Starting a Repair Service

Hi Tim, Welcome to the wonderful world of the geek. Geekdom is a noble profession and well respected. Great are geeks loved, especially when the gadget is on the fritz.

Your best bet is to get older items, like old iMacs, towers, and iPods and gain experience by taking them apart and seeing how they go together. Dissecting broken or non-functional things is great fun, and from time to time you can take several bad items and make a good item from them. My greatest pleasure is taking old broken computers, repairing them and getting the parts from other old computers, and then giving them to someone that has no computer at all. Trust me, it's worth doing. You learn a lot and gain valuable insight in how Apple puts things together. As well as helping keep computers from falling into landfills, you also gain friends and help people. No downside, right?

I would also take as many technology classes as you can in school and make sure to go to college. The best computer jobs require a degree. Not even necessarily a degree in computers (but it helps) but a degree showing that you have a general competency in reading/writing/following instruction.

And the number one rule for being a computer geek - Don't know how to do everything. Know how to find out how to do everything. Knowing how to find the answer (like following guides on sites like iFixIt) will make you good at this.

Have fun and never give up.

[quote|Sarabian]Hi Tim, Welcome to the wonderful world of the geek. Geekdom is a noble profession and well respected. Great are geeks loved, especially when the gadget is on the fritz. Your best bet is to get older items, like old iMacs, towers, and iPods and gain experience by taking them apart and seeing how they go together. Dissecting broken or non-functional things is great fun, and from time to time you can take several bad items and make a good item from them. My greatest pleasure is taking old broken computers, repairing them and getting the parts from other old computers, and then giving them to someone that has no computer at all. Trust me, it's worth doing. You learn a lot and gain valuable insight in how Apple puts things together. As well as helping keep computers from falling into landfills, you also gain friends and help people. No downside, right? I would also take as many technology classes as you can in school and make sure to go to college. The best computer jobs require a degree. Not even necessarily a degree in computers (but it helps) but a degree showing that you have a general competency in reading/writing/following instruction. And the number one rule for being a computer geek - Don't know how to do everything. Know how to find out how to do everything. Knowing how to find the answer (like following guides on sites like iFixIt) will make you good at this. Have fun and never give up.[/quote]

Thanks Sarabian.

I don't know if I will get a degree on computers in college because I'm still trying to think which career I'll be in. However, (sorry for asking too much) do you know like how old the apple products should be before I start taking them apart? Where can I get the stuff? I'm not so sure about ebay. How expensive should they be? For example, I've always been thinking abut taking apart the 2000-2004 iMacs and upgrading them or something; but thats too expensive. How can I trobuleshoot the problem that's going wrong with the iMac? Wait, I think I might have an idea. I take broken iMacs, try to fix them by getting parts from other iMacs and sell them, or not. Sorry for causing trouble, its just that I need to gain a solid foundation on starting a business like this. By the way, I'm already a geek and I'll never give up(taking stuff apart is fun) Lol.

Can you also give me some links that can help me with this problem(starting a repair business)

[quote|timmy1234s]Thanks Sarabian. I don't know if I will get a degree on computers in college because I'm still trying to think which career I'll be in. However, (sorry for asking too much) do you know like how old the apple products should be before I start taking them apart? Where can I get the stuff? I'm not so sure about ebay. How expensive should they be? For example, I've always been thinking abut taking apart the 2000-2004 iMacs and upgrading them or something; but thats too expensive. How can I trobuleshoot the problem that's going wrong with the iMac? Wait, I think I might have an idea. I take broken iMacs, try to fix them by getting parts from other iMacs and sell them, or not. Sorry for causing trouble, its just that I need to gain a solid foundation on starting a business like this. By the way, I'm already a geek and I'll never give up(taking stuff apart is fun) Lol. Can you also give me some links that can help me with this problem(starting a repair business)[/quote]

I wish someone in the iFixit staff will respond too. That would be cool.

[quote|timmy1234s]I wish someone in the iFixit staff will respond too. That would be cool.[/quote]

Hiya Timmy!

I had a side hobby of fixing computers when I was in high school. I had always tinkered around w/ my comps, built a few (I started in PC towers which are a lot easier to work with than laptops) and maintained them in healthy condition. Most of my family and friends knew I was good at fixing comps and would ask me for help.

