[pillorautoworks]

Less about cars, more about tools. My shop also has a hunter and in the past I have seen NEWER units have more problems that older ones. I am not sure of the variations on models, but this seems to be a general consensus in my area.

Step One : START WITH THE MANUFACTURE. Reach out to a service and sales rep for Hunter in your area. Tell them your issue before you make any additional effort on modifying or upgrading the desktop. No amount of computer upgrades will fix a fault in the alignment tower electronics.

Step Two : Once they check to see how its working and give there consensus on what to do ( upgrade, repair, or reboot ) weigh your options with the shop. Is this something to invest in considering how much alignment work is done. If it turns out to be something fixable with a software update and re-calibration of hardware, great.

Step Three: If you are still interested in going a solid state rout for the hard drive, yes , doing a ” copy -and -paste ” is possible from one hard drive to the other but there are additional tools and expertise involved. If you have those handy, give it a try on a different computer before you attempt on your alignment machine.

 

[pillorautoworks]

Victor,

This hits so close to home with me. When in high school, our automotive programs had been cut and I missed a lot of opportunities to get my hands dirty. I eventually went the run of the mill rout getting a college degree with oil in my veins. I still look back and wonder where I would be today had I taken some risks and looked for opportunities in the automotive industry before I hit 20.

Excluding all the basics, if I could go back and try again I would start with these things.

1. look at technology trends and educational demands. Yes you have to know how to fix petrol or diesel cars, but technology is shifting in ways that are out moding these platforms. Look into what industry standards Tesla and other electric vehicle technicians are held to. Look into what industry standards commercial vehicle technicians are held to.  Find these people on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc and ASK QUESTIONS. ” What do I need to do what you do?”.

2. I had to work during high school to help my family. If time and finances are not strained while you are in high school, put in free work at a shop. I strongly suggest if you can afford to work for free, start knocking on  doors of shops ( small business) and ask for a chance to help around the shop. I have come to find a lot of small shops do good work, but they know little about social media and adverting ( basic computer skills). I am sure every high school kid can navigate facebook by now and I strongly recommend bartering these services for some hands on experience. DONT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. I have had to do this before and was turned down several times from the same shops until they finally said, “okay, we will see how it works”.

3. If you want it so bad, act like it. As a teenager in high school motivation and interest was always fleeting. As soon as something was hard I tend to walk away. Maybe this isn’t your personality but it is something that is common among the youth. Another reason why shops are reluctant to take on a young helpers, even free ones. Find a reason to stick with it. If money is your motivation, look back at those on LinkedIn or Facebook, remind you self what they did and what you will need to do to get there. If skill is your goal, put effort in researching how to’s and DIYs. ASK QUESTIONS. Engulf your self into the matter of car service so deeply you have to ask questions about things.

4. Plot a career path. Again, I had no clear agenda when I transitioned from high school to college and from college to the real world. You will be told “its okay to not know what you want yet”, and it is, but if you FAIL to PLAN then PLAN to FAIL. You are at POINT A ( high school class, know nothing, etc ) and you want to get to POINT B ( master tech, shop manager, shop owner, youtube personality, millionaire, etc ). The problem with a though process like this is you are skipping 20 steps and not making a time line of how quickly all this can be obtained.  I graduated college in 2011, its 2017 and I am a Euro Specialist Shop Manager, still digging my self out of student loan debt. Had I planned my career goals and education plan better, I might have gotten where I want to be sooner with less over head ( debt ).

5. THIS IS NOT A SHORT CUT. If you choose this rout instead of college, which is doable, it does not mean its easier. What you are not spending in college you will be spending in TOOLS and CERTIFICATIONS. The upside to this is you can avoid going into debt going this rout but maintaining lower up front costs than getting a degree. You can get EDUCATED AS YOU WORK. Some opportunities will PAY for you to get educated to work for them as you work for them. I WISH I WENT THIS ROUT.

I am sure there is more I have not covered but I honestly look back and wish someone told me these things.

Hope this is helpful in your efforts.

Mark