Lots of data lost.

[Crashoran]

Well I have an HP laptop that had a defective screen hinge, and it was under special warranty for a free replacement, so I sent it in to get fixed. This was about 2 years after I purchased it. I received it back today and they re-formatted my hard drive. I am furious. There is absolutely no reason to re-image my damn hard drive if you are simply replacing my damn hinge.

Why would they even do this?

In the information they sent me, it says "A system restore is performed by HP repair only when necessary to correct the reported problem."

I only reported a hinge replacement that goes under the plastic screen covering.

[tc95]

Nick,

You might try one of those HD restore programs...you buy off line...most likely they not only wiped the HD the probably replaced it....so you probably do not have the old information on it....a lot of times they will go ahead and give you a refurbished unit...for yours.....check the serial number of the one you recieved agaist the one you sent out...this will tell you if they replaced the unit....

Good luck..

[SCone]

Sorry I didn't get to you first..... NEVER send a laptop (or desktop) in for repair with data on the drive. Always be ready for them to wipe the drive or even replace it.

Do not use it for anything. Everytime you boot up, it stores more info on the drive and IF there is anything still there, you are destroying any chance of recovery.

Download a trial copy (you'll need to buy it to finish, but the trial will let you see what is there) from ACRONIS.COM to another computer. Pull the drive out of the laptop & put it in an external USB case (they're cheap) and run Acronis. See what is on the drive BEFORE you do anything else.

With a lot of luck (buy a lottery ticket if this works) the data will still be there and you can recover whatever is there.

[kenw]

actually, they may have sent you an entire new (refurbed) unit. This was SOP when I was in the business. It is faster to send you a completely refurbed unit that has been tested and verified. They will use the parts from yours to build another "new" refurbed unit.

And yes, this is perfectly legal if done under warranty (ie, at their cost).

[Crashoran]

It's the same unit. Same areas of scratches and marks.

[Crashoran]

Well I managed to recover most of my files. They were never actually deleted, the hard drive was just re-imaged so the original data under my old username was locked out and hidden.

The only problem is that all of the registration files for every one of my programs has been lost. Microsoft office, photoshop, illustrator, etc... None of them work

[darktiger]

Sorry to hear about your data, but you should of known better.

[tc95]

If you have the original boxes with key-codes you should be able to re-enter them....if not you will have to bite the bullet and purchase them....

Good luck..

[Crashoran]

Not really, a little common sense says repairing a hinge doesnt require anything with re-imaging a hard drive.


tc95:
Most of the software I need was pre-installed onto the system, so no registration keys. Photoshop CS2 - laying around in my hometown. Will have to wait to get it and re-install it.

[JPalmer]

Surely you have backups of your stuff though Nick... DVDs, external hard drives and the like.

If not... I'd get started on doing that yesterday

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by darktiger

Sorry to hear about your data, but you should of known better.

Talk about pouring salt into the wound.

Nick, glad to hear you found your data. I've been through one instance of losing stuff, but thank goodness I had a backup drive with everything on it. All I had to do was reinstall my programs. The positive side of it was that I started with a clean slate, which was probably needed anyway. Lemon into lemonade, so to speak.

[CaptainTom]

Originally Posted by darktiger

Sorry to hear about your data, but you should of known better.

Down right rude in my opinion. Why be this way ?

[z-monster]

Originally Posted by Crashoran

Photoshop CS2 - laying around in my hometown. Will have to wait to get it and re-install it.

Did you register CS2 with Adobe? Registered users are given several ways to recover keycodes of products legally owned. However, you must have the actual software handy in order to make good use.

It doesn't have to be your own though. The keycode is not binded to the software on a particular CD like a lot of the games we play. Therefor it is very possible to load the software from a borrowed CD but using your legally purchased keycode to install the software.

http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/view...5290&sliceId=1

Above is the link to information on recovering Adobe software for future reference. Above all else, register your products!