Red Planet Industries

Marcus is responsive, reliable, highly knowledgable and has been helping me repair, choose and purchase computers for over a decade. I highly recommend his services. Marcus has a lot of integrity and is always honest.

Excellent service. Smart guy who knows his stuff. Very professional and reasonable rates. Highly recommend!

I had an external hard drive that stopped working after I'd used it only a handful of times; I'd wanted to get it repaired or at least get the data off it for two or three years, but money never coincided with intention. When Red Star had a brick and mortar store, it was just down the street, so when I finally did get some cash, I emailed Marcus about my dead drive. He emailed back immediately, picked up the drive from my apartment, got it fixed, and dropped it off, all within 24 hours and for less than $100. He was super knowledgeable about my particular model and its issues, and the

Well, I am very sad to see the one star review, so I have to share my perspective. I was recommended to take my broken computer to Red Planet Industries when it used to be Red Star Machine Works, about a year ago. I was told by a friend, a small-business owner who had been working with Red Planet for years, that the owner, Marcus Smith, provided conscientious and prompt service. He was right. Marcus is very upfront about his rates (which compared to other similar businesses are quite fair), the parts costs and timeline. He is knowledgeable, realistic and communicative and doesn't give up until

UPDATE:

5 WEEKS LATER...

I am now having computer issues that are related to the work he performed due to improper installation of software and now I will have to take the computer into the Apple Store and pay them again to get this issue resolved. Note that I have never had any computer issues prior to receiving the work (for an upgrade) from Marcus Smith.

I don't know folks. I'd watch out for this one and go elsewhere.

Bottom line: These guys DO fix Macs and do a good job, but they did a slow job. They apologized for the turnaround and gave me a really good price on the work. Mac is fine and has been working for a month and that's all I care about.

People: Ask for Marcus. There are a few other people there that are PC people. Marcus and one Mac tech can fix Macs. He's smart and honest. I don't know about the other people so much.

The Work: Solid work. Fixed my power port and didn't BS me about it needing anything else it didn't need. Unfortunately with nearly ALL Macs, they had to

Let's just clarify one thing, because this shop comes up in a search for Mac Repair or Apple Repair.

This place has NO Mac techs...hasn't had any for almost half a year, according to the rather humourless woman at the counter ~ who opened the store up 15 minutes late the morning I chose to be there when they note they open ~ and then proceeded to allow me to get a whole 5 minutes into my explanation as to what was going on with my G4 before replying...with no hint of deadpan humor whatsoever...that they don't have a Mac person there.

It would tend to beg the question as to why

I love this place!! So helpful, so no-pressure, and so trying to get the best deal for you. And, incredibly nice! I have had interactions with both Marcus and another guy (sadly I did not get his name) and they were both amazing, friendly, calm, and great to hang out with while I was getting driver updates and such. I TOTALLY recommend them. And, in addition to being so cool, they are very very knowledgeable!

I can only leave 5 stars?!?!? That's it!?!?!

So I called 4 computer repair places with great yelp reviews and only 1 had gotten back to me, too 3 weeks though.

Then I remembered! 7-8 years ago I once again didn't back up my junk (why does this sound so wrong? note to self, listen to less hip hop) and at the time cried my eyes out until I found Marcus at what was Belmont Computers. Though this time I tried to back it up, I just failed (okay, again, sounds wrong). Prior to that incident, I had a 14 year no crying streak. Whereas everyone else wanted to charge tons of $ with zero guarantees

Highly recommend this place...

I have to admit... I thought a small computer repair shop sitting behind an internet cafe in Portland may prove to be a bit of a hostile environment for a relatively computer illiterate individual such as myself.

Turns out, they were really friendly and helpful. And I felt free from judgments. Found the mac computer part I needed without having to visit some big box store. Two thumbs up.

My wife and I took her laptop to Red Star and had it diagnosed and sadly it was pretty much shot. Thankfully, the staff told us outright, giving us a clear understanding of the costs involved and gave us suggestions what to look for in a new laptop and even provided us with an understanding of the benefits between a desktop vs laptop.

All of this without any attempts to sell us anything or push us into a hopeless repair.

Because they were completely honest and thorough in explaining the problem (going so far as to find a similar motherboard for a visual), we were completely impressed with their

I don't recommend a visit here unless you're a computer expert yourself,
or don't mind being openly ridiculed. Terrible customer service!

NOTE: I'm told that they had a really bad employee, who is no longer with the company. I would be willing to try them again in the future.

It's pretty simple really...I'm not a computer guy. I just want my computer to work and when it doesn't I want to get it fixed. Red Star is great because I get a major virus about once a year that screws my computer up and then my whole world crashes down around me. I take it to these guys and they fix it all up, add some stuff to make it even stronger and I go on my way. The only reason I didn't give them 5 stars is because they don't always call you right away then they are finished with your computer. I usually just stop by the store after a week has passed and

Marcus at Red Star is the best. He is bright, competent, and extremely knowledgeable. We would not let anyone besides Marcus touch our computers, Red Star's prices are reasonable and Marcus also does home visits.

Great place in Portland, especially if you live in the Belmont hood. Marcus especially has been a wealth of knowledge, including recommendations for companies for internet service, different router choices, and the occasional troubleshooting etc. Plus, they've been more than helpful on 2 occasions to give me step by step setup instructions over the phone. I honestly haven't had a computer repair place with this consistently solid level of service. Not only that, they're not salesy and haven't tried to cram a bunch of useless add ons down my throat. I think they mostly specialize

I went to Red Star Machine Works to buy some RAM for my computer. They were super helpful and then I had some problems installing the memory. They were then super helpful over the phone and when that didn't work, I went back with my computer and they helped fix the problem. No wait. Highly recommend them.

As a former Belmont Computer customer (both at their first location on Belmont & around 20th, and their last at 46th & Belmont) I was fine with them - since I build & fix my own computers, I never had to deal with their repair service. I did ask questions, and while the former staff was a bit surly (as most computer geeks are) they did know what they were talking about. Problem is they didn't know how to run a business, so the FORMER Belmont Computers went under last August 2008, and the place was closed until a new owner bought and re-opened it as Red Star Machine Works in October