Headford News and Community Spotlight-Computer Guy

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT - Headford Hero-Computer Guy 

If you’re reading this, you probably have a computer, and if you have a computer, you’ve probably had computer problems at some point in your life. Computers are no longer a necessary evil, but more like a trusted family friend, or friends, since most families have more than one. But when your computer stops working like it should, it can leave you feeling totally helpless.

So what do you do when one of those heart-stopping moments happens and your computer seems dead, or at least comatose? Like when you turn it on and all you get is that blue or black screen with a bunch of writing that means nothing to you? Or that moment when you’re rushing to open a very important document, but it just WON’T open? Or maybe your computer now takes a half hour to do what it once did in five minutes?

If you’re like a lot of people, you panic, or maybe call a friend for advice, or take the computer to Curry’s or some other place where you will be charged a frightening amount of money.

There is another option. In the Headford area, Andy Dittrich (aka Computer Guy) is a bit of a super hero. Not only is he a wiz at computer maintenance and repair, he also has a ‘No fix, No fee’ policy. If he can’t fix the problem, you don’t pay.

Ever since he was a kid, Andy loved to take things apart just so he could figure out how they worked, and then put them back together again.

‘I got a new record player for Christmas when I was 12,’ he says, ‘I took it apart and nearly gave my parents a heart attack.’

Luckily, he was able to put it back together again and it worked fine. Now, he does something similar for a living.

Back in 1982, Andy moved to Dublin from Austria to study English for one year. But he never left. While in Dublin, he lived with his Irish cousins and worked at Wigoder’s, where he learned English from the Dublin lads he worked with. Then, one evening, he was invited to an event at an exclusive golf club where an older gentleman asked him how he liked Ireland. Andy responded in the English he’d learned from his Dublin co-workers, ‘Oh, it’s really f—king great!’ Shortly after that, his cousin helped him expand his vocabulary.

Andy worked as a retail manager at Wigoder’s for twenty-three years before the Celtic Tiger croaked. After that, he got a job with Cartridge World and learned about computers and computer repairs. ‘I learned a lot just by watching,’ he says. After a while, he took courses in computers and computer maintenance and repair, but he says he’s learned the most from experience.

‘A neighbour asked for my help with his computer, and it just sort of mushroomed from there,’ Andy says.

He offers a wide range of services, including diagnostics, virus removal, improving computer speed, taking info off the hard drive and putting it on another computer or usb, replacing laptop screens and/or keyboards, upgrading memory, and lots more. He makes house calls or you can come to him.

So the next time you find yourself in need of a computer super hero, Andy just might be your man.

Andy Dittrich can be reached at 087 2148372 or andydittrich1811@gmail.com