Applied Computer Technology

Quick, friendly, competent. My work laptop showed some errors on an internal SSD drive, and I was preparing for an extended travel out of town, so didn’t have much time to get this repaired. The main person at ACT worked with me to a) identify and order the part, and b) once the part arrived to get it installed right away. I was given both a conservative time and cost estimate, and was pleasantly surprised when both were lower than I thought. Happy customer, and I was glad to support a small local business.

Wonderful service and fast turnaround.
Recently, my drawing tabet was damaged, and I brought it into Applied Computer to have it looked at. I was greeted by friendly, helpful staff, told very clearly what exacly would be done to the tablet, and given a reasonable price estimate. After leaving my tablet there, I was told it may take up to a week before I heard back from them. I was very pleasantly surprised, however, when I received a call later the same day telling me that it was done and ready for pickup. They allowed me to come in well after closing to pick up my tablet, which now works like a charm.
If you’re in the San Rafael area looking for a laptop or tablet repair, and like great customer service and sound advice, I highly recommend trying out Applied Computer.

These guys are great. I brought my laptop in on Monday because of two issues: First the screen hinges were loose/​broken and on their way out. Second the fan was making weird noises sounded like plastic got caught in there somehow, this was causing the fan to jam and the laptop would overheat.
The guy I dealt with was very professional and knowledgeable. Apparently HP laptops have some of the worst built quality among brand name laptops and have many parts especially plastic parts that break over time (laptop is almost 5 years old). He explained that they have dealt with these exact problems many times before. Quoted me one and a half hours of labor plus cost of parts.
Instead of going out and buying a new laptop for a thousand bucks I saved mine for a small fraction of that cost. The laptop was ready for pickup on Wednesday, can’t imagine any other business fixing the computer in that amount of time! Very timely work. They even cleaned out the accumulated dust/​dirt/​hair inside my laptop and showed me pictures of before and after, amazing how much crap can get in there!!! They also reapplied thermal paste to the processors since apparently mine were dried out, all this at no extra charge just as a courtesy. The laptop is like new and runs better than ever, no overheating issues anymore.
Great local business would highly recommend for any computer repairs.

I was so relieved when a friend told me she found Applied Computer had moved and not closed after their fire! I was very saddened to see their spot in Montecito empty and assumed they packed it up. I have been going to Carlo for over 18 years. I am VERY shocked to read some of the negative comments, and thought I should weigh in as a long-​time, loyal customer. I have referred many, many other professionals to ACT (some even more anxiety-​ridden than me). I have purchased 4 ThinkPads, and one desktop, external harddrives, power cords, etc., from ACT. Carlo (and his son) have helped me countless times when I have been in mid-​crisis mode (dropped laptop on the way into court; spilled cup of coffee on laptop, hmmm…). Aren’t we all sooo important when our computer breaks, and we need it NOW??? Something that may have been misinterpreted is perhaps his «engineerish» demeanor, not prone to the gift of gab and comissioned sales! Agreed, Carlo is not overly chatty because he is BUSY working on people’s lives (as we are all breathing down his neck because «I am your only important customer!!»)! However, he always takes the time to give me the straight and honest answer. He is sincerely a very patient, kind and understanding person. (And you CAN get him to crack a few smiles!) He does not beat around the bush, nor talk down to you (as a lamo end-​user). He makes suggestions on future things to consider w/​o making you feel he is trying to sell you something you don’t need. He also does not sell you more technology than you need at the moment, knowing it will never be used and taking into consideration how you use the computer. He has never done a bait and switch with the bill, ever. In fact, I have always found him to be generous with his time. Friends will purchase less expensive models on the internet, but theirs have always failed waaay before mine, and they have to import all their data and proprietary software, something ACT does for me. I actually still own all of my old laptops, and have only upgraded due to technology demands, not the blue screen of death. I have only disagreed with Carlo one time in all of our years together as tech guru/​neurotic end user: I hate Norton! The upshot: ACT is a great shop with a great reputation, and you should certainly not trust mere drive-​by customers who have not developed the trusted relationship I have come to take for granted from ACT. Thank you for not closing as I would have had to retire!

