Frequently Asked Questions about Our Service
- How does the service work?
- What areas do you cover?
- My office / house is impossible to find. Is that a problem?
- How much do you charge?
- Can I sign up for a maintenance contract?
- Will you take my computer away?
- How will you fix my computer on-site? It might need new parts?
- Do you offer after-hours service?
- I have extremely confidential information on my computer. How do you handle that?
- I used to work for a large multi-national company with a dedicated I.T. department. If I had a problem, all I had to do was pick up the phone and get instant help. Now that I've set up my own business, I really miss that support.
- I've looked exhaustively on the internet for a solution to a software problem I'm experiencing but cannot seem to find a solution anywhere. Can you help?
- I would really like to share my Outlook calendar and contacts with two other users in my office. What is a good way to go about this?
- I am the office manager for a busy office in Dublin where there are about 6-7 computers which I am in charge of. While I do have an I.T background, I occasionally come across problems, both hardware and software that I cannot solve. Can you help?
- I have a home PC that refuses to start-up. There are a lot of important programs and documents on it that I need to access again. My brother-in-law who is a computer programmer spent around 3 hours trying to fix it unsuccessfully and promised "he would get back to me". That was two weeks ago and I have not heard from him since.
- I am the I.T manager of a medium-sized company. Occasionally, we have employees who have trouble accessing the company VPN from their homes. Some of these problems cannot be solved remotely. Anytime we send our own I.T staff to help them, it always gets very messy. Can we outsource the function to your company?
- My computer got a really bad virus infection the other day and I brought my computer to my local computer store. They told me they will have to "wipe the whole system". We have some very important programs installed, which we don't want to lose. Can anything be done to avoid this?
- Do you sell computers?
How does the service work?
For a graphical demonstration of how our service works, please see below.
- Phone or Email us to Book an Appointment.
- Technician Arrives at Your Office Or Home.
- You explain the problem in your own words or simply show our technician the problem(s) you are experiencing. The technician will be able to tell you how much the job is going to cost. If price is approved, we proceed with the job.
- Technician fixes the problem(s) on-site.
- Test of Your System - our technician will double-check that all your problems have been successfully resolved. You will also be invited to test your system(s), and our technician will answer any questions you may have.
If there is any problem with your system(s) after our technicians have left, we return and resolve the problem free of charge.
What areas do you cover?
We cover all of North and South Dublin, Dublin City Centre and North, and South County Dublin.
My office / house is impossible to find. Is that a problem?
All our technicians know Dublin City and County well. Over the years we have helped customers even in the most obscure out-of-the way locations. In addition, all our vehicles are equipped with GPS satellite navigation.
Can I sign up for a maintenance contract?
No, we do not provide maintenance contracts and never did. We don't need maintenance contracts to "lock-in" customers. Most of our customers come back to us of their own accord OR because we have been recommended to them by their business associates or friends. Quality work delivered with integrity will always speak for itself.
Will you take my computer away?
Our technicians fix computers on-site, whether that is in your office or home. When your computers are fixed on-site, you can watch the steps being taken by our technicians as they resolve your problems. The process is one hundred per cent transparent and you might even learn some new tips!
How will you fix my computer on-site? It might need new parts?
We carry brand new hard drives, graphics cards, power supply units, routers, switches, LAN cables etc. on-board for the most common problems we come across. (Diagnostic and repair equipment is also carried) This saves you and us a lot of time, ensuring you are "up-and-running" again in the shortest time possible.
Do you offer after-hours service?
Yes, with some of our customers, the only time they have available is the evening time. Our after-hours service is available until 8pm Monday to Thursday.
We also offer a genuine after-hours emergency service for users. Computers have an awful bad habit of crashing just before an urgent deadline or on a Friday afternoon at five o'clock.
I have extremely confidential information on my computer. How do you handle that?
Over the years we have dealt with systems owned by accountants, tax advisors and psychiatrists. All of our technicians treat your data with the strictest confidence. Your computer will be fixed on-site, therefore enabling you to watch the technician at work.
I used to work for a large multi-national company with a dedicated I.T. department. If I had a problem, all I had to do was pick up the phone and get instant help. Now that I've set up my own business, I really miss that support.
Streamlined IT Support can be your very own outsourced I.T. department for your small business! A lot of our customers who worked for large organisations had access to dedicated I.T. support departments. When they set up their own businesses, they found themselves lost when it came to technology. With Computer Ambulance, we can be you own outsourced I.T. department. You can concentrate on growing your business, and we can look after the technological side of things without the expense of a full-time I.T person.
I've looked exhaustively on the internet for a solution to a software problem I'm experiencing but cannot seem to find a solution anywhere. Can you help?
Researching an I.T problem on the internet can sometimes prove a fruitless (and frustrating) task to a lot of computer users. Some "support" sites can be a mile-wide with information but only an inch-deep. If you looking to resolve a quirky software problem, try to make your search terms as narrow and as specific as possible. For example, if you get the error message while running Norton 360 on Windows Vista Business.
"Generic Host Process for Win32 Services has encountered a problem and needs to close. Sorry for the inconvenience"
The key search-engine terms to research a problem like this will be "generic host process for win32 services" + "Norton 360" + "Vista Business". Specific terms like this will maximise your chances of finding a solution but at the end of the day, there is no substitute for an experienced technician.
I would really like to share my Outlook calendar and contacts with two other users in my office. What is a good way to go about this?
If you have Microsoft SBS 2003 or 2008 with MS Exchange installed, you can use that for synching your contacts and calendar information. If not, Outlook can be configured using some great synching tools from Mailtraq software.
I am the office manager for a busy office in Dublin where there are about 6-7 computers which I am in charge of. While I do have an I.T background, I occasionally come across problems, both hardware and software that I cannot solve. Can you help?
Yes, if you need to bring in that extra bit of I.T expertise to solve a complex problem you've never seen before, our technicians probably have, and can help you. We often help "dig-out" people who are responsible for their office computer systems but who occasionally "get stumped".
I have a home PC that refuses to start-up. There are a lot of important programs and documents on it that I need to access again. My brother-in-law who is a computer programmer spent around 3 hours trying to fix it unsuccessfully and promised "he would get back to me". That was two weeks ago and I have not heard from him since.
This is a problem we come across all the time! Your brother-in-law might be a great computer programmer, but when it comes to specific hardware or software problems might not be as good as he thinks! Let our technicians bring their knowledge and experience to bear in resolving your problem.
I am the I.T manager of a medium-sized company. Occasionally, we have employees who have trouble accessing the company VPN from their homes. Some of these problems cannot be solved remotely. Anytime we send our own I.T staff to help them, it always gets very messy. Can we outsource the function to your company?
Of course, we help many large organisations as clients whose staff work from home and have computer problems that cannot be fixed remotely.
My computer got a really bad virus infection the other day and I brought my computer to my local computer store. They told me they will have to "wipe the whole system". We have some very important programs installed, which we don't want to lose. Can anything be done to avoid this?
"Wiping the system" or "reinstalling the operating system" (or rebooting the hard-drive as some users like to call it) can be a very crude solution to eliminate a computer virus. It's akin to using a hammer to break an egg! There are many more sophisticated techniques that an experienced computer technician can use to remove even the most stubborn virus. In extreme circumstances, reinstalling the operating system has to be done, but should only be ever used as a last resort.
Do you sell computers?
No, we do not sell computers - therefore we are totally impartial when it comes to recommending computer systems. We can recommend to you the most reliable user-friendly systems, peripherals and software to buy. But at the end of the day, what you buy is totally at your own discretion.