Apple formats hard drive for cosmetic issue

[marano]

So I sent my Apple Macbook in for service for the well know discoloration problem and the "Geniuses" formated my hard drive! I immediately called them to complain but it seems for some unknown reason they only take complaints in the morning. So called back the following day and I issued the complaint. Surprisingly they actually had a reason as to why my hard drive was formated (it wasn't a good reason but a reason none the less). Basically they said that it was formated because I had a password on it and they could not get into the machine to test, which I told them that the login prompt alone was test enough and then asked why they didn't call for my password before they formatted and they said the person who took the original call should have asked me for that information which I immediately told them I was never asked for that information and that I would have happily given it to them if it avoided formating my hard drive so the representative looked at the audit log for the original call and saw that the tech never asked me for my login information among other things (which was a big mistake on there part) and then I asked again since they saw that the information was missing and that there was a password on the computer why didn't they call me before formating my hard drive (they did after all have all of my contact information), the representative had no answer to this. So I went on to explain how formating people's hard drives for no reason was a bad policy especially when their computer was sent in for a cosmetic reason. Anyway the complaint has been logged and now I may or may not get a call back from Apple. So far no call in five days which is why I figured I would post this, I guess if they don't call I'm pretty much SOL. So a little word of warning to anyone sending a computer to Apple for repair don't put a password on it and backup your files even if it is only a cosmetic issue.

 

[Zadillo]

That is good policy no matter what, you should always back up your files before sending it off to be repaired no matter what the issue (what if the MacBook was lost or damaged in transit or something else, for example?).

It does sound like it was unnecessary for them to reformat your drive in this case, but yeah, as a general lesson, you should always backup your drive before sending your laptop out.

This goes for any company, really, no matter what their policies are. You can't always account for all circumstances.

 

[marano]

That is good policy no matter what, you should always back up your files before sending it off to be repaired no matter what the issue (what if the MacBook was lost or damaged in transit or something else, for example?).

It does sound like it was unnecessary for them to reformat your drive in this case, but yeah, as a general lesson, you should always backup your drive before sending your laptop out.

This goes for any company, really, no matter what their policies are. You can't always account for all circumstances.

I agree that it is good policy to backup but it is the principle of the whole thing. The Macbook was sent in for a cosmetic issue the hard drive should have never been formated, the tech never took down the proper information, I never received any kind of call asking for my password or if it was ok to format my hard drive, and it seems that there is some kind of policy in place to just format someone's hard drive if there is a password on it which is just wrong. I work in the I.T. field and way to often I see companies unnecessarily format people's hard drives for no good reason and think that companies should have a little more respect for people's data.

 

[Bill Gates]

Sure, formatting was completely unnecessary, but what do you expect Apple to do at this point? The damage has been done. Always back up your computer when sending it in for service! I can't emphasize this enough!

 

[72930]

I did not back up. My macbook had a problem starting up (i.e. it wouldn't). They formatted my hard drive but told me that this was not the problem.

BTW..they look through your pr0n collection

 

[Zadillo]

I agree that it is good policy to backup but it is the principle of the whole thing. The Macbook was sent in for a cosmetic issue the hard drive should have never been formated, the tech never took down the proper information, I never received any kind of call asking for my password or if it was ok to format my hard drive, and it seems that there is some kind of policy in place to just format someone's hard drive if there is a password on it which is just wrong. I work in the I.T. field and way to often I see companies unnecessarily format people's hard drives for no good reason and think that companies should have a little more respect for people's data.

I'm not so sure it's an official policy to reformat drives for no reason. I've heard of plenty of people who have sent their MacBooks to Apple for cosmetic and more serious problems without the drives being reformatted; so it sounds like this is more of an isolated incident to me than something Apple has a policy to do for every computer that gets sent to them.

 

[Bill Gates]

I'm not so sure it's an official policy to reformat drives for no reason. I've heard of plenty of people who have sent their MacBooks to Apple for cosmetic and more serious problems without the drives being reformatted; so it sounds like this is more of an isolated incident to me than something Apple has a policy to do for every computer that gets sent to them.

