# Stort Valley Computers > Independent computer repair, upgrades, custom PC builds and small-business IT in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, UK. Run by Louis as a one-person business, by appointment only. Key facts: - Pricing: £60 diagnosis (taken off the bill if the repair goes ahead; no charge if the fault can't be found or fixed). Labour £80 per hour plus parts at cost, in the workshop or on site. Most jobs can be done within an hour, and most come to £100–£200 in total. The cost is confirmed before any work goes ahead. Not VAT registered. - Payment: card, bank transfer or cash. - If the same fault comes back within 60 days, it's fixed again free. - Registered with the ICO (UK data protection regulator). - Reviews: 5.0 on Google. - Contact: phone or WhatsApp 01279 927125, email louis@stortvalleycomputers.co.uk. - Fault Finder: an AI check on every page that asks a few questions (and can read a photo of the problem), gives a first read, and books the job in with Louis. ## What Louis does - Windows laptops, desktops, all-in-ones and custom-built PCs, and Linux machines (including home servers). - Laptop part replacements: screens, keyboards and batteries. - Upgrades: SSDs, RAM, graphics cards, power supplies and coolers, including water cooling (AIO and custom loops). - Custom PC builds (gaming, workstation, office), overclocking, undervolting and BIOS tuning. - Windows reinstalls, boot repair and Windows 11 upgrades. - Virus, malware, browser hijack and scam clean-up (including fake "Microsoft support" scams). - Setting up new computers and moving files, email and settings across. - Software and app help: Office, drivers, printers, general "it won't work" problems. - Getting back into a Windows login the customer owns, as long as the drive is not BitLocker-encrypted. - Setting up backups, antivirus and security, and securely wiping old devices before selling or recycling. - Recovering deleted files and formatted drives, and copying data off failing drives that can still be read. - Recovering deleted files from SD cards, memory cards and USB sticks. - Printers and scanners: setup, connection and driver problems. - NAS boxes and home servers (Synology, QNAP, home-built). - Monitors and peripherals: diagnosing them and replacing them (not repairing them). - Home and office Wi-Fi and networks: dropouts, dead spots, mesh and access points, ethernet cabling and network points, switches, guest Wi-Fi, firewalls. - Small business IT: Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, ad hoc support, monthly support contracts, remote support, new computers for staff. - Buying advice, and sourcing and setting up new computers and parts. - Buying used computers and PC parts (graphics cards, CPUs, RAM and so on) for the right price. - Websites: building simple business sites from scratch, online shops (including Shopify), moving or fixing existing sites, ongoing updates, website and email hosting, and domain names. - AI assistants and tools tailored to a person or business: assistants that answer customer questions (like this Fault Finder, which Louis built), help with paperwork and admin, tools for repetitive jobs, and private setups that run locally so files stay in-house. Honest advice included: if an off-the-shelf tool already covers it, Louis says so. - Home and office visits, at £80 per hour plus parts. ## Case by case (ask Louis) - Macs: Louis does some Mac work but not everything. - Charging port and DC jack repairs. - Liquid damage: Louis will assess it, but if the motherboard has failed he replaces rather than repairs. ## What Louis doesn't do - Phones and tablets (iPhone, Android, iPad), including recovering data from them. - Games consoles. - Board-level or microsoldering motherboard repairs. - Repairing monitors or peripherals (they can be diagnosed or replaced). - Physically dead, clicking or grinding drives: these need a specialist clean-room recovery lab, and Louis will say so. - Recovering corrupted (not just deleted) SD cards, memory cards and USB sticks. - Microsoft account recovery (getting back into an online Microsoft account). - Getting into BitLocker-encrypted drives without the recovery key. - Bypassing passwords or locks on devices the customer can't show they own. - Pirated or cracked software, or unlicensed activations. - Supplying refurbished computers. ## Timing and area - Everything is by appointment. No set opening hours. - Same-day help is sometimes possible, and evening and weekend appointments are possible, but there are no promises on timing: Louis confirms when. - Free collection or drop-off in Bishop's Stortford, Harlow, Stansted Mountfitchet, Sawbridgeworth and nearby villages. Collection and visits are local only. - Anyone can drop a computer off from further afield, and software help can be done remotely from anywhere. ## Pages - [Laptop and PC repairs](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/repairs/) - [Upgrades and Windows reinstalls](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/upgrades/) - [Custom PC builds](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/builds/) - [Recovering lost files](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/data-recovery/) - [IT help for small businesses](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/business/) - [Websites and hosting](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/hosting/) - [AI assistants and tools](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/ai/) - [Prices](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/prices/) - [Areas I cover](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/areas/) - [About](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/about/) - [Contact](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/contact/) ## Optional - [Terms](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/terms/) - [Repairs and liability](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/repairs-and-liability/) - [Privacy](https://stortvalleycomputers.co.uk/privacy/)