Sending A Pc For Repair

[Digitalbanana]

How does one normally take a laptop or PC in for repair, take out the hard drive completely beforehand or swap it out for an empty one?

Seeing as I have tonnes of personal info on my HD I hardly want some tech geek having access to it when the PC is being repaired - assuming the repair is for something other than the HD itself?

So my question is if I take my HP laptop to a service center will they fix it and let me keep the HD during the repair period?

[danfred]

I recently brought a PC in for repair and I did remove the hard-drive first. No sense in risking damage to the drive while transporting the PC. I'd recommend just supplying the components needed to do the repair... remove your extra ram, extra PCI cards, etc as well. On the other-hand if you want them to re-install your OS and install all needed drivers you'll need to provide them with all your extra components and hard-drive.

Dan

Edit (additional note)... since your sending in a laptop I'd also recommend removing the battery. Back in the US companies always asked me to remove the battery before sending in a laptop for service. I guess this limits their liability in case the battery gets lost somewhere.

Edited September 1, 2008 by danfred

[regedit]

I recently brought a PC in for repair and I did remove the hard-drive first. No sense in risking damage to the drive while transporting the PC. I'd recommend just supplying the components needed to do the repair... remove your extra ram, extra PCI cards, etc as well. On the other-hand if you want them to re-install your OS and install all needed drivers you'll need to provide them with all your extra components and hard-drive.

Dan

Edit (additional note)... since your sending in a laptop I'd also recommend removing the battery. Back in the US companies always asked me to remove the battery before sending in a laptop for service. I guess this limits their liability in case the battery gets lost somewhere.

I would make a backup of your personal data or an image of the drive then format it before taking for repair. Then when its back reinstall the image.

[NHJ]

depending on your trouble, if you computer shows no image or doesn't react when it's powered on(dead power supply), there's no need for the hardrive.

if you got trouble with freezing computer, then without the hardrive, the tech guy won't be able to help you.

[JSixpack]

Encrypt your personal data w/ a free product like TrueCrypt. Use a password manager that encrypts passwords like KeePass. Overwrite the free space on the drive with Erase to permanently erase all the old files that you didn't encrypt before.

Then you can rest easy during the repair.

[Digitalbanana]

depending on your trouble, if you computer shows no image or doesn't react when it's powered on(dead power supply), there's no need for the hardrive.

if you got trouble with freezing computer, then without the hardrive, the tech guy won't be able to help you.

Thanks for feedback... in my case the clock display is unstable... when I turn the PC on and go straight to BIOS the clock is frozen at last power off time. Whenever I reset to correct time within Windows it only lasts a hour or two before stalling but then running again at an incorrect time. I am thinking I just take out hard disc and take to service and say get the BIOS closk to run again? The BIOS battery is good, so I'm guessing something on motherboard...any empty SATA hard drive can be used in place and I just keep mine with data at home...

Thats my take, any other opinions are much appreciated... I agree with clone image ideas but just taking drive out seems faster still...

[Cuban]

As this is the Thai forum, I would suggest removing the HDD having heard about misuse of HDDs during repair processes and no company will offer a guarantee that the data is intact after any repair work anyway.

Also reacting to earlier posts about losses during repair - I would mark each removable component of your system, RAM, DVD drive, graphic card, and list/photograph them - hopefully this is a complete waste of about 5 minutes to product a document that you will never need to refer to, however if you don't do it - you are bound to need it.

I trust retailers to treat my credit card details with the upmost care - however there are still cases where people employed in such jobs skim cards they have access to - why expose your data to such risks where you don't have to.

Thinking further outside the box - what would prevent someone placing illeagal data (certain types of porn or Thai copyrighted music) on your computer that was later 'found' during a 'random' routine check. In the past to seal a conviction police might have planted drugs on a suspect, I am not suggesting that the police in any country would do such a thing with a data crime - however I like to consider risk to any situation. Having read about people visiting internet cafes in Pattaya that are then raided by anti-copyright agencies that 'discover' that MP3 files that breach certain laws are to be found on the very computer that was being used by the visiting agent the day before...

Maybe off into the realms of paranoia, but with data crime being so easy to prosecute and computer data being so easy to edit possession is effectively guilt.

Consider how you explain a 'stray' image file that you have never seen before who's create time stamp matches the time stamp of you reading your online Yahoo mail account, the two items prove you were using your computer at that time - case closed?

Data security & data integrity are no longer subjects just for large corporates, I think it affects anyone that uses any data device these days, portable MP3 player to high end laptop.

Sorry to ramble on - anyone else think about this?

[Digitalbanana]

As this is the Thai forum,

I am entirely with you on this... indeed I would consider repair in a place like Pantip where I might be able to first hand witness the repair rather than leave it for days or weeks at the manufacturers service center (HP in this case).

[Heng]

Ditto the TrueCrypt comment for anything that HAS to be on the system's hard drive (some people -not I- don't like running their email clients from portable hard drives for example). I keep core business info on flash drives and portable hard drives that never go anywhere anyway though. Peace of mind, ...unless the housekeeper takes off with them.

