Here on MakeUseOf, we've shared DIY stuff before (5 awesome DIY sites, ThomasNet - An Awesome Repository Of Technical Information for DIY Men, 3 Cool Science Experiments You Can Do At Home).  The purpose of this article is to share 5 pages that help more specifically with how to learn computer repair.

Have you ever had a problem with your computer and gotten a quote from one of those box stores?  Holy cow! I know this guy who got a virus, took his tower to a store and paid several hundred dollars to have them install an anti-virus program and "save the day." I am serious, several hundred dollars!  OK, I understand that a laborer is worthy of his hire, but I believe that every single one of us would jump on the chance to save a few bucks if we could.

If there was any possibility to do some of those PC repairs on your own, and therefore save a few buck, is that something you'd learn how to do?  Here are five links that will help you with those DIY computer repair jobs.

(1) Fixing My Computer... 100% free step-by-step guide

learn computer repair

If you can get by the pink, blue, and green pastel colors, this site can be a real great resource in you journey to DIY computer repair proficiency. Once you arrive at this site, you'll easily find, along the left hand side, a nifty menu system obviously designed to look like a file explorer.  On that menu you'll find categories for almost any kind of fix you can think of.  Check out a few of them and see if a problem you are having is covered.  I'm not sure what's up with the butterfly, so if you can get to the bottom of that, please tip us off in the comments!

(2) Yahoo Answers Community - Computers & Internet

learn computer repair

I know, there are many communities out there on the internet that are ready and willing to give answers to your questions for nothing more than a few kudos.  Yahoo Answers is just one of the communities that I've had the most luck with.  For some tips on computer problems you are having, ask the community over in the Computers & Internet section and you're sure to find some answers!  Do what I do.  Begin by searching through the many questions already answered.  Odds are someone else had the same, or similar, problem that you are having so avoid the fuss of re-asking the same question.

(3) LaptopMag.com - 11 Ways to Fix Your Laptop

learn computer repair

I like this article because it attempts to get right to the point with some of the most common problems associated with laptops.  The goal of the article is better articulated by the writer himself:

To pinpoint the most common problems, we picked the brains of senior technical-support officials at Alienware, Dell, Lenovo, and Toshiba. And we've provided solutions for getting your laptop back up and running with minimal effort.

You can go through each one of the 11 pages OR you can use the nifty little dropdown menu at the bottom of each page to jump the the topic you need.  This article covers topics such as overheating, battery problems, network issues, and virus or spyware infestation.  Like I said, the basics are covered here. They're not exhaustive, but a really good start!

(4) Lifehacker's Top 10 Computer Hardware Fixes and Upgrades

learn about computer parts

Some of us will never get to the point where we will be wanting to build a PC from scratch, like number 1 on LifeHacker's top 10 list of computer hardware fixes and upgrades, but some of these fixes or upgrades are easy enough for most of us.  I've used my own good opinion to rate the number one's on this list: Easiest fix on the list?  Changing or upgrading RAM on a laptop (unscrew a few screws and that's about it); Most creative? Using elastic strips to quiet a noisy hard drive; Most difficult or involved?  Starting from scratch on your own PC.  Good list and a great help.

(5) Fixed4free.com - Computer category

learn about computer parts

This site is more of an answers community.  It seems pretty exhaustive in the computers category.  The site is fairly easy to use - if you notice, the white speech balloons mean that there is no answer yet and a green speech balloon means there is an answer.  Browse around and see if you can find an answer to your question.  If not, it seems that there is a section that allows you to ask a question.  Check out this post (because I think its funny): i wanna go on bebo but i cant in skwl?.  I already learned a new trick from the site: My computer screen as turned upside down how do i turn it back?. Check it out and see what you can learn!

As a word of warning, there are obviously some repairs that not every person is capable of accomplishing on their own.  If you are over your head, and you KNOW it, seek help, probably even professional help.  The purpose of this post is to save you some dough on some things that you ARE capable of doing, once you know how.

Do you know of any other online sources that help with DIY pc repair?  Feel free to share in the comments!