Hard Drive Crashed while Working on Bench

[mlathern]

So I work for myself as a tech consultant yadda yadda. And I need advice on how to handle this situation.

A client gave me a laptop on Wednesday saying that it's 3 yrs old, is running slow, and needs it back on Friday for payroll through the installed Quickbooks. I mention that it could be hardware related due to several clients previously complaining the same thing with 256MB memory trying to run XP and Office.

Began work on Thursday...
Opened the laptop, noticed it was hibernating/suspended and couldn't get it to come out through hitting keys, or tapping power button. So I held power button down, etc.
~Cleaned up the startup (several programs were booting up multiple times; Itunes, adobe reader, google desktop wanted to start up also)
~Noted that McAfee was complaining of errors that couldn't be auto-fixed and wanted a reinstall. Researched and noted it could be a result of old file version and corrupted thanks to hibernation mode. Updated definitions and everything was green after a reboot.
~Noted that there were issues with Windows Update and SP3 couldn't complete due to corruption. Researched and removed Downloaded Installation Files, etc. and tried again. Still was having issues downloading and getting WU to run properly so I opted for Chkdsk /r /f.
<ominous music here>
~Rebooted and knowing it will take a while; amused myself elsewhere to check on progress occasionally and noted bad sectors being cleaned and all the other usual jargon. Continued amusing self with internets only to realize that it was stuck at Verifying Free Space: 55% after about 30 minutes. I gave it another 30 minutes, then force-restarted it using power button. Yay, now it's stuck in running Chkdsk at bootup and freezes at the same point each time.
~Attempted to boot into safe Mode unsuccessfully. At this point, I know it's not good and opt to leave it alone so I can image it for backup the next day (today)
~Today I plug it into my computer and run Chkdsk one last time. "An unspecified error occurred." Okay, time to backup then.... except Acronis throws a hissy fit and locks up at 50%. It doesn't want to cancel normally after 15 minutes so I reluctantly end task.
~Oh joy... I can no longer read or even see the hard drive; externally nor internally on the client's laptop in BIOS...


So... I've purchased a replacement hard drive and am currently getting that setup to replace the old one and don't plan to charge the client since I'm not able to resolve the original problem in an efficient manner.

TL;DR - How do I go about explaining a crashed hard drive that just so happened to occur when it's on my bench and fail to recover any of the data that was on it? Judging from the encounter when I was first talking to them about possible causes, they have beginner's level of software and no knowledge of hardware. I doubt they will give a glowing recommendation about me but how do I go about softening the blow as much as possible?

 

[Andyuk2007]

This belongs in the general computer help section

 

[frostbyte5014]

Without actually being involved it is difficult to say what happened to the drive. My guess would be that the chkdsk you ran wiped the drive clean as I have had this happen many time myself. Always make backup your first step.

 

[arrow_runner]

I had something VERY similar happen to me last week. I pretty much explained everything (in person) and gave the customer some options. He was really understanding and grateful for my help.

Hard drives just go bad and that's probably what was happening with his.

 

[mlathern]

My apologies. Wasn't sure if it was computer help (since I'm fixing the computer problem) or customer/business help since it's more along the lines of how to handle the issue with the customer.

 

[ChrisQC]

Chances are the computer running slow was a result of the hard drive playing up in the first place. While reading files, loading programs, etc it was probably hitting bad sectors in the drive which slowed down the loading process, hence making the computer slow. When you ran checkdisk you probably pushed the drive over the edge with the extra stress of continous access. I wouldn't say that was your fault, I would say the drive was nearly completely dead before it entered your hands.

You should be able to explain to the customer that the reason the computer was going slow was a faulty hard drive which finally packed in whilst in your care and you have replaced it with a new one ad charged accordingly.

 

[nonchalant]

Personally I'd just tell the customer what happened. You detected bad sectors on the drive (which means the HDD is likely on its way out), and during the repair of the sectors the drive physically died (you could add that the slowness he was experiencing was likely due to problem reading the drive, which is typical of bad sectors).

I'd be charging the customer for a format, a new HDD, AND possibly time spent on repairing the old HDD - minimum.

Its like you take your car in to a mechanic with a noisy gearbox. He calls you later to say during a test drive the gearbox packed up completely. Does the mechanic buy you a new gearbox free of charge and just charge you for fitting??

Not sure how long you have been in business, but you need to learn how to be tough with customers, and not so easily take the blame for something that goes wrong with their PC's while in your workshop.

edit: As for losing his data - its unfortunate. Maybe while the PC was running good he could have taken some backups? If not, its not your fault his data is lost. You did what you could. Your a PC tech - not a magician.

 

[mlathern]

Thanks

Pretty much did as y'all said; explained that the hard drive crashed, the symptom of it running slow was a probable result of the hard drive going bad, etc.

I inquired about the state of their backups and the most recent was a few weeks ago so wasn't a complete loss. I mentioned a few backup solutions that would be easier to have done automatically in case of future incidents.

Probably will start adding a work order to the mix laying out the terms for them to agree to before I touch their machine.


Thanks for all the advice. ˆ-ˆ

 

[DanF]

I'm glad you sorted it out mate. Stuff like this happens everyday.

 

[tartis]

Probably will start adding a work order to the mix laying out the terms for them to agree to before I touch their machine.

Good idea. Always have them sign a release of liabilaty form. It's not your fault that his data was not backed up!

 

[CPCR]

Not sure how long you have been in business, but you need to learn how to be tough with customers, and not so easily take the blame for something that goes wrong with their PC's while in your workshop.

That's good advice, I have just had a mobo fail on me in shop although it was probably on it's way out I always feel that pang of guilt and responsibility. I have been guilty of taking on the costs of replacement but not any more.

 

[reesk92]

good job they a backup of quick books because if they didn't then that's payroll fucked up for that week many people would be ******.

also backup would have been the smart thing to do. ive heard of techs here that have nas servers set up specifically for the purpose of backing up client data and as soon as they get a laptop they image the hdd and put it on the nas server before they even look at the laptop.

but alas it wasnt directly your fault you will learn by your mistake and im gladit turned out ok for you