HP Wipes Hard Drive To Fix Broken Keyboard

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What happens when you have a stuck “P” key on you HP laptop? Send it in for warranty work and get a free hard drive wipe while you are at it. Ouch.

Nobody at HP even told me it was a possibility (let alone a "STANDARD POLICY") that hard drives are erased when a computer is sent in for repair — regardless of the nature of the repair. Even ONE key on the keyboard. Even a little scratch apparently requires a full hard-drive erasing. Got my "P" key, but at the cost of my computer's hard drive. Unnecessary. Absurd.
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This doesn't surprise me. The guys doing the work seem to suck at understanding how things work and thus I've seen them restore drives using the factory restore disks to "fix" a variety of problems that aren't software related. They don't seem to be able to tell the difference between the two.

When I had to deal with this crap on a regular basis years ago I always told customers to backup their data before sending the computer in. Even when we did the repairs in house we always told them that restoring the drive might be necessary to resolve the problem if a hardware issue can't be found. So this isn't a new thing at all. It has been this way for years.
 
If I have a stuck P or any key I take the keys off and wash them.

You get what ya pay for when you buy pre-built. And paying more nowadays, is worse then paying less.
 
All i have to say is anyone that keeps the hard drive in a computer that is sent in for repair is a fucking idiot and deserves it.
 
That's strange. My wife sent in her HP laptop due to the sound and power button dying. They warned me to back everything up and then when we got the laptop back everything was still on it. Sure, they fucked up sending the box to ship the thing back (they kept saying that they were shipping boxes but never actually sent that request to the warehouse), but the laptop came back in working condition with no scratches and all the data that was on it.
 
heres the real question...did formatting the hard drive fix the stuck p key?
 
himmy said:
All i have to say is anyone that keeps the hard drive in a computer that is sent in for repair is a fucking idiot and deserves it.
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Yeah, because everybody's going to remove their hard drive... How are they going to test the repair if there's no hard drive with an OS?

Maybe you should modify your statement to make some actual sense.

himmy said:
All i have to say is anyone that doesn't back up the hard drive in a computer that is sent in for repair is a fucking idiot and deserves it.
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If you have an Apple computer this is not a shock.

Send a computer away to them for service is basically a 100% guaranteed HDD reload.

Friend of mine who worked at an authorized apple repair place sent a laptop in for a busted optical drive and they reloaded the OS with no warning. Needless to say they made more money after that warning every customer that had a computer going back to Apple about this and telling them they can backup the HDD just in case.
 
They have monkeys reading out of a book doing these depot repair jobs, and they are so afraid one of the monkeys will screw something up, they have silly "procedures" that require all machines to be wiped to factory state. Keeps quality high across the board.

The tech support person you talk to is supposed to beat you over the head with the fact that you need to back up you machine before sending it in.

When I've sent my laptop in to Asus to be repaired (U3S - Highly Recommended) I always include a note folded in the keyboard vividly describing the problem and pleading for them not to blank my hard drive! They've honored my requests so far!

KC
 
Similar thing happen with me and WinBook. Sent it in for repair of a bad keyboard. Came back with a new keyboard and hard drive wipe. Let's say the customer was not very happy.
 
That's funny because I once had this crazy lady who kept demanding I reinstall her laptop because the keyboard was intermittently producing incorrect characters or not working at all. After the 3rd install and her paranoid clinical psychosis reaching new heights I had to refuse service. She was sure it was a virus sent to monitor her and report back to someone. :eek:
 
If the standard procedure for any repair is to firist wipe the hard drive then the people in charge of the service dept are morons. If a Mfg is not capable of conducting repairs in a competant (spelling?) manner they should not be repairing OR selling computers.

I know I would never buy a computer from them again if they wiped my hard drive over a stuck P key.
 
LOL. I feel for the author, but if I had to sent in my laptop to any manufacturer I would almost expect to receive a completely new unit. I know at any place like that there are people that care and people that don't as well as people that have a fucking brain and people that don't. Looks like he drew the short straw.:p
 
It's absurd, but you don't just hand over your computer without backing up your files, even for a broken keyboard key. Anything could happen to the computer before it's back in your hands.

