Computer repair checklist: from intake to pickup for PCs and laptops

How to use this checklist

Copy the steps into your ticket or print them and keep one sheet with each computer. Mark every line OK, Fail or Not tested. “Not tested” is an honest answer; a blank line is not. Short notes beat long ones: “3 dead keys (E, R, 4) at intake” is all you need.

At the counter

Arguments at pickup often start with something nobody wrote down at drop-off. Before the customer leaves:

• Customer and device: name, best way to reach them, brand, model, serial number and color.
• What came with it: charger, bag, mouse, external drive, discs. Write it down, even if the answer is “laptop only.”
• The problem in their words: what happens, since when, and what changed right before (a spill, a drop, an update, a new program).
• Condition: cracked screen or bezel, loose hinges, missing keys or feet, dents, stickers, and a trackpad or bottom cover that bulges. A bulge can mean a swollen battery.
• Data: is there a recent backup, and which files matter most? Get written approval before anything that could erase the drive.
• Login: ask the customer how they want to handle it. Writing a password on paper that sits in a drawer is a privacy risk. Some shops create a temporary local account or ask the customer to sign in at pickup.
• Approval limit: how much the customer approves without a call.

Our device intake checklist covers these lines for phones, tablets, laptops, desktops and consoles, and the repair ticket template gives you a place to keep them.

First power-on and baseline

Before you open anything, record how the computer behaves now:

• Does it power on, show the maker’s logo and reach the BIOS or UEFI setup?
• Does the setup screen see the drive and the full amount of memory?
• Does it boot to the operating system, and roughly how long does it take?
• Does it charge with a known-good charger? What does the battery health report say?
• Fans: spinning, noisy or silent? Does it get hot at idle?
• Screen: lines, dead pixels, backlight bleed, flicker when you move the lid.
• Keyboard, trackpad, ports, webcam, speakers, microphone, Wi-Fi.

This baseline protects you as much as the customer. If the webcam didn’t work before the screen replacement, the ticket shows it.

Diagnose from simple to expensive

Start with the cheapest explanation and work toward the board:

Test memory and storage with your usual diagnostic tools and write the results on the ticket, not just “bad drive.”

Fixing phones too? See how to diagnose phone problems.

Quote and get approval

Write what you found and what fixes it, quote the repair, and record the customer’s yes before any work starts. If you charge for diagnosis, the customer should know before Step 2, not at pickup. For building the quote itself, see how much to charge for computer repair.

Repair

• Work on an anti-static mat and wear a grounded wrist strap.
• Photograph cable routing and keep screws in a labeled tray or magnetic mat, in the order they came out.
• Back up the customer’s files before any clean install or drive swap, and confirm the copy opens.
• Take parts from stock and attach them to the ticket so your inventory stays right.
• Bag and label the old part. Some customers ask for it back.

Swollen batteries: stop, don’t charge or puncture it, and store it away from anything flammable. Damaged lithium-ion batteries don’t go in the trash or the recycling bin. The US EPA explains how to handle and recycle them.

Quality control before you call the customer

Run the same baseline from Step 2 again and compare:

• Boots normally, setup sees the drive and the full memory.
• Every key, the trackpad and both clicks, every USB port, video out, headphone jack and card reader.
• Webcam, microphone, speakers, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
• Charges, and the battery reports a sensible percentage.
• Runs for a while under load without overheating or shutting down. Pick a test time for your shop and use it every time.
• The customer’s files are where they were, and anything you installed is up to date.
• Screws all in, feet on, case clean, accessories back with the device.

A second set of eyes helps. In a shop with more than one tech, the person who didn’t do the repair runs the QC list.

Pickup

Show the customer that the problem is fixed, return everything on the accessories list, explain the warranty and the date it ends (a warranty policy template helps), and close the ticket with the payment. Note anything they should watch for, like a battery that is near the end of its life.

Where RepairAmigo fits

RepairAmigo is free software for cell phone, computer and electronics repair shops, built inside a busy repair shop that has processed more than 50,000 tickets. Laptop and desktop are built-in device types with their own problem lists, every ticket keeps the serial number, comments and the assigned tech, and custom statuses such as “Waiting on parts” show where each computer stands. Parts come out of inventory when a repair is saved, techs can update tickets from a phone browser at the bench, and with optional texting turned on the customer gets a text when the computer is ready. It runs on a computer in your shop (we recommend 16 GB of RAM), setup takes about an hour, and there are no ticket or user limits. See computer repair shop software or read what “free” means here.

Frequently asked questions