Through word of mouth I had friends of friends ask me to do simple things like upgrade ram, install a new hard drive or to fix the general problem of "it runs slower." I generally charged "whatever they thought fair" which sometimes was a lot and sometimes was just lunch. I was more interested in playing w/ electronics and helping other people than making much money off of it.

I'd recommend learning to fix "computers" and "electronics" instead of just "macs" and "ipods" because they're pretty similar and experience in one will help with the others.

One of the first questions you have to ask yourself is, "Do I know what I'm doing?" Have you messed around with hardware before? Replaced RAM? Installed a new Video Card? An OS from scratch? Scanned for viruses or spyware?

I'd say you need experience in all of those things before your going to be of any use as a technician. I recommend starting on PC's because they're much easier to work on, get parts for and PC technicians are way more in demand.

Depending on where you live getting cheap parts may be easy or very difficult. I'd recommend Craig's list. You can also try contacting a local electronics recycling place and see if they're willing to give you things people throw out (you can find some amazing parts in other people's "trash"). Look for any cheap/free electronics. Swap parts and try to fix them if they are broken. Put together the fastest machine you can. You can sell the comps you fix or (what I did) give them away to charity. My high-school also had a class in Computer Repair where we butchered and assembled comps which was a lot of fun.

If you want to make a "business" you have to build up a reputation. At 13 people aren't going to trust you with their expensive electronics unless they know you or know someone who you have helped. "Advertising" will get you nowhere but being friendly and helpful to your grandparents (or people that age) will give you tons of business.

In summary, learn to fix computers on your own and offer to help other people with their computer problems. If your nice and useful you'll find the business finds you ;)

[quote|Chris Cline]Hiya Timmy! I had a side hobby of fixing computers when I was in high school. I had always tinkered around w/ my comps, built a few (I started in PC towers which are a lot easier to work with than laptops) and maintained them in healthy condition. Most of my family and friends knew I was good at fixing comps and would ask me for help. Through word of mouth I had friends of friends ask me to do simple things like upgrade ram, install a new hard drive or to fix the general problem of "it runs slower." I generally charged "whatever they thought fair" which sometimes was a lot and sometimes was just lunch. I was more interested in playing w/ electronics and helping other people than making much money off of it. I'd recommend learning to fix "computers" and "electronics" instead of just "macs" and "ipods" because they're pretty similar and experience in one will help with the others. One of the first questions you have to ask yourself is, "Do I know what I'm doing?" Have you messed around with hardware before? Replaced RAM? Installed a new Video Card? An OS from scratch? Scanned for viruses or spyware? I'd say you need experience in all of those things before your going to be of any use as a technician. I recommend starting on PC's because they're much easier to work on, get parts for and PC technicians are way more in demand. Depending on where you live getting cheap parts may be easy or very difficult. I'd recommend Craig's list. You can also try contacting a local electronics recycling place and see if they're willing to give you things people throw out (you can find some amazing parts in other people's "trash"). Look for any cheap/free electronics. Swap parts and try to fix them if they are broken. Put together the fastest machine you can. You can sell the comps you fix or (what I did) give them away to charity. My high-school also had a class in Computer Repair where we butchered and assembled comps which was a lot of fun. If you want to make a "business" you have to build up a reputation. At 13 people aren't going to trust you with their expensive electronics unless they know you or know someone who you have helped. "Advertising" will get you nowhere but being friendly and helpful to your grandparents (or people that age) will give you tons of business. In summary, learn to fix computers on your own and offer to help other people with their computer problems. If your nice and useful you'll find the business finds you ;)[/quote]

It's never too early to start a business, but starting one takes hard work. There's no easy set of links you can look at to find out everything you need to know about starting one.

However, Google is your friend. You can ask Google whatever you'd like to know, and browse the internet for answers.

In regards to parts, you can look at the Salvation Army / Goodwill stores, garage sales, Craig's List, Ebay, and all sorts of other places. Google can also come in handy for finding "junk" computers.

Don't stress about which career you'll be in after college -- time will only tell. I graduated in Manufacturing and here I am, working for iFixit, pretty far from any sort of manufacturing environment.

