Jeff Bonsteel offers assistance for the PC befuddled
BY JIM BOHMAN DaytonDaily News
CENTERVILLE - Jeff Bonsteel
holds a physics degree from Miami
University and spent two decades
writing arcane software for NCR
Corp., Reynolds & Reynolds and
cell phone companies. Now he's
helping the computer befuddled.
Bonsteel has formed Computer
Medic, a personal computer repair
service that makes house calls.
"Computer Medic is designed for
PC novices," said Bonsteel, who
operates from his home workshop.
His target market is technology
challenged, people reluctant to unplug the spaghetti wires and take
their PC to a repair shop.
Bonsteel launched the company
in June while between jobs as a
free-lance software specialist for
telecommunications companies
around the United States
"I was spending a lot of my spare
time doing PC service anyway," he
said. "It seemed to me there was a
market for this service. I encounter
so many people who are embarrassed about their lack of computer
knowledge."
There are a few other computer
service firms in the Yellow Pages
that make home visits, but they are
not widely known, according to
Bonsteel. Most people think they
must.take their computer to a shop
for repairs.
The technician says he can perform minor surgery in the home
including installation of hardware
cards and motherboards and upgrades of Windows software.
He also cleans up hard drives,
provides added memory and can
supply larger hard drives and
backup systems.
Other services include installing
faster modems, setting up Internet
access, creating Web pages and arranging for multiple home PCs to
share a printer. Bonsteel said he
also can enable parents to monitor
their children's Internet browsing.
And he can recover seemingly lost
data, install virus protection and
add security measures."
When major repairs are needed,
Bonsteel can take the ailing machine
to his workshop.
"Often the simplest thing can
cause a PC to stop working and people have no idea what went wrong,"
Bonsteel said. "Usually somebody
went in, hit a button by accident and
changed the configuration."
The solution maybe a complete
mystery to the PC owner, but to experienced hands, fixes can be made
quickly. "It's an intuitive thing that
many people just don't have," Bonsteel, 43, said.
I can't repair individual components," the Centerville native said.
"If something Is shot, I replace it.
Bonsteel said he's been working on
PCs since they first came out.
His practice is limited to the
broadly based world of IBM compatible PCs. Bonsteel said he does not
service Apple Macintosh machines.
Pricing is $30 per half hour plus
parts. Bonsteel charges a minimum
of $25 for an inspection. Repairs and
installations generally can run from
$50 to $100 or more. He can be
reached at 291-9751.
Contact
JimBohman at 225-2242
or e-mail him at jim_bohman@coxohio.com
