications protocol development, and education. Originally named Ethereal, the project was renamed Wireshark in May 2006 d ...

WCNA

License

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, computer companies and professionals are required to have

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

s’ licenses if they access computer data for purposes other than diagnosis or repair. Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1702 section 104, subsection 4(b).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Computer Repair Technician Repair technician People in information technology Technicians