Computer repair & tune-up
Won't boot, running slow, freezing, strange noises, blue screens. Diagnosed properly and explained in plain terms.
When technology fails, you need someone who shows up.
Lifeboat IT is calm, plain-English computer and network help for homes and small businesses on Chicago's North Shore. No jargon, no upsells, and no judgment about whatever it was you clicked.
On-site and remote · Flat-rate quotes before any work starts
Show up, on timeScheduled windows, not all-day waits
Flat-rate pricingYou approve the number first
Your data firstBacked up before anything else
Sound familiar?
It's never a good time for this to happen.
If any of these are why you're here, you're in the right place.
"My computer won't turn on and everything is on it."Nine times out of ten the files are recoverable. We'll tell you honestly before you spend anything.
"Email stopped working and clients are waiting."Usually a settings or account problem, not a lost cause — and often fixable the same day.
"The wifi drops every afternoon."Almost always placement, channel congestion, or ageing hardware. Diagnosed properly, not guessed at.
"I bought the software and nobody set it up."Setup, migration and training count as real work. We'll do them properly.
"Something's wrong and I don't know what to ask for."That's fine. Describing the symptom is our job to translate, not yours.
"I think I've been hacked."Dealt with carefully and without panic — contain first, then explain, then fix.
Whatever it is, it's probably more fixable than it feels right now.
Services
What we actually do
Homes and small businesses, on-site or remote. If it's not on this list, ask anyway — chances are it's still a yes.
Backup & data recovery
Automatic backups that actually run, and recovery when something has already been lost. One drive failure shouldn't cost you a decade of photos.
Wifi & network setup
Dead spots fixed, routers configured correctly, printers that print, guest networks, and coverage that reaches the far bedroom.
Email & accounts
Locked out, switching providers, moving old mail across, or setting things up so this stops happening every few months.
Security & peace of mind
Passwords, updates, antivirus that isn't junk, and a check-up on whether you're actually protected or just assuming you are.
New computer setup
Everything moved across from the old machine — files, email, bookmarks, passwords — so you sit down and just carry on working.
Small business IT support
Ongoing help for shops, offices and one-person operations. Someone to call who already knows how your setup works.
Training & plain-English help
Patient one-to-one sessions on whatever is slowing you down — email, photos, spreadsheets, cloud files, or your phone.
Why the name
A lifeboat is what you want when things are going wrong.
Not the fanciest thing in the water. The one that turns up, holds steady, and gets you back to shore.
Lifeboat IT grew out of years of responding to emergencies as an EMT and firefighter. Your laptop dying isn't a cardiac arrest — but it is genuinely somebody's bad day, and the same things help: turn up when you say you will, stay calm, and explain what's happening without talking down to anyone.
We also write software, so we're comfortable going deeper than a shop that just reinstalls Windows and hands it back. We'd rather find the actual cause than sell you a replacement.
"Technology should be quietly boring. When it stops being boring, that's when you call us."
We show up when we say we will
Agreed time windows, a call if anything changes, and no vanishing act after the invoice.
Fixed price, agreed up front
You hear the number and approve it before we start. No hourly meter running while we think.
Your data gets backed up first
Before any repair or reinstall. Losing your photos to fix a startup error is not a trade anyone should make.
Plain English, no lecturing
You'll finish every visit knowing what went wrong and how to avoid it — not feeling stupid for asking.
Service area
Where we work
On-site visits across Chicago's northern suburbs and the North Shore. Outside this list? Ask — we'll tell you honestly whether it's practical.
Vernon Hills
Lincolnshire
Buffalo Grove
Wheeling
Deerfield
Northbrook
Highland Park
Lake Forest
Libertyville
Mundelein
Palatine
Arlington Heights
Remote support anywhere. A lot of problems — email, accounts, software, slow machines — we can fix by connecting to your computer while you watch. Same price, no waiting for a visit.
Get in touch
Tell us what's going wrong.
Describe it in your own words — you don't need the right terminology. We'll tell you what we think it is and what it'll cost.
Fastest ways to reach us
Hours: Monday–Saturday, 8am–7pm. Emergencies considered — just call and ask.
What to tell us
1. What's happening
The symptom, in your words. "It's slow" is a perfectly good start.
2. What changed
New computer, moved house, an update, a weird pop-up — if anything changed, that's the clue.
3. Where you are
So we can tell you whether it's a visit or something we can fix remotely today.