I was just as young as you when I started fiddling with computers, but unfortunately there was no internet I could go to and ask questions at the time :)

[quote|Miroslav Djuric]It's never too early to start a business, but starting one takes hard work. There's no easy set of links you can look at to find out everything you need to know about starting one. However, Google is your friend. You can ask Google whatever you'd like to know, and browse the internet for answers. In regards to parts, you can look at the Salvation Army / Goodwill stores, garage sales, Craig's List, Ebay, and all sorts of other places. Google can also come in handy for finding "junk" computers. Don't stress about which career you'll be in after college -- time will only tell. I graduated in Manufacturing and here I am, working for iFixit, pretty far from any sort of manufacturing environment. I was just as young as you when I started fiddling with computers, but unfortunately there was no internet I could go to and ask questions at the time :)[/quote]

Thanks for the advice Chris, and to you too Sarabian. They were very helpful. By the way, (to Chris), I know what I'm doing because I have messed around with a few PC towers before, looked inside of my laptop, replaced some RAM, scanned for viruses(with anti-virus software), but I haven't started an OS from scratch. By the way, when you mean starting an OS from scratch, do you mean actually writing some code to make an operating system? Thanks for the info. One more question, did you have a lot of money when you started building PC's or were you on a strict budget? If so, how much money did you have to spend? Anyway, thanks for the info. I think I'll try to fix iPods at first because I barely have money to build a PC. Where would you suggest on repairing iPods? Should I get broken iPods, get some iPod parts from the broken iPods and try to fix them? Again, sorry about asking so many questions. I really like taking things apart and putting them back together.

Do you guys offer any tours of the ifixit place?

[quote|timmy1234s]Thanks for the advice Chris, and to you too Sarabian. They were very helpful. By the way, (to Chris), I know what I'm doing because I have messed around with a few PC towers before, looked inside of my laptop, replaced some RAM, scanned for viruses(with anti-virus software), but I haven't started an OS from scratch. By the way, when you mean starting an OS from scratch, do you mean actually writing some code to make an operating system? Thanks for the info. One more question, did you have a lot of money when you started building PC's or were you on a strict budget? If so, how much money did you have to spend? Anyway, thanks for the info. I think I'll try to fix iPods at first because I barely have money to build a PC. Where would you suggest on repairing iPods? Should I get broken iPods, get some iPod parts from the broken iPods and try to fix them? Again, sorry about asking so many questions. I really like taking things apart and putting them back together. Do you guys offer any tours of the ifixit place?[/quote]

Thanks miro I'm actually surprised at how many replies I'm getting on this thread. I thought that only one person would answer. Aside from the thread, did you start off repairing computers or something else? I'm on a tight budget $50 or less(yeah I'm on a really tight budget). Would you say that fixing iPods would work after I sell the fixed ones? Which iPods should I try to repair? Nanos, shuffles, etc.? Thanks to everyone for the information. I really appreciate it. That would be cool if iFixit offers tours on their HQ.

[quote|timmy1234s]Thanks miro I'm actually surprised at how many replies I'm getting on this thread. I thought that only one person would answer. Aside from the thread, did you start off repairing computers or something else? I'm on a tight budget $50 or less(yeah I'm on a really tight budget). Would you say that fixing iPods would work after I sell the fixed ones? Which iPods should I try to repair? Nanos, shuffles, etc.? Thanks to everyone for the information. I really appreciate it. That would be cool if iFixit offers tours on their HQ.[/quote]

LOL, no when I mean starting an OS from scratch I mean formatting a hard drive and installing the OS with the correct updated drivers. Writing code for an OS has nothing to do with being a service technician.

The reason I recommended PC's over iPod's is because where I was from, it was easy to find free or extremely cheap ($5 - $20) PC's that people were getting rid of either because they were broken or upgraded and wanted to get rid of it. When I first started doing stuff I didn't really "build" PC's, I modified old ones with new parts. I had a working computer and plugged in broken parts to find out which ones worked and which ones didn't. I really only worked with computers that I got for free because I wasn't trying to make any money.

I really don't have much advice if you want to go the iPod route. I think it will be much more difficult to find cheap or free parts. The parts also aren't really interchangeable which will make things more difficult, but idk I really haven't looked much. Post on Craig's list that your looking for old/broken iPods and see how many responses you get :)

An iFixit tour would be very boring. We are not a repair shop, we are a parts store, so we just have many shelves of parts and some testing stations.