Of course it's not official policy. I think it's more down the line of formatting = the ultimate solution to many problems on the machine, so this way they can ensure that the computer is sent back in "like-new" condition. This is, of course, purely speculation, and doesn't answer why they would format for cosmetic reasons.

 

[marano]

Sure, formatting was completely unnecessary, but what do you expect Apple to do at this point? The damage has been done. Always back up your computer when sending it in for service! I can't emphasize this enough!

Well I would like to see Apple change their policy to avoid unnecessary drive formats. If they required the "Do you have a password" question before the tech could complete the call this would have been avoided, if they called and asked me for my password this would have been avoided, if they didn't have some kind of policy in place to just format a hard drive if it has a password this would have been avoided.

 

[marano]

BTW..they look through your pr0n collection

Lol, you know I was thinking in my head that this was all some kind of conspiracy

 

[Bill Gates]

Well I would like to see Apple change their policy to avoid unnecessary drive formats. If they required the "Do you have a password" question before the tech could complete the call this would have been avoided, if they called and asked me for my password this would have been avoided, if they didn't have some kind of policy in place to just format a hard drive if it has a password this would have been avoided.

Of course. I think it was very stupid of the technician to to format your drive. On the same token, it was a bad move on your part to not backup your data. Especially since it only involves copying your user folder to an external drive. Don't expect much more than an apology, since that's about the best they can do in this situation.

 

[marano]

I'm not so sure it's an official policy to reformat drives for no reason. I've heard of plenty of people who have sent their MacBooks to Apple for cosmetic and more serious problems without the drives being reformatted; so it sounds like this is more of an isolated incident to me than something Apple has a policy to do for every computer that gets sent to them.

The problem was that I had a password on my laptop and the tech did not take down that information like he was suppose to

 

[marano]

Of course. I think it was very stupid of the technician to to format your drive. On the same token, it was a bad move on your part to not backup your data. Especially since it only involves copying your user folder to an external drive. Don't expect much more than an apology, since that's about the best they can do in this situation.

Like I said it is the principle of the whole thing. I can honestly care less about the data, I'm more worried about the next person this happens to because Apple does not have proper procedures in place to avoid something like this

 

[Bill Gates]

Like I said it is the principle of the whole thing. I can honestly care less about the data, I'm more worried about the next person this happens to because Apple does not have proper procedures in place to avoid something like this

Well if it's on principle then I'd advise you to do two things. First of all, find out the name of the technician who helped you over the phone. Second of all, call Apple customer relations and tell them both the name of the technician and your concern for other people's data in general.

 

[bcavanau]

The problem was that I had a password on my laptop and the tech did not take down that information like he was suppose to

I would never give out a password...remove it, change it to something stupid like "password", but never give it out. You probably use that same password other places, or would like to continue to use it. It would be compromised at that point, and useless...

Removing it would have been your best option...

 

[marano]

Well if it's on principle then I'd advise you to do two things. First of all, find out the name of the technician who helped you over the phone. Second of all, call Apple customer relations and tell them both the name of the technician and your concern for other people's data in general.

Already did

 

[marano]

I would never give out a password...remove it, change it to something stupid like "password", but never give it out. You probably use that same password other places, or would like to continue to use it. It would be compromised at that point, and useless...

Removing it would have been your best option...

It was a unique password just for the notebook, I would have changed it to something else when I received the notebook back.

 

[3nm]

i agree that they shouldn't have formatted your hdd, but just a few things:

i.) iirc the work order does ask you to back up your data before sending in for repair. at least that's how they do it at the apple stores that i've been to, and i've been to too many.

ii.) apple uses contractors for repairs (still no excuse for apple, of course). i can attest that these contractors are most likely to make boo boo. one example is they swapped out my 2gb ram w/ 512mb for my MB RSD repair. when they try to fix the RSD again, they simply returned my MB back intact (and that's the only time that my MB was returned from repair without any cosmetic damages).

iii.) join procare - everytime i sent my MB in i would request apple to backup my hdd. of course you are still doomed if the hdd isn't recoverable. but i find procare to be more valuable than applecare, considering how many times i needed to get my MB repaired and the fact that i buy a new laptop every year.

in any case, good luck w/ CR. hopefully they will find a way to compensate the hassle that you didn't have to go thru.