We took our laptop here for a problem with the screen suddenly going blank. It was fixed, but then same problem came back a couple of weeks later. They took it back and fixed it again at no charge. We haven’t picked it up yet, but I think it will be fine. I feel they stand by their work. Very friendly and professional. I would recommend this place to a friend. Will update if have any problems with second fix. If no update, all went well!

After reading some reviews on Unilocal,I couldn’t fathom these individuals were real or just plain crazy. I’ve been going to Applied Computer Technology for years & have always had first class service. After their fire, I feared they would close down but thankfully they didn’t. The employees are very professional & honest when it comes to computers. I’ve taken my laptop & desktop to them for repair many times after infections & hardware failures. They fixed every one of my problems to date. The service blows Best Buy out of the water; especially their price. I was quoted 160 from best buy before they even started the work; crazy!!! They did the job for little more than half & I didn’t have to wait for a week to have it done. I’ve refereed many friends to these guys & so far everyone has been very satisfied. I’m very satisfied with the quality of work, pricing & knowledge of their employees. I have full faith & trust in this local business & will continue going to them. Whoever is giving this business a bad wrap is just full of it.

My HP printer was jammed so I called Applied Computer Technology. Brought the machine in and Carlo was professional and honest. The job was done on time and within budget. Excellent service! Try it. Get your tech equipment FIXED instead of adding to the landfill!

WARNING… This shop used to be a class act, now you have a rude person that is very hard to deal with. My new computer had a faulty hard drive, so I went to Applied Computers on a friends recommendation before the fire and with the old owners. They did a great job and returned the next day. So I started to have problems again so I went back to Applied because they were great. BUT now I went in and didn’t
Recognize anything from the old store and a total staff now of Father and Son. I asked this man who wouldn’t even say hello, «where the old owners were» and he said: I have always been the owner.(I should have gotten out right then after he lied to me point blank.) but since I was there I had to force him to answer my questions regarding time, parts, and cost. So I go back to get the computer he wants $ 200. More than quoted. YIKES… Beware, find another shop, there are plenty around. I did get the bill lowered after a lot of haggling. The way the shop is run they will be out of business soon.

Totally arrogant, the kind that says; I have a very good deal for you today my friend. I needed my laptop bezel re screwed in. I dont have the tools. I cracked the lcd on my laptop after stupidly packing my bag. I saw this place after a Trader Joes spree, guy there told me it will cost around 150 bucks. Ok, i said all it needs are the screws and he looked at me and said i have fixed over 2K computers and yours will need more than this. Anyhoo, i found the screws on amazon and bought proper tools removed stripped screws and badabing, FIXED. I would have paid 50 – 70 bucks to fix but the attitude and arrogance turned me off, place is sterile and has no products just a «DO NOT ENTER, airline post and belt near the front. Friggin weird, I knew it when I walked in. Mideastern man was and asshole. Wow, in such a competitive market I would imagine proper skills to make money. anyhoo You judge for yourself

March 11,2013 monday at 11.45am
Conversation goes something like this not 100%accurate
Called them up to ask for old school ide (pata) laptop harddrive.
the person, sounds like a total dick or asshole… let me explain.
i say a friendly, «hello, how ya doing» no response with hello or anything.
I got to the point, you got a any «used or new old ide laptop harddrive’?
the person, «it is hard to find and expensive.». «you checked bestbuy,.blaah blaah. «
me…“yeah i will to check them» «you got any new ones»
the person «it is expensive, we have one 320 GB»
me «it is new?»
the person «of course! it is new!!!»
me «how much?»
person «it is not like 50 bucks or something., guess how much it is «
me, «i don’t know how much?,»
the person, «guess»
me «300 bucks or something,…just tell me»
person on the phone «$ 200»
i just hang up
the point, the dude sounds like a dick, just tell me the info, so i can move on and give other computer places a call… i don’t need the price guessing games on parts. if they can not handle a simple friendly phone call. i wouldn’t drop by to let my computer get fix. i know what i am looking for, so if you can keep their conversation simple and tell me if they have it or not, that will be great… not a dump ass guessing games on prices on old/​new skool ide/​pata harddrives and shit.
i am upgrading my friend t30 laptop harddrive upgrade for bmw software.