[quote|Chris Cline]LOL, no when I mean starting an OS from scratch I mean formatting a hard drive and installing the OS with the correct updated drivers. Writing code for an OS has nothing to do with being a service technician. The reason I recommended PC's over iPod's is because where I was from, it was easy to find free or extremely cheap ($5 - $20) PC's that people were getting rid of either because they were broken or upgraded and wanted to get rid of it. When I first started doing stuff I didn't really "build" PC's, I modified old ones with new parts. I had a working computer and plugged in broken parts to find out which ones worked and which ones didn't. I really only worked with computers that I got for free because I wasn't trying to make any money. I really don't have much advice if you want to go the iPod route. I think it will be much more difficult to find cheap or free parts. The parts also aren't really interchangeable which will make things more difficult, but idk I really haven't looked much. Post on Craig's list that your looking for old/broken iPods and see how many responses you get :) An iFixit tour would be very boring. We are not a repair shop, we are a parts store, so we just have many shelves of parts and some testing stations.[/quote]

Thanks for replying to my questions Chris. I'm relieved because I had thought I would have to write some code. However, yes, I have installed the OS(windows XP) for someone that had their computer's hard drive broken. I already have enough knowledge about PC's because I have taken apart some really old PC desktops(from 1996-2002).

However, in my area, I find it really hard to find extremely cheap PC's. (I know I sound like a complete noob). The problem with building PC's for me is that if I get a PC that has a slow processer and I upgrade the other parts (like RAM and hard drive) then it will be hard to sell it.

On the iPod thing, how can you troubleshoot a problem if I want to start fixing them. I also think that I'll get broken or old iPods and replace the broken iPod parts with the broken iPod parts. But I'm not so sure if the person that I'm selling my service to would be that satisfied with me doing that. I think that for now, I'll just examine the innards of some iPods, start selling iPods that I fix, and hopefully I'll be able to make some money.

By the way, how do you guys at iFixit get the parts? Do you guys still get it from broken stuff? Or do you guys buy it from the people that help make Apple parts for Apple.

You are right on the tour thing for iFixit. It would be pretty boring. iFixit is a really good role model for me as a business and consumer standpoint.

Again, thanks for the info Chris. Sorry for asking too many questions if I'm annoying you.

[quote|timmy1234s]Thanks for replying to my questions Chris. I'm relieved because I had thought I would have to write some code. However, yes, I have installed the OS(windows XP) for someone that had their computer's hard drive broken. I already have enough knowledge about PC's because I have taken apart some really old PC desktops(from 1996-2002). However, in my area, I find it really hard to find extremely cheap PC's. (I know I sound like a complete noob). The problem with building PC's for me is that if I get a PC that has a slow processer and I upgrade the other parts (like RAM and hard drive) then it will be hard to sell it. On the iPod thing, how can you troubleshoot a problem if I want to start fixing them. I also think that I'll get broken or old iPods and replace the broken iPod parts with the broken iPod parts. But I'm not so sure if the person that I'm selling my service to would be that satisfied with me doing that. I think that for now, I'll just examine the innards of some iPods, start selling iPods that I fix, and hopefully I'll be able to make some money. By the way, how do you guys at iFixit get the parts? Do you guys still get it from broken stuff? Or do you guys buy it from the people that help make Apple parts for Apple. You are right on the tour thing for iFixit. It would be pretty boring. iFixit is a really good role model for me as a business and consumer standpoint. Again, thanks for the info Chris. Sorry for asking too many questions if I'm annoying you.[/quote]

Hi there. I used to repair computers when I was your age, but mostly fixed software problems on Macs. Nowadays, people have the apple store to fix their software issues. But I think the iPod idea's great! A third generation iPod battery is 15 bucks. If you have 50 dollars that you're willing to invest, you could definitely get one of these and replace someone's dead iPod battery. (But you should wait to figure out what iPod they have before buying a battery you can't use). Remember that there's still shipping and tax to consider, but you can easily charge 40-50 dollars to replace the battery. That covers the new battery and your labor. You do that two or three times and you've doubled your money. With iPods that old, they're usually out of warranty, so people either pay for a new one or do it themselves.

