I got a woman on the phone who sounded like she just got up from a nap. I told her my problem and she said just a minute. Everything when silent for many minutes. I said hello several times and no response. Not at all impressed with the desire to help a customer. read more

They are local to a tee. Their research to advanced problems is deep and impeccable. I really feel like I have an ally when I call. We called about faulty Netgear routers. 3 in a row. They could have dispatched a tech. They also could have sold us a router -- they had one. Instead, they took the time to understand the problem, to contact a competitor (and their partner) and offer a solution -- all this sales engineering at no cost. From the beginning of our network in 2009 to now, they have provided invaluable advice and confirmation. Yes, they will be more expensive (slightly). Yes, they will use brands not sold at big box stores. But, they will know them. I cannot thank them enough. Btw, I did call other stores, and although they were competent and their advice was not wrong, only MCW explained it at our level, and did not push us to change the topology of our network. Please call them. read more

Out of the blue, my laptop wouldn't fully boot. It would turn on, sing it's happy toodle-dee-doo, then - the black screen of death. After many tries to re-boot, up came a blue screen stating something-something BitLocker. What the??? How did THAT get on my machine? I jumped through Microsoft's hoops only to be told it didn't recognize my WiFi password, so I dug out the ol' RJ45 cable and bought an adapter so I could connect. It was to no avail. Having been helped by MCW in the past, I brought my laptop in, and they understood the issue right away. Luckily, I had a 512GB flash drive in my laptop case, so they set it up as my backup (my bad for not having my data backed up!!) and it finished at home overnight (yes, waaay too many photos). MCW had installed their online desktop service software, and in the morning, we connected and slammed the door on the BitLocker!!! MCW ROCKS!!!! And, I will be sure to use my new backup on a VERY regular schedule :) read more

My hard drive suddenly crapped out on me (I know, I shouldn't have ignored my calendar reminders to back it up) and I was in need of service. I won't get into all the techy details, but I know what I'm doing and none of the easy fixes that I or my techy friends could do were working, and I was down to trying one of the several computer places in this part of town or a specialized data recovery place like Gillware (which could cost a thousand or more). The several times I came by to drop off things or pick them up, the kids at the front (truly probably high schoolers) didn't seem all that knowledgeable. After dropping off my hard drive on a Thursday before close, I had second thoughts and called on Friday to ask what they would actually be doing (and if it would be any different than what I already did). I was on the phone with Brian (Bryan?), the service manager, and he quickly checked it out and was able to confirm something could be done on the spot. Fortunately I wasn't under any time pressure so I let them do their thing. It ended up taking about a week for what was essentially just copying data from one drive to another, but I wasn't able to do it with the off-the-shelf equipment I had available to me so this was a real help. They do charge a minimum $125 fee (1 hour) which is exactly what it ended up costing me, but this was well worth it compared to the final alternative. read more

We love this company! Dependable, well prices, supportive and knowledgable. They are quick to help and can do it all. We wouldn't be able to do what we do without them maintaining our networking, computers, emails, data recovery, data security and are very friendly as well. Kudos and thank you MCW! read more

I've been in IT since 1992, when images, audio, and video first came out on the Internet. My forté was website development, e-commerce, and marketing. When my computer wouldn't boot, I have to depend upon a computer technician to diagnose and fix/replace the hardware to get it running. I've had a fantastic computer repair experience with Madison Computer Works https://www.madisoncomputerworks.com. They came to my residence and picked up the computer. I was kept informed. The computer tech was friendly and expressed his interest to fix the problem as quickly as possible for the lowest cost. I highly recommend Madison Computer Works to anybody or organization looking for computer services they can count on. For an honest referral, call me at 1-800-736-1036, Dr. Neil Gale read more

We were in need of a new computer for our business and the first and only stop was to Madison Computer Works. Brian helped us in choosing what was a great fit for us. We opted to purchase the Computer Care Plan and I'm happy we did. I ran into some troubles with the printer and computer not communicating. I called their technical support, he logged into the computer and made some quick changes. In addition, the technician asked, "is there anything else I can help you with today?" The genuine help that Brian and his staff gave us was valuable and we will definitely use them in the future! read more

We are so glad we went to MCW for our new computers. They were absolutely the best to work with. They handle good products, and have a generous support package. The staff are personable and knowledgeable and very helpful. We were not looking forward to transitioning to new computers, but MCW made it relatively pain free. There were a couple of glitches at the beginning, but the service technicians had us fixed up and connected right away. We highly recommend this company. read more

