posted
Two weeks ago I sent my Compaq laptop in to HP to get the DVD ROM and keyboard repaired. Both were hardware, not software, related problems. Neither required HP to re-image my computer, wiping clean my partitions, my programs, my pictures, my writing.
And yet HP did it anyway.
Fortunately, my writing was the ONE thing I had backed up before sending in my computer. I didn't have room to save everything (what with no firewire and the DVD ROM broken), but I figured there was little risk as there was no reason to delete anything. The tech support guy over the phone even said I didn't have anything to worry about, so long as I turned off any passwords. Anyway, I've been lamenting my loss often and many people with HP products have told me about similar experiences. Apparently wiping hard drives is common practice for the company.
Just thought I'd throw the warning out there in case any of you also have HP computers. Be careful! Back up everything before sending them in!
posted
My own strategy is never to send anything in to be repaired. I don't know how helpful that is to anyone who doesn't have a pretty solid machine empathy, though Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
It is a bit odd they'd re-image the disk, but sometimes necessary to get a known setup. But in that case, I'd think they would create a temporary image of your drive first and image it back, or just swap out the HDD.
Since I'm a certified A+ and Network+ tech, I usually just get them to send me the replacement parts and do it myself.
quote:Since I'm a certified A+ and Network+ tech, I usually just get them to send me the replacement parts and do it myself.
I'm not a certified tech, but I do do the job myself, as long as I have the money to replace the part. Luckily for me I haven't had to replace any piece of hardware. All I've done is just buy a new keyboard and mouse.
posted
They do make usb drives. I have a nice 1G version that hold my writing, and a good 900 M of whatever else I need.
Posts: 807 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
You know, I once sent my Mac in for repair and it came back with all the folders still in place just nothing in them.
I lost all the corrections on a 48 page magazine. I had backed up an earlier version.
They couldn't tell me why... so they said... so they said.
I guess the key is backing-up. Is there some facility on the web like a UHAUL Storage Shed? Where you can put big stuff and keep it safe? I do send versions of my stories to my web-based email. Is that safe?
[This message has been edited by hoptoad (edited February 09, 2006).]
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apeiron: I'm sorry to hear that you've lost information.
As for what HP did, it is fairly common practice. You should always keep backups of data you don't want to lose.
One thing I recommend for larger amounts of data, is to get another hard drive, and use it for 'backup' purposes. For small amounts, a 'thumb' or 'keychain' USB drive works well too.
Another option, usually offered by your ISP for no additional charge, is to create a 'home page.' Space limits vary, but it can be a means to store some key files, and access them from anywhere on the Internet. If you find this method valuable enough, relatively inexpensive web hosting is available with more storage (your ISP probably offers other options too).
posted
I understand needing to reimage and clear the hard drive, etc. if you're having software problems because corrupt data files could be the cause for those problems. But I don't understand doing all that when the problem is hardware related. That just doesn't make any sense--unless the reason the keyboard and DVD drive were having problems did indeed have to do with software. *shrugs*
Anyway, I that is a strong reason to back up your data. I had to do the same before I deleted my user name on my computer. (I had some corrupt data files on it that only affected applications while under my name. These same applications would work fine under any other user name.) Unfortunately, there were a few things that I had forgotten to backup and I lost them. Fortunately, none of the things I lost were my stories.
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This isn't an HP/Compaq issue - this is an issue with every computer repair centre. They never guarantee your data will remain intact, and if it's easier for them to format and reinstall, they will without a single hesitation.
Now, if you want to hear horror stories, I had an Acer craptop with a repair file over an inch thick from the first year I owned it... And it was never repaired properly. Oh, the stories I could tell!
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Sorry for going off-topic here, but regarding the Acer laptop, I've heard similar stories for just about every major brand of computer -- some no longer in business (not necessarily cause and effect).
Posts: 160 | Registered: Feb 2006
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That's why I try and fix my computers myself when I can. (I even fix the ones at work sometimes when they're not behaving, but not often because I'm not a Windows user so I can only fix simple problem--like when an app freezes up or the scanner connection isn't working properly.) If I can't fix my computers, then I have quite a few friends who can. The only time I'd need to take one in to get it repaired is if it had some virus that I couldn't get rid of or something to that effect--and that doesn't happen too often on my Macs! Posts: 107 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:But I don't understand doing all that when the problem is hardware related. That just doesn't make any sense--unless the reason the keyboard and DVD drive were having problems did indeed have to do with software. *shrugs*
I can think of several reasons why supposedly hardware-related problems could really be software instead. If there's hard error on the HDD platter where the drivers are stored, for example. The drivers won't load properly.
