By Will Claney

By all accounts from stores across the nation, the gift-giving season was a big success and Santa brought just the right tech present for you and your computer.  You’re excited because it will make computing fun, fast, and helpful again, only one problem – installing it.

Suppose that special someone gave you a new computer or a tech gift for your computer.  Are you going to set it up, or install it yourself?  Or, are you stumped and would rather not install or make it work yourself leaving you wondering why you wanted it in the first place?

Don’t worry, the elves will still be around after the holiday season to help you get your tech working the way it should.  Professional installation is usually the best way to ensure the tech works properly.  There are drivers, firmware updates, and software to install to make everything work right.  Do I even mention opening the computer and working in the maze of wires and circuits?  If you are a “techie” type of person, perhaps you can install it yourself.  However, most of us are not that technically astute enough to pull it off.

If you were given a computer, keep in mind the Internet is a wild and crazy place and you will need protection.  The very first thing you should do is install cybersecurity to protect your data and provide security for passwords.  The second thing you should do is establish your backup.  Do these things before you get too deeply involved with moving data from your old computer to the new one.   This will ensure you have a safe and sane computing experience.

A professional installation is always a great option one should consider.  Let’s say you received a new trailer hitch for your car, would you install it yourself?  Maybe, but most people will take the hitch to their auto mechanic and have them do it.  Same with computers and the peripherals that make it work.  So, don’t be shy, it’s okay to admit you need help.  After all, tech isn’t exactly easy to understand and really, you just want it to work.

A trick that works most of the time is to ask your tech to give you the Holiday special installation price.  Usually, tech shops have a great rapport with the customers they serve and are willing to give discounts on installation or setup in these situations, especially if you, or your benefactor, shopped at their store and purchased it there.  Go ahead and ask them.