It's a stupid procedure, and HP should try to rectify the situation, but the owner should've prepared better, especially being a graduate student.
 
The tech setting up the service should have read you a service script stating how to package your machine as well as many other details including the fact that your hard drive would be wiped. You can always retain your hard drive by usually removing 2 screws that hold the panel down and maybe another 2 that hold the drive in. Put a note in the box stating that the customer has kept the hard drive along with a brief description of the problem ( in basic english ) along with the RMA number. When you get your machine back put the drive in and your back in business. A lot of times the service centers throw parts at a machine in hope that it works as well as reimage the hdd to definitely make sure its not a software problem as it keeps their re repair numbers down.
 
I would run Get Data Back on the machine in hopes they did not low level format the drive. If you dont have a copy, will gladly give you my license in hopes of getting data back
 
This is EXACTLY why I asked Asus if I could remove HD when I sent my laptop in for a mobo replacement (yes). I was kinda hoping they'd screw up and give me a free HD but no go :p.
 
GilmourD said:
Yeah, because everybody's going to remove their hard drive... How are they going to test the repair if there's no hard drive with an OS?

Maybe you should modify your statement to make some actual sense.
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Um, you think they do not have hard drives there for each model that they can just pop in and boot up with? that's some funny shit that you think that way.

lets remove the manufacturer maybe formatting your hard drive, pretend that is not even an issue.

You are sending a computer with a hard drive that contains PERSONAL DATA via a carrier you are hoping delivers it to the correct place. yes, you are a fucking idiot for leaving your hard drive in there.
 
Probably they have MEXICANS working under the hood to repair Customers laptops.
 
Yeah, this is why I cringed every time someone brought in a broke HP laptop under warranty. Wiping hard drives is actually part of their policy. Whether or not the bloke repairing it follows the policy is a game of chance, which is why I always removed the hard drive before shipping for warranty.

Most of the times they would throw a fit and it would end up in an argument with HP techs/support telling them you don't need the hard drive to do things like replacing the keyboard. Then again I hated HP support for the fact that they would not ship parts to me to replace under warranty. Which is why I discouraged my customers to buy from HP and instead buy from Dell because I could repair them under warranty without having to ship them off.
 
I've sent my laptop into HP for mobo / HDD / RAM failures a total of three times, and they've never wiped my data.

but the fact that I've had so many hardware problems sucks hard enough
 
And now here's the official obligatory moral of the story: Please remember to back up your data before sending your computer in for any kind of repair.
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duh. strange though. I've sent my laptop to hp for a complete mother board replacement, and they didn't wipe my hard drive.
 
sad thing in the world is that some people can talk like their very intelligent but yet know jack shit. The only time I had to call for tech support is to get the master bios password from a dell laptop where the employee forgot the password. they charge like 40 dollars for it but I guess it is better than trying to short the laptop to erase the cmos.

Lot of people ask me for computer help that knows me because I dont charge them, just get annoyed if it is a dumb problem.
 
We ALWAYS remove the HD when sending a machine to the depot for service.
 
himmy said:
Um, you think they do not have hard drives there for each model that they can just pop in and boot up with? that's some funny shit that you think that way.

lets remove the manufacturer maybe formatting your hard drive, pretend that is not even an issue.

You are sending a computer with a hard drive that contains PERSONAL DATA via a carrier you are hoping delivers it to the correct place. yes, you are a fucking idiot for leaving your hard drive in there.
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OMG SOMEONE MIGHT STEAL PIX OF MY DOG!!!!!

Sending in your laptop without a drive in it will just give them reason to blame the failure on your screwing around with it or create an even bigger headache. That is one of the stupidest suggestions I have ever heard, but it shouldn't be a surprise coming from some douchbag that can't even put create coherent sentences. :rolleyes:

Go back to the phone guy, Friday is a busy day on the helpdesk.
 
Well, most good shops have bench drives for this purpose :)

Besides, in this case what would they do?

cmd
cd c:\windows\system32
checkpkey.exe

?

