Affordable, friendly PC repairs — evenings and weekends when the other places are shut.
Whether your PC won't turn on, keeps crashing, or is running painfully slow, I can diagnose and fix it. I work on all types of desktop and tower computers — from budget home PCs to high-end workstations — and I've been doing it since 2008.
I'm Mark, and I run Your Local Computer Guy from my home in Laffak, St Helens. Because I don't have a shop, I don't have the overheads that come with one — no rent, no staff, no big bills. Those savings get passed straight to you, which means you get the same professional repair service at a much better price.
I cover both hardware and software problems. If something's physically broken — a dead power supply, a failing hard drive, a faulty motherboard — I can replace or repair it. If it's a software issue — Windows won't boot, you're getting blue screens, things are crashing — I'll get to the bottom of it and sort it out.
And because I work evenings and weekends, you don't have to take time off work or rearrange your day. When the high street repair shops are shut for the day, I'm just getting started.
Dead PC? Could be the power supply, motherboard, or just a loose connection. I'll find the cause and get it running again.
Blue screens (BSODs) usually point to a driver, hardware or Windows issue. I diagnose the exact cause and fix it properly.
Dust buildup, dried thermal paste, or a failing fan can cause shutdowns and throttling. I'll clean it out and get temps back to normal.
Faulty RAM, dead hard drives, broken USB ports — if a component has failed, I can source a replacement and fit it for you.
A computer that takes forever to do anything is usually fixable. Often an SSD upgrade or a cleanup is all it takes to feel like new.
Programs freezing, Windows errors, boot loops — I troubleshoot and fix all kinds of software problems on Windows and macOS.
Most desktop repairs come down to a handful of recurring faults. After fixing PCs in St Helens since 2008, I've seen the same things go wrong again and again — and that experience means I usually know where to look first, which keeps your bill down.
Power supplies are the single most common culprit when a PC won't turn on. They get gradually worse before they die, so you might notice random reboots or the machine refusing to start on a cold morning before it gives up entirely. I keep a tested PSU on the bench specifically for swap-testing, which tells me in about five minutes whether the PSU is the problem or whether something else is pulling it down.
RAM faults are next on the list. Symptoms are all over the place — blue screens, freezes, programs closing themselves, Windows refusing to install updates. I'll run MemTest86 across the sticks individually to find the bad module, then either replace it or, if you've got mismatched memory from a previous upgrade, sort the configuration out properly.
Hard drives dying is the one that worries people most because of the data. A mechanical drive that's clicking, slowing right down, or showing SMART warnings needs to come out before it fails completely. I'll image what's there onto a new SSD where possible, which usually fixes the speed problem at the same time. Most older desktops feel like a brand new machine after an SSD swap and a clean Windows install.
Then there's heat. Years of dust in the heatsink, a fan that's slowing down, or thermal paste that's gone chalky — any of those will cause shutdowns under load, throttling, or fans that sound like a hairdryer. A proper strip-down clean and fresh paste is genuinely transformative on a tower that's been running five or six years without attention.
I'm not a franchise. I'm not a managed service company with a head office somewhere telling me what to charge. I'm one bloke in Laffak who's been fixing computers since 2008, and that changes a few practical things you'll notice straight away.
When you ring the number on this page, I answer it. Not a call centre, not a booking system, not someone who'll pass a message on. The same person you speak to is the person who'll diagnose your machine, do the repair, and hand it back to you. Nothing gets lost in translation between a front desk and a workshop, because there isn't one.
I also have a full-time IT job alongside this, which matters more than it sounds. It means I'm not chasing every job to pay the rent on a shop, and I'm not under pressure to upsell parts you don't need or talk you into a repair that isn't worth doing. If your machine's genuinely had its day, I'll tell you. If a £30 fix will keep it going another two years, I'll tell you that too. The advice you get is the advice I'd give a friend.
Chain shops have to hit targets. Their technicians are often working from a script and have a manager looking at average ticket values. That's not a criticism — it's just how that business model works. But it does mean a £40 job can quietly turn into a £200 quote because the till needs feeding. With me there's no till to feed and nobody looking over my shoulder, so the quote you get is the quote the job actually needs.
The other thing is continuity. If something I fixed plays up a week later, you ring the same number and get the same person who already knows the machine. No ticket numbers, no starting from scratch with whoever happens to be on shift.
