Determining amount of use a laptop has had (in hours)

[tankman1989]

I have a client who is questioning whether the laptop he bought is brand new (as claimed) or not? I know how to do the HD as it often has total powered on hours, total hours on, etc. Now what if this guy just replaced the HD, that would be simple.

Is there a counter somewhere in the BIOS? What if the BIOS had been reset?

Now as for the OS (don't know what it is) this would be reset with a fresh install with a new HD but if it isn't a new HD and it is the original OS, is there a way to find out how old the system is and or how much the system has been used (total uptime?). I just checked system logs and found that my fresh install from Jan or feb of this year is showing 10-12 entries (under System Log) from 7/14/2009. IDK what the 2009 stuff is all about but I sure as heII know the OS was installed in 2011.

I really appreciate any help here!

 

[BryanLee]

from a command line type "systeminfo"

That will give you the install date of the OS but if it had been wiped and reinstalled it wont be of much use.

 

[citizensmith]

Is this new vs ex-demo shop floor? perhaps you could check how far the restore point can go back. I was going to sugest disk smart values but you already have coverd that. ditto systeminfo. OS time travel is realtivly easy if you change the bios time before instaling.

 

[erb]

If the hard drive was replaced and Windows was reinstalled I do not know how you could tell how much use it had internally. Why would this person be questioning if the laptop is new or used?

 

[TopLevelComp]

If the hard drive was replaced and Windows was reinstalled I do not know how you could tell how much use it had internally. Why would this person be questioning if the laptop is new or used?

This is my question. If it was a private sell, it was "Sold As Is" more than likely.

Take a look at the components inside, and take a educated guess from there.

 

[numnutz]

is this a manufactered pc / laptop or a custom build? does it have a model number, serial number ect? contact the Manufacturer?

If someone is claiming that it was bought x months ago or years ago but sat in a box and never used thats something else. its always buyer beware, I also guess it can be debated if its better to buy a laptop with some milage on it or something that has been sitting around collecting dust and moisture (literally)...mechanical / electrical devices need to be used and not just sit around for long periods of time. hopefully regardless your client paid something he is happy with..

 

[gikstar]

There doesn't seem to be a really good way to determine the usage of a laptop under all circumstances. I can usually tell by the condition of the dust on the keyboard, the condition of the keys and palm rest, the then the amount of dust if any you get when blow air through the exhaust fan opening.

 

[vdub12]

The only way I know of is pulling the smart data from the drive. Like you said it will show power on cycles and run times.

Other then that its got to be an educated guess. Keep in mind that the battery on a notebook even not used will die even from siting on the shelf. Modern batteries die from time regardless of charging cycles.