PC don't like Monday afternoons

Crash hour hits British home computer users at 4pm on Mondays, according to support firm The TechGuys.

It is the time when the number of support calls peaks, said spokesman Tim Fairs. "We think it is the combination of the aftermath of weekend experimentation by dads, perhaps some incomplete maintenance, and millions of teenagers logging on after a day at school to check their emails, MySpace and Facebook accounts," he said.

Nearly nine in ten calls to the company, own by the DSG group that owns the PC World chain, last less than eight minutes. Often all that is needed is a reboot but other calls can be trickier, said Fairs.

The most common PC problems are: no power, slow running, loss of data, a crash, accidental damage, display not working, CD/DVD no working, no web connection, and computers turning themselves off.