[spacemunk]

Always have a thumbdrive or portable HDD. Incase of pc problems u can always back up all ur important files.

What i do is i only have my OS on 1 HDD and another HDD for all impt files. So incase of a hookup i just reformat my OS HDD and do a fresh install.

I dont send my PC for repairs cause i fix my own problems when it comes to hardware.

[NHJ]

your issue doesn't require the harddrive, the tech guy can boot a linux live cd to conduct its tests.

[spacemunk]

Let me try to help u out here.

Does ur BIOS clock just stop and freeze or does it totally resets?

How do u know tht the CMOS battery is not dead?

Have u tried checking HP's website if there is any newer BIOS updates?

[Greenside]

Gary here. Wish I'd read this thread before taking my computer into PC World for a check-up....

[spacemunk]

Gary here. Wish I'd read this thread before taking my computer into PC World for a check-up....

wat was wrong with it?

[Greenside]

Gary here. Wish I'd read this thread before taking my computer into PC World for a check-up....

wat was wrong with it?

The charges came after a member of staff spotted the material on Gary Glitter's computer, in for repair at PC World in Bristol. Mr John Royce, QC, told the court that a technician tried to correct the fault and in order to see if he was successful had to look into a file. But what he found, said the QC, was "disturbing".

A police sergeant arrested Glitter when he returned to collect his computer.

Sorry, too subtle it seems.....

[Digitalbanana]

Let me try to help u out here.

Does ur BIOS clock just stop and freeze or does it totally resets?

How do u know tht the CMOS battery is not dead?

Have u tried checking HP's website if there is any newer BIOS updates?

Thanks for your help.. to answer,

When I reboot - the only time I can see the BIOS clock time I think? - the time is fixed at the power off time. I.e. the seconds are no longer ticking over. When I start Windows Vista the time starts from then and seems to jump around usually upto a few hours slow... but keeps on ticking forward...

I thought the CMOS battery was dead also, but I checked it and was still showing voltage. I still replaced it anyway with a new one and problem remained.

HP website says my BIOS is the latest and up to date. The laptop is 14 months old.

I am away from Bangkok now, so as soon as I get back in a month can get to a service point to fix this, if I cannot get help online... I'm guessing the motherboard is the problem though I don't know much about it.

Thanks if you can help remotely in meantime...

[spacemunk]

Let me try to help u out here.

Does ur BIOS clock just stop and freeze or does it totally resets?

How do u know tht the CMOS battery is not dead?

Have u tried checking HP's website if there is any newer BIOS updates?

Thanks for your help.. to answer,

When I reboot - the only time I can see the BIOS clock time I think? - the time is fixed at the power off time. I.e. the seconds are no longer ticking over. When I start Windows Vista the time starts from then and seems to jump around usually upto a few hours slow... but keeps on ticking forward...

I thought the CMOS battery was dead also, but I checked it and was still showing voltage. I still replaced it anyway with a new one and problem remained.

HP website says my BIOS is the latest and up to date. The laptop is 14 months old.

I am away from Bangkok now, so as soon as I get back in a month can get to a service point to fix this, if I cannot get help online... I'm guessing the motherboard is the problem though I don't know much about it.

Thanks if you can help remotely in meantime...

Well i guess u should take it to the shop then. Im sure its ur motherboard. Since u replaced the CMOS batt and BIOS is up to date. The only problem left is the motherboard.

Being a HP laptop and only 14mths old...didnt u opt for the extended warranty?

[adammike]

I have an Acer brought in december 07, the sound went so had a quick look inside to see if anything was loose and blow out the dust

nothing to see.

Closed it up and set it up again this time no screen took it back to the shop no problem call you when its ready.

Told them I had wiped Windows and have installed Linux[ubuntu].

They said the factory will have to reinstall widows thats ok as I did not have any important stuff on it.

Got it back 3 weeks later and they told me it was a broken main board that was replaced and windows

re-installed.so dont expect anybody to have the knowledge to use linux on your PC.

got it home wired it up but when i put in the power cable it just started on its own ok no problem

had to go through all the reinstall vista and updating,install firefox and thunderbird and add-on's.

Went back a couple of hours later and it had gone into hibernation and would not start again

took it back to the shop this time they had a guy he had a look seems they had plugged the power cable round the

wrong way DUH.

This is in Amsterdam not Thailand.

I have heard of PCs going in for repair and components being replaced with lesser ones

If you have illegal stuff on your PC you take a big risk

Its not rocket science to see a 500gb harddisc has 25gb of free space it may just be human nature

to try to see what it could be,

Its taken me 5 years to fill a 200gb external drive with music it would take 5 weeks to fill it with movies

all downloaded for free of course.

[Digitalbanana]

..didnt u opt for the extended warranty?

I bought it in Pantip, extended warranty - arai wah? :-)

[spacemunk]

..didnt u opt for the extended warranty?

I bought it in Pantip, extended warranty - arai wah? :-)

haha ok then...guess u'll have to wait to send it in.