I'm more Interested in fixing computers and building custom ones for people. when I am older I will probably start my own business fixing and building computers. And if I have to that will be a weekend or after work job and I would work somewhere else of course working on something that deals with computers.

That's a good idea Rockfan. But also keep in mind that most people don't want new systems build by some guy in his garage. They have to worry about support; what if a part goes bad? What if something needs returned? What if they need work done in the future?
Are you going to still be around? Can they trust you?

The best bet for building NEW systems is to have your own shop. People are much more comfortable spending hundreds of dollars on a machine if they get it from a shop.

But anyways, of course there is a lot of stuff to think about! But it's a start.

does anyone know any ways of learning code and programming skills, i dont mean physical places because of location issues. Also, ive been thinking about taking aboandoned PC' from skips and taking them apart/repairing them and seliing them of as either a repaired or a rebuilt system, is it legal and do you think it will work.

'tis true, vigilante.

i started with MS-DOS qbasic on my old 486 and eventually got myself up to visual basic and various .net stuff. i advise running a flavor of linux and taking advantage of the programming software and features.

Ha! I was on QBasic too. Excellent DOS language!

There is a million different languages to learn out there, and a few simple google searches will put you in the right direction. But it depends on what you want to program for. If you want to program for fun, and build simple to complex desktop apps and have fast turn-around. Try Visual Basic. Though VB.Net is a bit different. VB6 I still use alot and can whip out apps in no time.

If you want web languages, look into PHP, MySQL, ASP.NET, and the Javas.

If you want the hardcore languages so you can go make a seven figure income, learn C and it's many variants, like C++ etc... Get into Assembly even.

Languages are defined by their "level". "Low level" languages are very hard to learn and require a ton of code that has to be written manually. However, they produce tiny programs that run fast when written propery. These are languages like assembly and C.

"High level" languages do a lot of the work for you, having built-in routines that are built into the OS. This would be like Visual Basic. You can design an entire "visual" program with colors and layout and looks; buttons, bars and boxes, without ever writing a line of code! Now that's a high level language. And on the downside, it produces big, bloated apps that require all the libraries to be distributed with your app. Such as the VB runtime libraries with your VB apps. Etc...

Happy hunting!

Try to learn C first. I found that a useful point to start on.

i run a rather profitable practice of taking pcs and parts that are getting thrown away and selling them whole or thier parts. unless you're stealing them there should be no problems on the legal front...

one more thing - some businesses have a microsoft action pack or employ various oem scemes to get copies of windows and other programs for THEMSELVES to run. these softwares are often explicitly licensed for the company only and are no longer legal once the computer is no longer used in that business.

Thats not really true, from what I read from this website some professional shops are some times not even really professional. http://www.hints-n-tips.com/comprepair.htm
I wouldn't dare do what that shop did.