:) <<<<----smiley alert!

GilmourD said:
Yeah, because everybody's going to remove their hard drive... How are they going to test the repair if there's no hard drive with an OS?

Maybe you should modify your statement to make some actual sense.
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They were really doing the nice thing. They knew if they did this to his computer, every time he tells someone with half a brain about it, they would laugh so hard they would spontaneously generate a little spare "P" for him, any time he needs another!
 
creating a backup is a no-brainer, but going so far as to say not removing HDDs makes someone an idiot is ridiculous. laughing at someone who lost all of their data like this will make you friends, and fast :rolleyes:

man talk about a forum full of socially inept nerds
 
This is how most RMAs are handled:

When you call technical support, you are talking to an outsource company that specializes in support calls (sometimes overseas). Usually they have little or knowledge or training of a product and follow a basic troubleshooting flowchart to help them determine the problem. The technical support operator enters information into a system and authorizes a replacement through the RMA department. The shipping department receives all incoming packages and sends the item to the RMA department. The RMA department processes the return and sends it to a storage/holding area. From there, it sits for days or weeks until it is sent to an available repair technician. At best, the repair technician has access to technical support’s notes (sometimes they are vague “doesn’t work”, “broke”). From there, the technician runs a series of diagnostics to determine the problem. If the diagnosis reports a problem (i.e. bad sectors, faulty RAM, etc.) the defective item is replaced. After the device has passed diagnostics, it returns the to a storage area. From there, the RMA department will process it and sent it out via the shipping department.

As you can see, a simple RMA is handled by many departments/people. Some of which don’t even work for the company. Unless it were a special circumstance, (i.e. out of stock) you’d be lucky to receive the same item back. Most times a refurbished/repaired item will be exchanged as replacement. This helps expedite the RMA process.

For god sakes, if must send in your laptop for repairs, buy a $29.00 flash memory stick and back shit up. If you are unable to back the data, take it to a local computer shop or computer technician and have him back it up. It’s common sense!
 
This is why I usually recommend my customers to take out the harddrive prior to sending it back to a repair depot *IF* I know the issue is not related to the harddrive. Dell has a policy that allows you do just this. Most of the repair depots have an imaged harddrive for every current model anyway, so in most cases they don't need the customer's harddrive.

One of my customer's had an older Dell Inspiron 8600 that had broken screen hinges and the keyboard had some non-functional keys. I called into Dell, and explained he needed the hinges replaced. They shipped out a box to the customer to put the laptop in. In the box was a piece of paper that had info about not including the drive or including the drive with any necessary passwords to logon. Also had a notes section to write a quick summary of what problems needed to be fixed. I forgot to mention to the phone tech that the customer's laptop keyboard also needed replacement. I put that in the notes. Two weeks later the laptop comes back with fixed hinges and a new keyboard installed.
 
I once worked for a company that seemed to have half of the repair techs taking time out of their busy day almost everyday to see who could find the craziest data on someone's PC. I don't think I'd ever send my PC in for repair without backing up the data and erasing the HD myself. Of course I build my own PC's though.

Point: Backing up is the number one unused method for computer maintenance. It should be the most offered advise to the non-tech savy user.
 
himmy said:
All i have to say is anyone that keeps the hard drive in a computer that is sent in for repair is a fucking idiot and deserves it.
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no they really don't because the vendor shouldn't be that stupid. Most people wouldn't even want to think about having to take the machine apart. Yes, I know laptop hard drives are normally very easy to remove but most people would be too afraid to break something.
 
Standard procedure at most repair facilities or stores is to have sign a waver or paperwork stating your computer can come back reformatted regardless of the repair.
 
It's common sense to either backup or remove the hard drive prior to sending in for a repair. what if the laptop gets damaged or dropped during shipping? That could cost you the hard drive (and personal data) right there and is out of anyone's power. You simply can't assume your data will be returned to you in the condition it left.

I honestly don't see what the author/op is complaining about. Right or wrong, it is pretty much SOP across the industry.
 
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