Janet Gunner’s laptop had been slow for a while. When it started to spontaneously shut down and refuse to turn on again, she became frustrated. “I wasn’t sure what the problem was, and I would often lose my work,” Gunner said.

Ellen Pedersen’s desktop was running at a snail’s pace and her bedroom didn’t have enough space for the computer’s big, older-model monitor.

“It was a quality of life of issue,” Pederson said. “It was just too big, just a big clunker sitting there. I hated the thing.”

Both women were ready to buy new computers but decided to go a cheaper route: repair. Local computer experts say that in a lot of cases, computer repairs can be less expensive than replacement. So when operating your computer becomes a waiting game, don’t put it on the curb — find a handy tech person.

The problem of a slow-running machine can be fixed at area computer repair shops in most cases for $100 or less. An onslaught of viruses, spyware and adware can bring a system to a crawl. Other culprits impacting your computer’s performance are a faulty hard drive or insufficient memory, both of which can be fixed.

“Half of the people who come in say their computers are no good,” said Jon Rosen of Jon Rosen Systems, which fixed Gunner and Pedersen’s computers. “They say it’s too slow, too old and it’s got viruses. And then we look at it a little more analytically. Viruses? Those can be fixed. Too Slow? Does it have enough memory? And then we check to see if it has enough and if it’s doesn’t, we throw in a stick of memory.”

In Gunner’s case, Rosen fixed her laptop by adding more RAM memory, which improved the performance. Gunner also took in her daughter’s troublesome desktop, which was diagnosed with a failed hard drive. After it was replaced, the speed of the computer almost doubled.

“He was able to restore them and it wasn’t costly,” she said. “Both computers are working well.”

For Pedersen, Rosen replaced her old CRT monitor with a new LCD monitor and added more RAM memory to quicken the speed of her computer.

“It’s a lot better now; I don’t have any problems,” she said. “I like the flat screen, and I didn’t have to buy a new computer.”

Rosen, whose business is located on Main Street in Snyder, said computer performance is determined by the hard drive, memory and processor.

“These three things in the system affect and contribute to the speed,” he said. “When making the decision to upgrade, it comes down to analyzing those three parts.”

Problems with the memory and hard drives, where everything is stored on the computer, are addressed on a daily basis at Rosen’s business.

Similar to desktops, laptops are burdened with memory and hard drive issues as well as the common repair problem of broken LCD screens. As laptop popularity continues to soar, Rosen and his crew are using more and more replacement panels to correct cracked screens.

They also repair laptop power jacks, which are the plugs for the computers’ chargers. When the power jack is broken, the laptop cannot be turned on.

Many repairs can be made to save troubled computers at area repair shops, but there are certain pesky problems that cannot be addressed. For example, a faulty processor is a lost cause and issues with the machine’s mother board are also near impossible to fix.

Joe Cannata, owner of Payless Computer Repairs in Buffalo, said when shopping for a new computer, research the model because “so many new brands have ongoing problems.”

Cannata, whose business is located on Kenmore Avenue, said consumers have the tendency to overbuy when it comes to purchasing a computer. He advises consumers to save money by purchasing a computer that is specific to their needs.

“Someone who just does e-mail and Web browsing does not need a $900 computer,” he said.