Go elsewhere — there is enough competition around. I needed a new updated video card. This guy sold me a used (he called it «tested») video card that was older than my computer. My money was quickly refunded, but I think that was in part because another customer was nearby.

I have never posted a review on Unilocal,the guys at Applied Computers are amazing so I had too! I lost all of my information on two external hard drives and a desk top computer, they were able to recover all of the information! Crazy! They also purchased a new computer for me, installed all of the software and came to my home to get it set up. I also call with PC questions all the time and they always take the time to help me out. They are calm, smart problem solvers. I am a customer for life!

I’ve used Applied Computers for a number of computer issues both big & small, for my laptop & desktop, for maintenance as well for a major major repair. The major major repair was a complete hard drive crash — a blue screen where i couldn’t recover anything & right in the middle of one of my busiest work times. Even if brought back to life, I thought I’d have to reload all my software which we all know is very time consuming. Applied had the PC for 2 days only & returned it to me exactly as it was before it crashed — all I had to do was plug in & turn it on — a computer miracle — a huge gift.
They fully get that these machines are something we can’t live without & go about their repair work with that in mind. They respect the need for timely work & they treat their customers with respect as well which I really value.
What a great asset to the neighborhood.

Applied computer technology is fantastic. This family owned business has been very supportive to me over the years. Every one of them are personable and highly trained and have helped me with all sorts of computer issues including viruses, computers crashing to using video equipment etc. They are also very humble, they are good at explaining things to someone like me who is not in the computer field, but needs a computer to get by. Since working with them, I’ve used my computer for more and more things. I left the San Rafael area about 7 years ago and am now living in the East Bay. I still continue to go to Applied Computer Technology, and I believe if I lived further away, I would also continue to contact them when I needed help.

Wow! After spending two weeks messing around with the Geek Squad and then getting an in-​home appt for a week later, I was fortunate to happen up Applied Computer!!! For $ 100 less than Geek Squad, they fixed my computer after I was infected with a horrifying virus that pretty much wiped me out. I cannot say enough about these guys! They are GREAT!

These people saved my business. I had a dead external hard drive this nearly 2 terrabytes of extremely valuable video footage on it that I could not do anything with. I took the hard drive to ACT and the same recovery of the data that would have cost me thousands of dollars elsewhere cost me a whole, whole lot less with Applied Computer Technology. Also, they did the repairs in record time. It took less than 48 hours! I am really happy with these people.
Thank you Applied Computer Technology.

My laptop crashed, I could not get on Unilocal to read reviews! Run from this place and go to ANY of the others that good reviews. If you notice, this one will probably be hidden like the other bad reviews they get. They charged me $ 135 just to diagnose while others provide that as a free service. Then they kept my computer hostage for 12 days!!! They said the part hadn’t come in? Doesn’t it only take 2 – 3 days to ship a part anywhere in the world these days? And to top it off, something that was working when I took my laptop in, doesn’t work now and they have to fix that as well? I called several friends after the fact… they told me I had no options since they already had my laptop. I had to pay the bill of several hundred dollars and was never even told what was wrong with it, what part got replaced, etc, even thought I kept asking. RUN like the wind from this place!!!

STUPID STUPID me: bought a brand new notebook and didn’t buy anti virus protection. Spoiler alert: I got a virus.
The amazing staff at ACT wiped it out for me at a fraction of the cost that Best Buy charges (will use refrain and not bash Best Buy here).
Thank you for friendly, speedy, affordable, and knowledgeable service.

will review later…