I'm based in Laffak, on the north-east side of St Helens, so I'm well placed for the whole borough and a fair bit beyond. Most jobs are either a callout to your house or a drop-off at mine — whichever suits you better. If you're not sure which makes more sense, give me a ring and we'll work it out.
Haydock is about ten minutes up the road and I'm there often. Newton-le-Willows is a bit further on but still well within range, and I've had a steady stream of regulars from there over the years. Same goes for Billinge, which is a quick run across — handy if you've got a tower you'd rather not lift into the car.
Heading the other way, Eccleston, Windle and Rainford are all close enough that a callout doesn't add much to the price. Prescot and Rainhill are slightly further south but I cover both regularly, and people from those areas often prefer to drop the machine off and pick it up once it's done — Laffak is a straightforward run up the A570 from either.
Closer in, I cover Sutton, Thatto Heath, Parr and the rest of central St Helens as standard. These are short hops for me, so callouts are easy to fit around evenings and weekends. If you're in any of these areas and the machine's awkward to move — an all-in-one, a big tower under a desk full of cables, or a setup with multiple monitors you'd rather not unplug — I'd usually recommend I come to you.
If you're not sure whether your address is in range, just ask. I don't have a strict postcode cut-off — if it's a sensible drive from St Helens, I'll come out. And if it turns out the job is something quick I can talk you through over the phone, I'll do that too and save us both a trip.
The first step is just a quick conversation. Drop me a WhatsApp on 07428 101010 or give me a ring, tell me what the machine's doing — or not doing — and I'll usually have a fair idea straight away of what's likely going on and roughly what it'll cost. If it sounds like something I can talk you through over the phone, I'll do that for nothing.
If it needs hands on it, we'll arrange either a callout to your house or a drop-off at mine in Laffak, whichever works for you. I'll give you a rough price before I touch anything — based on what we've discussed and what I'd expect to find — and a clear maximum I won't go past without checking back in. No surprises when you get the bill.
Once I've got the machine, I diagnose properly before I do any work. If what I find changes the picture — for example, a problem turns out to be bigger or smaller than it sounded — I ring you back before going further. You decide whether to carry on, not me.
When it's done, I either drop it back, you collect, or for software jobs I can sometimes finish remotely. You pay on completion, by cash, bank transfer or card. That's it. No subscriptions, no follow-up sales calls, no upsells.
It depends entirely on what's wrong, but most jobs land somewhere between £40 and £100 all in. A diagnostic and software fix is at the lower end; a parts replacement like a new SSD or power supply is higher because of the cost of the part itself. I always agree a price with you before starting work — you'll never get a bill that surprises you. If a job's going to cost more than the machine is worth, I'll tell you that honestly rather than do the work.
Most software issues — slow performance, virus removal, Windows reinstalls, that kind of thing — I can turn around in 24 to 48 hours. Hardware repairs depend on whether I've got the part in or need to order it. A standard SSD or RAM swap is same-day or next-day; a more obscure motherboard or laptop part might take a few days to arrive. Because I work evenings and weekends, things often get done faster than you'd expect from a 9-to-5 shop.
Both options are available — whatever's easier for you. For desktops and towers, most people prefer to drop them off at my place in Laffak because they're awkward to move with the cables and monitor. For laptops, it's usually a quick drop-off too. If you'd rather I came to you, I do callouts across St Helens and the surrounding areas — Haydock, Newton-le-Willows, Rainhill, Prescot, Billinge, Eccleston, Rainford and the rest. Just let me know when you call.
Often yes — and a lot more often than people assume. A machine that feels hopelessly slow can usually be brought back to life with an SSD upgrade and a clean Windows install for a fraction of what a new PC would cost. The exception is genuinely old hardware where the motherboard or processor is the bottleneck. In those cases I'll be straight with you and say so rather than spend your money on a repair that won't make a real difference.
If I can't fix it, you don't pay for the repair — you'd only owe a small diagnostic fee for my time, and I'll tell you upfront if I think there's a real chance of that before we start. In practice it's rare, but if a machine is genuinely beyond economical repair I'll explain exactly why, recover any data you need off it, and point you towards a sensible replacement. I don't sell PCs, so there's no angle in steering you one way or the other.
Drop me a WhatsApp or give me a call. I'll have a chat about what's going on and we'll get it sorted.