One of the Pi's longstanding services is the Tuesday Night Clinic. If you're a new member, you might not know much about it. So I'll take just a few brief paragraphs to describe what we can - and cannot do.
Primarily, the Clinic is a service for Pi members who have sick Apple brand computers. I say that because we have volunteers who can fix Apple IIe, ///, c and all versions of Macs (and peripherals) up to newer machines so long as they are not under warranty.
We have members with experience working with all these machines. Our feeling is that if your computer continues to give you pleasure and accomplishes what you need to do, then you should keep using it. If we can fix it, we will. If we can't, we'll tell you that too and offer alternatives.
Another service we offer is installing software and hardware. If you don't feel comfortable doing upgrades, we have the gurus who can add memory, install a hard drive, etc. We can also help move data from one computer to another or recover data if that is possible. Again, we'll go over everything with you first and check out your system. If it is something we can do, we'll tell you up front so that your time is not wasted.
Finally, we recycle late-model Macs that are donated to non-profits and individuals who do not have computers. I say “late-model” because we just don't have the space to store equipment before it is recycled back into the community. If you have a G3, G4 or later Mac you want to donate, please call the Pi office and leave a message for Jim Ritz or Lorin Evans and we'll get back to you. Please do not leave computers at our front door, as it makes our building owner very unhappy.
By the way, we don't charge for our services during the Clinic. We do, however, ask for a donation - and we'll tell you what we would suggest based on the time it takes us to do the repair or upgrade work. We also will ask that you fill out a form that explains everything. Again, we will not do warranty work and if that is required, we'll tell you to take it to the Apple Store or a local Apple authorized dealer.
We hope you'll make use of the Clinic. We have a great group of folks who want to help!