Best Buy/ Geek Squad Destroyed a $2,500.00 Dell laptop Spring Hill, Florida

I am a tech who has been servicing the mountain communities of Fresno county for many years. The first thing I do is back up my clients data before repairing their operating system. It is a simple, quick and easy process that any person calling themselves a tech should have easily mastered. I don't get all the posts on Geek Squad about lost data, it just doesn't make since unless the hard drive has total failure. I have even stuck failed hard drives in the freezer (in a sealed pouch) for a couple hours and managed to retreive data. Come on guys you can do better!

It thinks that every person who reads reports on this website is stupid. Hope it will say something smarter, so other people can get something out of its posts.

  Team Rebutt needs to be backup against wall and shot

A degree is not required to be a tech or programmer, but capability and potential are. Though, I don't understand why do people always associate computer science with programmer? The degree has little to do with becoming a programmer. The only relationship I see is that those who are in the program will learn and develop algorithm to solve a computer problem. Computer languages are only tools to demonstrate the understanding and solution to a computer problem. That's the only reason why there are many computer science degree people work as programmers.

Speaking of restoring lost files, you would be able to use a software to successfully recover files if any sector of the previous file data in the hard disk has not been overwritten. If any at all is overwritten, the file may be recovered but would not be the same again (or corrupted and cannot be used).

Back to the OP problem, I am not sure about the policy or term of services (TOS) you agreed when you took your daughter computer in. Did they give you any thing to sign at all? Or did they have any paper stating their TOS (or even point out to their website)? The problem with this, even without the TOS, is that there is no written evidence. Verbal agreement is difficult to prove and in your case it is against you. Backing up data is generally the owner responsibility. Telling someone who works on your data before wiping out the whole storage may or may not be valid, and in this case it will depend on the TOS. That's why it is likely against you.

I believe Brian was talking backing up her data.  Not the restore discs.

Also, not all programmers and designers are college graduates, and many techs are.  And, yes, I am a programmer who did not go to any college.  I bought the books and programs and taught myself.  I did, however, go to a trade school to be a pc tech.

To the OP:  I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this, but there are free programs online that would allow you to recover the lost files.  I am not going to recommend any specific one as I personally have never had much luck with them.

Computers haven't come with back up disks for the last 5 or 6 years.  There are procedures in the set up instructions for making recovery disks.  If the OP or his daughter didn't do this, then they will have to buy them from Dell.

For the OP, did you pay Best Buy to do the back up?  They won't do it for free.  If you did, then they should do the recovery for free.  Backing up files is not the tech's responsibility, that is the owner's.  You'll be hard-pressed to find a tech that will do it without charging for it.  I suggest using one of the online back up services.  They are relatively cheap and do it automatically when you are online.  That's what I do and I never have to worry about losing my files.

For the poster who seems to think that college graduates make better techs.  I hate to inform you, but those people are designers and programmers, not techs.  Most techs come out of a trade schools or the military.  I don't know much about the Geek Squad, since I'm a tech and I work on my own computers.  I also do it for a global corporation and make a pretty good living at it.  I also don't have a degree in computer sciences.

 Oh never mind Team Rebutt does not know the answer.

If you work on peoples products you should make up back up Disc to make sure this doesn't happen and if it does then you should pay the price to get it back! or Better still GET OUT of the Business"
- Incorrect.  It is quite common when you take your computer in for repair with any business that they do not back up your data(for free).  So when you took the laptop in, you signed a service order/receipt/invoice(what ever they call it) that said they are not responsible for any lost data.  Your only case against them would be is if you paid them for their data backup service and they failed by their fault.  In that case you would be 100% right to go after them.

But it is very interesting as to why you took it in.  You said you wanted them to put their Virus Protection on it and "clean it up".    That sure sounds like her computer was already infected with a virus and may have been beyond recovery.  I would bet that the details of this would explain quite a bit of how her computer was "destroyed".

Of course the real question is if your daughter was so concerned about loosing her pictures and personal data how come she didn't do any backups in the last 3 years?

You will need to resort to the backup set that came with the computer and the data backup that your daughter has been maintaining for the past three years.

Did they charge you the money for the services? You were defrauded. Did the receipt show which tech performed which service? You have to remember who they hire for the Bleak Squad. They hire wannebes, pure and simple. College degrees? Not a chance. For-profit 'degrees'? Quite possibly, since no one else will hire them.

Time for small claims court. The manager and tech will need to appear to plead their case. If either fails to show (very likely), you will win. You could get a new laptop out of this. I recommend you use Craigslist and try to get other dissatisfied Best Buy customers/employees to testify on yout behalf. Should be a slam dunk.