The problem with fixing macs and apple hardware is that people are likely to take their problems to the apple store before they trust someone else with their stuff. For that reason, you have to focus on things that are out of warranty, like dead batteries and broken screens. Also, hard drive / ram upgrades in MacBooks are easy-peasy and make a computer feel new again. Many MacBooks were sold with 1 GB of ram. In many cases, however, this is not enough to run word and a web browser simultaneously. 2 GB of ram is pretty cheap these days, and doing the installation can get you a good chunk of change. Feed your profits back into your business, and you can make a good chunk of change while helping others and preventing e-waste.

[quote|Sterling Hirsh]Hi there. I used to repair computers when I was your age, but mostly fixed software problems on Macs. Nowadays, people have the apple store to fix their software issues. But I think the iPod idea's great! A third generation iPod battery is 15 bucks. If you have 50 dollars that you're willing to invest, you could definitely get one of these and replace someone's dead iPod battery. (But you should wait to figure out what iPod they have before buying a battery you can't use). Remember that there's still shipping and tax to consider, but you can easily charge 40-50 dollars to replace the battery. That covers the new battery and your labor. You do that two or three times and you've doubled your money. With iPods that old, they're usually out of warranty, so people either pay for a new one or do it themselves. The problem with fixing macs and apple hardware is that people are likely to take their problems to the apple store before they trust someone else with their stuff. For that reason, you have to focus on things that are out of warranty, like dead batteries and broken screens. Also, hard drive / ram upgrades in MacBooks are easy-peasy and make a computer feel new again. Many MacBooks were sold with 1 GB of ram. In many cases, however, this is not enough to run word and a web browser simultaneously. 2 GB of ram is pretty cheap these days, and doing the installation can get you a good chunk of change. Feed your profits back into your business, and you can make a good chunk of change while helping others and preventing e-waste.[/quote]

At 13, you shouldn't worry so much about selling things to make loads of money. It's not going to happen like that. Right now I think you'd be best off just learning how different types of things go together and what you might best have as far as tools for doing the repairs.

All the advice from the iFixit guys was spot on, as expected. Adding to it just a bit, Not only will helping your grandparents and their friends be fun and most likely profitable, but that's the best advertising you can get. They will tell friends and those friends will tell friends. Once they hear that you fixed a computer - and it works now - more people will come to you. There is no better advertisement than word of mouth from a satisfied customer - so make lots of them satisfied.

Things are also different from area to area. In my area there are so many PC technicians that companies fail constantly just because there is not enough business to support so many techs. My advantage is that I do Macs and have many satisfied customers. Almost all of my customers are Mac users, but some also have PCs and friends with PCs, so I also work on them. Macs pay the bills, but PCs let me go to the nice places for lunch. : ) Above all, do what you have a passion for doing. Do what is enjoyable so you don't burn out just from hating the job.

Hope I don't sound preachy, but my son will be 13 in a week, and I've been talking to him about the same thing, so I have this in my mind already.

[quote|Sarabian]At 13, you shouldn't worry so much about selling things to make loads of money. It's not going to happen like that. Right now I think you'd be best off just learning how different types of things go together and what you might best have as far as tools for doing the repairs. All the advice from the iFixit guys was spot on, as expected. Adding to it just a bit, Not only will helping your grandparents and their friends be fun and most likely profitable, but that's the best advertising you can get. They will tell friends and those friends will tell friends. Once they hear that you fixed a computer - and it works now - more people will come to you. There is no better advertisement than word of mouth from a satisfied customer - so make lots of them satisfied. Things are also different from area to area. In my area there are so many PC technicians that companies fail constantly just because there is not enough business to support so many techs. My advantage is that I do Macs and have many satisfied customers. Almost all of my customers are Mac users, but some also have PCs and friends with PCs, so I also work on them. Macs pay the bills, but PCs let me go to the nice places for lunch. : ) Above all, do what you have a passion for doing. Do what is enjoyable so you don't burn out just from hating the job. Hope I don't sound preachy, but my son will be 13 in a week, and I've been talking to him about the same thing, so I have this in my mind already.[/quote]

Quote from Sarabian:

Macs pay the bills, but PCs let me go to the nice places for lunch. : )

Amen to that, brother... Many a trip to the Olive Garden was afforded by a successful family PC repair!

