Desktop computer repair in Lyon

That is the big difference between the two formats. On a laptop, a failing motherboard often condemns the machine. On a tower, it is replaced like anything else, and the computer goes on for several more years. That is why we repair desktops that others would have written off.

Common faults on a desktop computer

• The machine will not power on at all: no light, no sound. The power supply is to blame in most cases, and it is an inexpensive part.
• It powers on but nothing appears. Graphics card, memory, or simply a monitor plugged into the wrong video output.
• It shuts down on its own mid-use: overheating, or a power supply that no longer holds up under peaks in consumption.
• It has become very slow: a mechanical hard drive at the end of its life, not enough memory, a clogged heatsink.
• Repeated blue screens: failing memory, a driver, or a disk starting to give out.
• Unusual noises: a worn fan, or a hard drive in the process of dying - in that second case, you have to stop right away.
• Dead USB ports, sound gone, an inactive card reader.

Diagnosis by elimination

On a tower, diagnosis means isolating the faulty component by ruling out the others one at a time: power supply, memory, graphics card, disk. It is a simple method, but it calls for test equipment - a reference power supply, known-good memory modules - and that is exactly what is missing when you try on your own.

This approach avoids the most expensive mistake: replacing a part that was working. We regularly see machines where a new graphics card was bought when the problem was the power supply.

The parts that can be replaced

On a desktop computer, more or less everything: power supply unit, hard drive or SSD, memory modules, graphics card, fans, card reader, network card, and right up to the motherboard and the processor.

Two replacements stand out for what they do to an older machine. Moving to an SSD, which radically transforms responsiveness - by far the best ratio of cost to result. And adding memory, often possible on a desktop since free slots almost always remain, unlike recent laptops where it is soldered in.

A seven- or eight-year-old desktop with an SSD and 16 GB of memory stays perfectly comfortable for office work, the internet and video calls. See SSD or hard drive.

The maintenance everyone forgets

A tower constantly draws in air, and therefore dust. After a few years the processor heatsink clogs up, the fans struggle, and the machine deliberately slows down to avoid overheating. People then think it is “getting old” when in fact it is suffocating.

A full clean-out with new thermal paste often brings temperatures down by fifteen to twenty-five degrees on a machine over five years old. The fan quietens down, the slowdowns disappear, and the components last longer. It is one of the least spectacular and most worthwhile jobs we offer.

The case of custom-built machines

A custom-built computer repairs just as well as a branded machine, sometimes better: the components are standard and documented. We work on existing builds as well as on the ones we assembled ourselves. See our IT hardware page.

Repair or replace

On a desktop, repair is justified far more often than on a laptop, precisely because the parts are standard and reasonably priced. The chassis, the power supply and the case easily last ten years; it is the disk, the memory and the graphics card that age.

The real turning point today is no longer mechanical but software: a machine whose processor is not compatible with Windows 11 raises a genuine question, since Windows 10 no longer receives security fixes. We always check this, and there are alternatives. See moving to Windows 11.

Where the work happens

Many repairs are done at your place: replacing a disk, adding memory, changing a power supply. Longer jobs, such as a full clean-out or a motherboard replacement, are handled in the workshop.