Re: No reinstall disk/files for refurb pc

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

"tmd0309" wrote
"Rock" wrote:

"tmd0309" wrote
> "Rock" wrote:
>
> > Thanks for the follow up, so how are you going to handle it?
>
> <snip>his last email came back in all caps: he's told me over and over > that he
> can't give me a disk he doesn't have, so if I'll just bring the laptop
> back, he'll refund my money.
>
> <...I told him...>I'll consider returning it for a refund.
>
> My dilemmas are two: sunk time and security, I've had the thing for > over
> a
> week and have tweaked it quite a bit. I just hate to lose the work. > AND
> I'm
> concerned about removing all my 'stuff' well enough that he couldn't
> recover
> any of it, if he should decide to be malicious. *I* won't be malicious
> enough to reformat the hard-drive, but I don't know if I can wipe my > stuff
> off completely without doing that.
>

Very interesting. You certainly have got his attention, but his vague reply
about reinstalling the OS, who knows what you'd get. Do you want to be in
business with this guy? What happens, for example, if there is a hardware
failure in the near future, will he stonewall you on a fix? You might be
better off returning the system.

If I had decided to keep it, I'd have just written him off, and gone
elsewhere (I wish there were more choices, locally, for personalized sales &
service -- this is the second family-run shop I've had to give up on) for any
kind of assistance in the future. BUT yes, I've decided to return it.


There are free wipe utilities you can use to wipe the files you delete, to
make it very difficult for him to recovery any personal data. Wiping the
entire drive is not a big issue, as I see it, since he can simply reinstall
from whatever he used in the first place, however, if you do that it won't
be in the same condition you received it so he could gripe on it, and you
don't want him to have any way to come back at you.

That's what I'm thinking. If I wiped the whole thing, he could bitch. So
I'll wipe my files with some kind of utility and take it back.


I would wipe the personal files, and return the system. Maybe the MS folks
can take a bite out of him, or maybe they won't, that's not really your
issue. But I would disengage from doing business with him.

Absolutely. Unless he somehow screws me with the refund, I don't plan to
ever have anything more to do with him. In his email today, scheduling my
return, he seemed quite a bit calmer. Caps-lock turned off.

Sooooo -- totally offtopic -- now to find me another good deal on a refurb,
from someplace with a good rep. Eagle-Computer, www.saveateagle.com looks
interesting. CNET's laptop searches bring their deals up with a very high
user-rating for the store. Their best deals appear to be on this Averatec
brand. Anyone know anything about the store or the brand?

Sorry I don't. Have you looked at Dell or Gateway? I believe both sell refurbished computers. Some are returns that are essentially unused, with good prices.

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

.

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