The only real way to determine if a problem is hardware is to test the offending hardware on another PC, and test a known good piece of hardware on the PC where the trouble is. If the hardware works on the second PC, it isn't a hardware problem. If the known good hardware doesn't work on the original PC, then there's either a software problem OR a hardware problem inside the PC itself.
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My hubby is a sotfwar engineer and we met in college, both of us going for porgramming degrees. SO if anything breaks, we can fix it without letting anyone touch our stuff. I can understand how hard that is having someone mess with your computer. Mine is my haven. You are only welcome if invited.
Posts: 341 | Registered: Jan 2006
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My baby doesn't get sick. Oh wait, I mean, my computer doesn't usually have problems. also, I always try to save back up by e-mailing stories to my self. Or if your really concerned or if they're super important (what isn't super important?) You can e-mail them to your self and then a trusted friend (or husband/wife) and then even if something happens to your computer and your e-mail account they would still have a copy (you just have to ask them so they don't delete it when it comes and not send too big of a file so that it doesn't clog their mail box.) Also, you can save files on an iPod. So if you were debating on whether or not you "needed" an iPod you can say you do. and validate it because you're a writer and need to have a place to save stuff..... Posts: 47 | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
The problems on the Acer I mentioned above were entirely hardware related, not software.
I'm a geek. Not programmer quality, but enough that I know more about fixing computers than 95% of the techies hired by the various computer companies. I've built my own desktop computers - really not hard - and upgrade them myself. I installed my own modem and got it working back when 1200 baud modems were cutting edge technology, and the software that came with it was incompatible with the modem itself, there were no instructions, and the dipswitches had to be set manually. Back in those days, getting a modem to work properly - with those conditions - could be a real feat. I've been using computers since before DOS existed. Heck, I got my first email addy back in the early 80s. Yeah, I'm OLD.
The reason that Acer was sent in was because the problems were hardware related and therefore under warranty. No amount of reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling the operating system every helped, and I do consider that a last-resort tactic. I'm perfectly capable of fixing almost anything software related (I even have a bit of a business going here fixing computers in the expat community.)
That one was a lemon. They refused to admit it because that would mean replacing the thing, rather than just replacing the hard drive five times, the motherboard three times, the keyboard and touch pad three times, the RAM eight times, and so on. Silly them... It would have been cheaper.
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Yeah, in hindsight I should have just done the repairs myself. I probably could have. But I was going out of town and I thought, wouldn't it be so nice to have my computer all fixed up and waiting for me when I return? Much less hassle, plus it's not my fault if something does go wrong. Oi. The thing that really galls me is that I'm currently sitting in the middle of MIT. If I couldn't have fixed it, there are droves of course 6 (computer programming) guys around that I'm sure would love to play hero for a gal in distress, right? Ah, hindsight.
Actually, the thing that really really galls me is that, even though I still have all my writing, most of it is saved as .doc's, and until I get my little code thing for my MS Office--which is buried in boxes and papers half a country away--I don't have access to it.
[This message has been edited by apeiron (edited February 12, 2006).]
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apeiron, you don't have access because of a password or because you don't have the right software to open the .doc files?
(Sorry if I'm dense here. I don't use MS Office, so I'm not sure what you mean by "my little code thing.")
Maybe one of those heroic course 6 guys could get into your .doc files (in either case--they love a challenge, right?) for you and convert them to a format that you can access?
Maybe you could even email them to someone around here who could email them back to you as .rtf or .txt files?
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Well, Corky, it seems HP was oh-so-kind enough to install Microsoft Office, but in order to use it, you need a product key, which you can find in the box when you buy Office. I had Office installed before I sent my computer in, but I left all that documentation back home. (I'm at school now.) It's all a matter of having my parents or brother dig for it, where ever it ended up. (I know it's around somewhere...) I already got one offer for a bootleg copy of Office. If I can't find my key, I'll just use that. Meanwhile, I'm working on pieces that don't require immediate access to what I've already written and I'm saving them as good ol' .txt's.
Posts: 184 | Registered: May 2005
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Ah, hindsight.
