Computer says "no"

Is there anything more frustrating or terrifying than a computer problem when you don't have in house IT support?

As a freelancer, I rely on my computer to bring in work, bill clients and generally do stuff that makes my business and life work.  When something goes wrong, it's not as simple as "just calling IT".

I'm pretty good at searching and finding answers, but sometimes you do everything that everyone says and it still doesn't work.

My printer has been tetchy ever since I bought it.  It finally got to the point where the computer keeps telling me that I have no printer.  I've uninstalled, installed, unplugged, turned off, updated and done everything else along those lines.  Occasionally there have been moments of sunshine when normal transmission resumes, but I think I've used up my wishes.

I called Fuji Xerox for help today and discovered that the printer spooler in Windows 7 isn't working. A quick search shows that I am not alone.  There seem to be as many solutions suggested as there are people with the problem and so far, I've hit a brick wall.  I reach the end of the instructions and get "Error 1053".  Until today, I had never heard of a printer spooler.  It sounds mechanical and I picture a monkey winding a handle to thread paper through the machine.

Microsoft says they'll charge me to fix the problem and that I should contact the manufacturer of the computer (Sony).  I went into Sony today and they did a general clean up, but it hasn't fixed this problem.

I'm over it.  It's so hard to find trustworthy support just by searching online.  I realised that my personal contacts and recommendations in the tech support area are thin on the ground, so I must do something about that.  I'm better when there's a problem with my car - at least you can see something.

If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be marvellous!  What do you do when something goes wrong with your computer?

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