BestBuy nuked my files w/o permission


Recommended Posts

Regardless if the data was backed up or not, a CDROM that is out for the count has no effect on the OS from my experience.[/font][/size]

And if the computer has XP, then it should of been an easy swap with drivers already pre installed because of plug in play

Link to comment
Share on other sites

oh and to all you guys who keep saying oh they should have backed up their stuff. well how the hell is someone sapose to back up **** if the cdrom is broken, or they do not have access to another computer to network them together and back up stuff that way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What have we all learned today?. NEVER GO TO GEEK SQUAD, :rolleyes: , I had a friend pay $150 to install Norton and a week later it screwed up and she called me to come fix it, so i wiped Norton and put Nod32 on, she said it's never ran better.

sorry for your friends troubles,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A CDRom drive is typically held in by one screw on the bottom of a laptop. You then pull it out and shove the new one in. Why didn't you just do it yourself?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Should of backed up the stuff, we make everyone sign a disclamier saying their data is NOT our resonsibilty though we do backup stuff. I'm sure Geeksquad have something like that hung up on the war at least when I went into one of their stores in Canada they did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually, it's my friend's files.

I was asked by my friend to pickup her laptop at BestBuy from GeedSquad after she sent it in to fix the broken cdrom. So I went and got it back for her, and naturally, I want to make sure they did fix the cdrom.

I booted the laptop, and shortly Windows XP's initial setup welcome screen came up and prompted to create an account and activate. Something's was wrong here: she mentioned her cdrom was broken, and it doesn't make sense to reinstall Windows to fix a hardware problem. Now I only hope they backed her files up or imaged the drive. At least something that can allow her to retrieve her files.

After I passed the welcome screen and got to the desktop, I went straight to Explorer and try to find any evident of backups.

Yes, you guessed it. Nada, not there. All GONE.

Her hard drive was imaged back to the crappy manufacture XP image loaded with famous junks like AOL and trialwares. They even promised her they won't reinstall Windows before she handed the machine over.

She lost her resume, her applications, and other personal files. It won't take long for her to reload softwares and clean out junks, but her resume and documents are irreplaceable.

I know there are recovery softwares she can try to retrieve files, but I don't know if they'll still work after a complete image of the hard drive. Perhaps some of her files are still intact, but I think luck's not on her side.

I don't understand. How can a company that sells and fixes computers be this irresponsible while handling customer files? Don?t they learn to image the drive before attempting any fix? Also, what's the point of nuking binary bits in attempt to resolve a hardware issue?

Lesson learned? Think twice before you buy anything from BestBuy and let GeekSquad touch your files. Also, always have a backup. You'll never know when someone decides to screw you over.

BestBuy and GeekSquad, you are officially in my hall of shame.

I wouldn't let a national corporation touch my computer. They hire guys for like $8 an hour.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Once, i think it was 6 years or so ago they had a policy where the clerk has to open the software/game box to ensure that the contents are inside and there is nothing missing.. When i try to return the game because i did not want it, they told me that they can not return open box EVENTHRU i did not open it

I think after that, they change there policy or it was the store idea and they in trouble for it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gah---I freaking hate Geek Squad and BestBuy...this crap happens all the time. They have to really be the worst repair company in the world. I don't know how anyone ever uses...especially after looking at their prices. They give a bad name to computer repair stores everywhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A CDRom drive is typically held in by one screw on the bottom of a laptop. You then pull it out and shove the new one in. Why didn't you just do it yourself?

Because its bloody covered by the warranty and usually when you start swapping parts and fixing it yourself then you void the warranty........

Link to comment
Share on other sites

' date='Jul 30 2006, 08:39' post='587746077']

Sorry guys but bestbuy's geek squad policy clearly states that you should back-up all important files prior to sending computers in for repair because data may be wiped or lost at any time. I see it on all the stickers when I go in there.

What kind of geeksquad is it if they can't backup files of other ppl or can't fix problems without losing files?

A computer is nothing without the personal stuff on the HD. That being said, they should at least warn the owner.

Either way, they suck and are not true geeks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

when you bring your computer in there is a sheet that says, Hey btw, you will loose all your files, check what folders you want us to backup. Obviously you failed to fill out that sheet

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What kind of geeksquad is it if they can't backup files of other ppl or can't fix problems without losing files?

A computer is nothing without the personal stuff on the HD. That being said, they should at least warn the owner.

Either way, they suck and are not true geeks.

That last line hits it on the head of the nail and seals the GEEKsquad coffin for good. :yes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whether it was right or wrong for them to format the drive is debatable. To me the moral of the

story is FIX IT YOURSELF, and dont trust others to fix it. If you dont know how, well LEARN. This

way if it gets mesed up then at least you didn't pay some some to mess it up, you did it by yourself

for free.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

either way...all sucks...glad i can fix my own stuff..even if she had a warranty

If you are to damn dumb to back up your important files then you deserve to lose them. Oh yes, you can all whine about "But,but,but the cdrom was bad". Use a USB drive, I have a 3 of them, a 512mb, 1gb, and a 4gb. Easy to use and I always backup my data. Bottom line..YOU SIGNED THE AGREEMENT... to bad for you.

