Electronically challenged students with problems beyond their capability to fix now have a convenient, student-run service available.

Steve Vigland (senior-economics) had a pop-up problem with his computer that he thought he had fixed.

"I thought I had installed a pop-up blocker, but apparently I didn't," said Vigland, who admitted to not being computer "savvy."

He said his problem was getting worse, so when he spotted a flyer in Willard Building for www.LionGeeks.com, he called for help.

Nigel D'Mello (sophomore-industrial engineering) said he and five other students began the business, LionGeeks, as a class project for Engineering 407, but the idea is to provide "affordable and professional computer assistance for off-campus Penn State students," something he said the area is lacking.

The business, which was up and running March 22, has made 16 house calls, D'Mello said, with many more lined up. The venture has been so successful that two employees were hired to keep up with the calls.

"Our goal is to meet people within seven days of the call," D'Mello said. "At our earliest convenience ... depending on the amount of school work we have and how many calls we get."

D'Mello said that normally two staff members go out for a call.

Dave Salsovic (senior-marketing) accompanied D'Mello Sunday night to Vigland's apartment to diagnose and fix his problem.

Salsovic said the current team of eight students consists of a variety of majors, but D'Mello said only three students make house calls.

He said those three students either already have experience, are computer engineering or information science and technology majors, or are certified to troubleshoot computers.

He said the other five staff members work on marketing, advertising, scheduling and finances.

Vigland said he was satisfied and hadn't had any pop-ups appear on his computer since the appointment.

"It is definitely affordable," Vigland said.

"Fifteen dollars to get software loaded that I don't have a clue how to do myself," he added.

D'Mello said he installed the software Spybot and Ad-Aware in Vigland's computer, which are programs with free licenses.

D'Mello said LionGeeks provides free onsite analysis, meaning it will not charge if the problem cannot be fixed.

He said hardware issues that only a manufacturer can fix, such as broken speakers, are not part of its services.

"We can pretty much troubleshoot all software," D'Mello said.

A list of services that LionGeeks can successfully provide is available on its Web site.

D'Mello said the charge per hour was raised from $10 to $15, but flat rates are applied to appointments that take longer than three hours, D'Mello said.

"Certain things -- formatting a computer or clearing up viruses -- can take more than four hours, and then we will charge you $20 to $30 instead of, like, $75," Salsovic said.

Salsovic said a usual visit takes one to 1 1/2 hours.

However, he noted that a 20-minute job will be rounded up to the hour.