[quote|Miroslav Djuric]Amen to that, brother... Many a trip to the Olive Garden was afforded by a successful family PC repair![/quote]

Thanks Sterling9 and Sarabian. By the way, Sarabian, you didn't sound preachy. It was some great advice that I got. I liked the advice too.

Thanks for the support on the iPod idea sterling9. I thought that it was a bad idea, but now that I gave some thought about it, it sounds like a pretty good idea. Where would you suggest that I get my iPod parts? From iFixit? I think that would work, and maybe I should open up some iPods and see how Apple builds them before I start repairing them.

I know that I sound repetitive, but no one that I know(family and friends) have an iPod that needs to be fixed. Should I start a website or something?

Sorry for asking too many questions.(Wow, I'm getting repetitve)

Anyway, I really like that advice that all of you guys are giving to me. Thanks

[quote|timmy1234s]Thanks Sterling9 and Sarabian. By the way, Sarabian, you didn't sound preachy. It was some great advice that I got. I liked the advice too. Thanks for the support on the iPod idea sterling9. I thought that it was a bad idea, but now that I gave some thought about it, it sounds like a pretty good idea. Where would you suggest that I get my iPod parts? From iFixit? I think that would work, and maybe I should open up some iPods and see how Apple builds them before I start repairing them. I know that I sound repetitive, but no one that I know(family and friends) have an iPod that needs to be fixed. Should I start a website or something? Sorry for asking too many questions.(Wow, I'm getting repetitve) Anyway, I really like that advice that all of you guys are giving to me. Thanks[/quote]

@miro lol

[quote|timmy1234s]@miro lol[/quote]

Hello, hope no one minds if I butt in and add my two cents.

Timmy, I'm 15 and make 25-30 dollars an hour fixing computers, but I started by taking anything apart that I could get my hands on. Go to garage sales, thrift stores, goodwill, salvation army, etc. and pick up whatever looks interesting. Look for garages sales in the rich and moderately rich neighborhoods, I found a iMac G3 Snow a couple years ago for $20, complete with OSX 10.3 installed, and OS 9 OSX 10.1 and OSX 10.2 install discs at one of those. Go make friends at the local thrift store. I made friends with the person who tested all of the eletronics that came through there, and she gave me all of the broken (and sometimes not-so-broken, LOL) stuff that they got. As for a repair shop, start very small, and don't expand too fast. Unfortunately, there are nasty people out there who won't accept that the fact that their nice macbook pro is more broken when it came back to them then when it left as an accident, so you need good insurance before you get very big.

One last thing(and I can't stress this enough,) DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING THAT IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY!!!!!

Thanks for listening to my rambling, and have lots of fun!!!

[quote|ComputerSam]Hello, hope no one minds if I butt in and add my two cents. Timmy, I'm 15 and make 25-30 dollars an hour fixing computers, but I started by taking anything apart that I could get my hands on. Go to garage sales, thrift stores, goodwill, salvation army, etc. and pick up whatever looks interesting. Look for garages sales in the rich and moderately rich neighborhoods, I found a iMac G3 Snow a couple years ago for $20, complete with OSX 10.3 installed, and OS 9 OSX 10.1 and OSX 10.2 install discs at one of those. Go make friends at the local thrift store. I made friends with the person who tested all of the eletronics that came through there, and she gave me all of the broken (and sometimes not-so-broken, LOL) stuff that they got. As for a repair shop, start very small, and don't expand too fast. Unfortunately, there are nasty people out there who won't accept that the fact that their nice macbook pro is more broken when it came back to them then when it left as an accident, so you need good insurance before you get very big. One last thing(and I can't stress this enough,) DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING THAT IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY!!!!! Thanks for listening to my rambling, and have lots of fun!!![/quote]

Here I go again...

iPods are pretty simple in a complicated way, my favorite ones to take apart are the 3rd generation and 4th generation(both are very similar.)

Here's a tip: to access the diagnostic mode on iPods, 1) plug it in, 2) flip the hold switch on and off, 3) press and hold both the menu and center buttons simultaneously untill the screen goes blank, 4) when you see the apple logo, press and hold both the previous and center buttons untill you see "diagnostic mode" or something similar, 5) select "manual test" or something if neccesary.

From here, you can run a whole battery of tests on the iPod. I think that the sequence varies a little on the third generation iPod, but I can't remember it right now.

