With midterms around the corner, computer service experts say students should know if their computers break, it may take more time and money to fix than they expected, especially if it turns out their warranty is up.

Louis Garcia, sales consultant for University Computers, said manufacturers vary in the quality and price — sometimes included, sometimes not — of warranties they offer students, but no company in particular offers noticeably better service.

“All manufacturers fall between 1 to 2 percent of each other when it comes to receiving complaints,” he said.

When students find out they no longer have a warranty, they can visit University Computers to have a problem diagnosed for $30, and they can then pay the store to have the problem fixed. Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences freshman Laura Furey said although she is satisfied with the service at University Computers for fixing her broken hard drive in one day, she said she had to pay a hefty price.

And for those students with warranties, often the long amounts of time they have to wait to get their computers serviced can be frustrating. Most technicians use essential equipment like a soldering station to repair circuit boards, replace components, and ensure the device functions properly. If you’re curious about the tools professionals use, click here to learn more.

College of Communication freshman Cindy Cordova, who has a four-year warranty on her Hewlett-Packard laptop, said she sent out her computer a month ago to have her screen fixed and is still waiting to get it back. As she waits for her computer, Cordova said she has been doing her homework in computer labs on campus and is not too worried about how long it has taken to get her laptop back.

“I’m not really stressed about the time frame,” she said. “I just want it to be fixed.”

When CAS freshman Peter Parpos’s new laptop was diagnosed with a faulty battery this summer shortly after he bought it, he had to wait the entire summer as technicians serviced his computer, receiving it two weeks into the school year.

“It wasn’t just an inconvenience for me,” he said. “I had to inconvenience my whole family. I had to keep borrowing my dad’s laptop every time I needed a computer.”

Parpos said when he received his laptop, its performance was much slower than it had been when he first bought it, and its memory was cut in half. Rather than deal with the company again, Parpos said he would bring his laptop to a computer-savvy friend to help him with future problems.

Though many companies are not as quick or helpful with repairs as students would like, Consumer Electronics Association spokesman Jason Oxman said providing for customers’ needs is actually a good business because it encourages repeat customers.

Students who do not want to pay a fee to have their computers’ problems diagnosed can bring them to Personal Computing Services on campus to get software help from other students.

Students are not always the innocent victims when their computers suddenly shut down. Often, they bring problems on themselves, said Information Technology Consulting Services Director Jim Stone.

Stone, who helps resolve students’ technical issues at University Computers and the Personal Computing Services office, said computer users can often avoid repairs by using available safeguards and resisting the urge to download music.

“We offer free anti-spyware and anti-virus software, but we can’t force students to install it,” he said. “Downloading large music collections [is] also a great way to mess your computer up.”