Some of you complain about BestBuy and Geeksquad, other say great things. Here is a true fact. There is good and bad about every business everywhere. Deal with it.. :angry:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

best buy is the devil. I one time tried to get them to match a price of a computer from compusa. I did it because they say they will beat the price. I took the display price tag off the shelf at compusa and brought it to bestbuy. They told me they would not match or give me a better price. I then pointed to their wall with a guarantee. The guy, manager, district manager and 6 other employees crowded around me telling me they will not honor there own policy and that i should leave immediatly. I then made a big scene saying they were a bunch of crooks and they can't honor a policy so they will throw me out of there store. I got all their names and called best buy corporate. The lady told me on the phone, asking me why I called. She said that they stand behind the store and hung up on me.

Ever since then. I purposely buy items from best buy with their warranty. I spend the 50-80 bucks and every year i break the device. For the cost of one device, they give me 3. They should burn in hell. If you think i suck, they suck more.

Btw.. anyone who buys a computer from a bestbuy or a compusa and buys a warranty is a schmuck in my book. 100% of the time you should get an extended warranty from the manufacturer or you should buy it from costco, sam;s club. They will take back any item, no matter how old it is and give you a full refund. I had a buddy return a 2 year old hdtv, he returned it in the box, they gave him his full money back. No questions asked.

last but not least, go to tigerdirect and buy a replacement dvd+-r burner for the laptop. THey are like 50 bucks now

I HATE YOU BEST BUY!!!! I HATE YOU MORE THEN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD!!!! NEXT TO AOL

If you are to damn dumb to back up your important files then you deserve to lose them. Oh yes, you can all whine about "But,but,but the cdrom was bad". Use a USB drive, I have a 3 of them, a 512mb, 1gb, and a 4gb. Easy to use and I always backup my data. Bottom line..YOU SIGNED THE AGREEMENT... to bad for you.

Some of you complain about BestBuy and Geeksquad, other say great things. Here is a true fact. There is good and bad about every business everywhere. Deal with it.. :angry:

Bull**** sir!

Geek Squad and Best buy do not service the customer the way a customer should be serviced. I am an I.T. person, and i know for a fact, the first thing they do is a factory re-install to see if it was software that caused the cd-rom to break. They do not care about the 1000's of photos and data people have. They are in the business to take as many customers as possible without a care. They are very secretive about their policies and choose on each basis weither they apply or not. I give compusa a little more credit then best buy.

Seriously though, The people like me, who are I.T. professionals, who know how to diagnose and fix these issues are too valuable to be working at a compusa or geeksquad. We can make much more money at a real corporate or consultant job. Which makes me wonder, how people can trust geek squad and compusa to fix their pc's.

For all you know, it is high school kids (which it is) stealing your music, video's and porn and then formatting it back to factory default. Or even worse, stealing hardware out of your machine.

There will be a very big incident soon, that will turn the consumer away from these shady retailers who appear to be knowledgable. Its only a matter time before they turn off everyone. And if you don't believe me, just go and stand by one of their lines in the store. People are furious!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

you actually ruined any chance with Best Buy....you were to just pick up the laptop..not be the one to turn it on...now Best Buy will just say...you're the one that messed it up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Best Buy will just say...you're the one that messed it up.

They would say that anyway. Thats the way most businesses do thing to avoid any responsibility.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whats the first rule of computing? Always create backups :)

I like my company who manages my laptop they phone me before nuking my hd if needed :)

And rule 2 is to never ever use Geek Squad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Because its bloody covered by the warranty and usually when you start swapping parts and fixing it yourself then you void the warranty........

Computers were designed to be modular and upgradable. You're saying that if you took the one screw off covering the panel on the back that hides the RAM, and put a new stick in, you'd void the warranty? Because putting a new CDRom drive into a laptop is easier than putting one into a desktop (Less screws, no cables)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well it is binding because Geek Squad sent it to a 3rd party on behalf of them, the customer didn't give it to them directly - so it was Geek Squad's responsibility to ensure that the customer's instructions were properly followed.

Yes, if they had a prior agreement that no data would be wiped then it is their fault. If they sent the PC to a 3rd party it's still their responsability to uphold that end of the bargain. I'd be seeking compensation.

you can argue she should have backed up all you like, the fact of the matter was an agreement was made that no data would be wiped. Bestbuy or geek squad are responsible for any actions that any 3rd party they contract to do the work are responsable for. It is their job to tell their contractors what needs doing and inform them of any arrangements such as not deleting data.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Computers were designed to be modular and upgradable. You're saying that if you took the one screw off covering the panel on the back that hides the RAM, and put a new stick in, you'd void the warranty? Because putting a new CDRom drive into a laptop is easier than putting one into a desktop (Less screws, no cables)

Yes if you read the terms and conditions, once you open something you void the warranty which includes unscrewing the cdrom. She shouldnt have to pay for a new cdrom and do it herself, the laptop is covered by warranty that she paid extra for, which entitles her to a new cdrom drive that shouldnt have to pay for.

Its not that hard to understand is it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.