Although the little dude who checked me in wasn't well-versed in their Mac policies, he was very nice and tried his best to help me. I would have been able to talk to their Mac technician directly, but he wasn't in at the moment. When I asked to confirm a few things, another employee at the counter brought the owner out and he was very nice as well. They are an authorized Mac dealer and repair center and if your Mac is under warranty there will be no cost to you. Their Mac repair guy called me the next day to clarify a few items the guy at the counter had taken down wrong. The very next day after that, he called to let me know he was finished with the repair. I will definitely continue taking my Mac here, rather than the Apple Store at West Towne. read more

I walked into Madison Computer Works frazzled and ready to drop my 3 year old Acer into the depths of Lake Mendota. The computer, which had given me problems on and off over the years, had died. Sarah could not have been more helpful and calm. She quickly got the machine running, tweaked it, and taught me how to turn it off correctly. It turns out that the problem was primarily pilot error on my part. Madison Computer Works has earned my undying loyalty! read more

Had an issue where my hard drive kept filling up. I searched the internet for solutions and there were some that seemed similar to my problem. None of these were something I had the ability to pursue. I took my computer to Madison Computer Works where they diagnosed the problem. The issue was one or more Windows 10 updates went badly and wrote small files repeatedly, filling up my 1 TB hard drive. If I would delete files, the hard drive would fill up in a matter of a couple days. They deleted the files. Reinstalled Windows 10 and all the updates and ensured all was working well. They also deleted some other stuff. In the end I got back 500 Gigs of hard drive space and a much faster computer. I was very pleased. read more

Madison Computer Works saved our computer, as well as time and aggravation. In the middle of a Windows update process, our custom built computer (by another store) would not restart. We brought the computer into Madison Computer Works on Thursday. We were told that the drive could have failed or that somehow the update was interrupted causing the the update to fail. The first scenario would require a new drive, the second scenario would require a fresh clean install of Windows; they would make their best effort to get Windows to reboot. Both of the the worst case scenarios were very dispiriting as anyone who has had to configure Windows from its' native state, to say nothing of downloading and/or installing all the programs one uses knows; a great deal of labor and time. When I first checked in for an update I was told despite numerous attempts, via various different methods, our computer would not boot up. This was late Friday afternoon news; we were assured they would continue working on our machine on Monday. Late Monday I spoke with a different person who told us when we built the computer we should have been advised to use a battery power supply as a back up in the event of a power interruption, so as to prevent a similar event in the future (which I gladly authorized). The person I spoke with described many of the programs that were in the computer as "crapware" but more importantly they prevent updates, so these programs would need to be uninstalled. I pleaded with this person to please try to get us back to our original Windows installation. On Tuesday Brian Lisse, who I later learned is the owner, called to let us know he was successful at getting into our original installation. Brian told us that ASC (one of the crapware products) would not uninstall. Only later did I see on the invoice that he needed to use a special program tool to uninstall it. Lastly Brian provided us with a script, created by Madison Computer Works, which we could easily use to back up changes and/or new documents. This script would only back up the new changes. This script was set to work in conjunction with the software in the battery power supply backup. Brian did all the setup for this device in advance for us; battery installation and demonstrated the software as well as how his script works. He added a pdf of FAQ's for the script as well. All our Windows updates are now current and Brian tested the computer for restarting in front of us before handing it over. The computer runs faster than ever before; it is, to use the word tweakers who try to squeeze every last bit of performance from their rig, "snappy." It is worth mentioning that Brian did not try to upsell/push us on any support plans or products. This review sounds like a rave, and raves imply exaggeration. It is no exaggeration and is well deserved. We are very appreciative. "Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend" - Theophrastus Brian saved us a great deal of aggravation and time. read more

A great business I wasn't able to do business with. I did try! :) I emailed them with a question about wireless and they responded that they didn't want me to have to pay them until I checked everything out with my DSL provider because it sounded like their issue. A big part of the problem was with my DSL provider but my network was still acting up. Unfortunately Apple pulled all of the authorized dealership licenses around the Apple store so they ultimately weren't able to help me but they couldn't have been nicer. I would recommend these guys in a second if you've got a non-Apple house (for the basic network stuff, I'm sure an iPad or an iPhone won't matter). Had they been able to work on my 100% Apple house they were able to make an appointment within a few days. read more

What a terrible first impression. Called for a specific part and the guy didn't want to take the time to look. Told me the best thing to do was drive 20 minutes to see what they had. He is IN the store, but I should drive over.....Not a great way to win a customer. read more

Above average in many ways, no big weaknesses. This is a good play to go if you want hardware upgrades, they have a lot of parts and components for PCs that will help you out if you are working on your machine at home compared to a box store that usually only has the three most popular cord converters/PSUs. read more

Who do I turn to when the IT guys at my job cannot help? Madison Computer Works!!! Joey was patient and figured out the problem. It takes a village to help me through. Thanks Joey. Thanks MCW. read more

This place is great! We got our Apple questions answered here and what options were open to us, without any up sale or pressure at all. We will be coming back. read more