A 50 dollar budget isn't bad actually, I started on two. You may want to look into any Junior Achievment programs in your area, I just got a 500 dollar scholarship from one.

I'd hold off on the website for now, but go and look at everyone else's sites. Google will be your friend for life, use that whenever you get stuck on something. You might also want to re-think your aversion to ebay, I've hat about 40 transactions and gotten burned once. Think also about selling stuff on ebay, I made over 100 dollars selling parts from an old & dead powerbook G3 wallstreet.

Everyone's advice above is really good.

I'm gonna go to bed now before I start to go cross-eyed(it's like 1 A.M. here.)

[quote|ComputerSam]Here I go again... iPods are pretty simple in a complicated way, my favorite ones to take apart are the 3rd generation and 4th generation(both are very similar.) Here's a tip: to access the diagnostic mode on iPods, 1) plug it in, 2) flip the hold switch on and off, 3) press and hold both the menu and center buttons simultaneously untill the screen goes blank, 4) when you see the apple logo, press and hold both the previous and center buttons untill you see "diagnostic mode" or something similar, 5) select "manual test" or something if neccesary. From here, you can run a whole battery of tests on the iPod. I think that the sequence varies a little on the third generation iPod, but I can't remember it right now. A 50 dollar budget isn't bad actually, I started on two. You may want to look into any Junior Achievment programs in your area, I just got a 500 dollar scholarship from one. I'd hold off on the website for now, but go and look at everyone else's sites. Google will be your friend for life, use that whenever you get stuck on something. You might also want to re-think your aversion to ebay, I've hat about 40 transactions and gotten burned once. Think also about selling stuff on ebay, I made over 100 dollars selling parts from an old & dead powerbook G3 wallstreet. Everyone's advice above is really good. I'm gonna go to bed now before I start to go cross-eyed(it's like 1 A.M. here.)[/quote]

Be very carefull at the ebay though, I can tell from experience that big chunck of sellers selling faulty ipods have obtained them from lots with unknown history and you might lose money because many ipods are coming with multiple faults. Also beware of sellers which have sold ipods in past or have bought them, it is very possible that they fix them too and will send you nicely looking ipod but which is packed full with broken parts.

[quote|kc85]Be very carefull at the ebay though, I can tell from experience that big chunck of sellers selling faulty ipods have obtained them from lots with unknown history and you might lose money because many ipods are coming with multiple faults. Also beware of sellers which have sold ipods in past or have bought them, it is very possible that they fix them too and will send you nicely looking ipod but which is packed full with broken parts.[/quote]

I know what you mean, I just look for stuff that's already broken, usually there is something in there valuable enough warrant buying it.

[quote|ComputerSam]I know what you mean, I just look for stuff that's already broken, usually there is something in there valuable enough warrant buying it.[/quote]

Thanks guys, wow, I think I'm prepared to start this business. Thanks kc85 and ComputerSam, they were very inspiring words.

[quote|timmy1234s]Thanks guys, wow, I think I'm prepared to start this business. Thanks kc85 and ComputerSam, they were very inspiring words.[/quote]

Hi. You might try putting an add on Craig's list or your local freecycle and ask for donations of older computers. I love the G3 500 Mhz Powerbook (2000) and I bought 2 on Ebay, one was supposed to work but didn't so I am enjoying working on them with little fear of screwing up a great machine. I used to take apart old watches and toasters in the 50's and try to help my brothers and father work on old cars.

Salvation Army thrift stores and church thrift stores often have lots of old computers cheap. But if you can get them from freecycle.com or on a wanted add on Craigs list you will be doing someone a favor by taking away something they might otherwise send to a landfill.

Good Luck, Nancy

[quote|NancyD]Hi. You might try putting an add on Craig's list or your local freecycle and ask for donations of older computers. I love the G3 500 Mhz Powerbook (2000) and I bought 2 on Ebay, one was supposed to work but didn't so I am enjoying working on them with little fear of screwing up a great machine. I used to take apart old watches and toasters in the 50's and try to help my brothers and father work on old cars. Salvation Army thrift stores and church thrift stores often have lots of old computers cheap. But if you can get them from freecycle.com or on a wanted add on Craigs list you will be doing someone a favor by taking away something they might otherwise send to a landfill. Good Luck, Nancy[/quote]