External hard drive fiasco

MissSunChime

Hi,

I recently bought an external hard drive as a backup and portable storage device for work/home. It worked perfectly well when it arrived and I had no problems with it.

I was careful with it, not letting it drop and kept it a insulated cover to save it from knocks or bumps. I also made sure to 'remove it safely' everytime I disconnecting it from laptop.

However, 5 months after purchasing it, I connected it up and the computer would not recognise it and it also made a faint humming sound that sounded like trouble.

I was obviously very anxious as it contained all of the data that I had collected from work for the past 5 months and all the stuff from my home computer. So I delayed no time in contacting the manufacturer explaning my situation and pleading for a solution.

But the manufacturer didn't reply.

I explored the paperwork that came with the device and was glad to discover it had come with a 2 year warranty. However, the warranty stated that the manufacturer weren't liable for data loss and if the device were to be sent back for repair/refund then data would not be a priority.

As they hadn't replied to me I decided to send it to an external computer shop to chance data recovery and/or repair. However, they too failed to do anything about it.

I've looked at the manufacturer's TCs again which state external repair will void the warranty. Does this leave me out of pocket? I understand the logic behind the TCs but I don't believe that left me much choice since they don't take data into consideration although that is the main purpose of the drive!

-What rights do I have??:(

timbstoke

Hard drive warranties never cover data. Raise a warranty request, they'll swap it out for a new drive, and then you can restore your data from your most recent backup back onto it.

Fire_Fox

Your contract is with the seller, you should have contacted them not the manufacturer. Under the Sale of Goods Act within the first six months usually the onus is on them to prove a fault is not inherent and they can repair replace or refund.

However I suspect if you have had the hard drive opened by a computer shop they will argue that is to blame and that you have voided the warranty. You might pay the computer shop for a professional report that shows the fault was inherent, so it looks like that was the purpose of tampering with the hard drive but that depends on what was done to try to recover/ repair the gadget.

Presumably you have not lost data since the hard drive was just your back up? Are you covered for specialist data recovery on your home contents or workplace insurance?

MissSunChime

Nope, I have incurred data loss since the original data was on my work laptop which broke down and then the hard drive did the same a few days later.

I know I shouldn't have taken it to the shop but the data was a priority for me and I hoped to recover it even if that meant not being able to use the drive. However, I feel I've lost out on both sides now.

Fire_Fox

MissSunChime wrote: »

Nope, I have incurred data loss since the original data was on my work laptop which broke down and then the hard drive did the same a few days later.

I know I shouldn't have taken it to the shop but the data was a priority for me and I hoped to recover it even if that meant not being able to use the drive. However, I feel I've lost out on both sides now.

Are you covered for specialist data recovery on your home contents or workplace insurance?

MissSunChime

Nope not at home and not at work either. I suppose I have to live with the fact that the data can't be recovered but I'm hoping to at least salvage the hard drive.

closed

If the repairer didn't open it, then you could still use the warranty or contact the retailer for a replacement.

Your data is probably recoverable from a professional recovery service, but they don't come cheap

timbstoke

Even if they did open it, you might as well go through the warranty process. There's a good chance they'll just send you a new one without even looking for a relatively high-failure item like a hard drive.

Also, don't keep sensitive electronics in an "insulated cover." They like airflow.

Fire_Fox

MissSunChime wrote: »

Nope not at home and not at work either. I suppose I have to live with the fact that the data can't be recovered but I'm hoping to at least salvage the hard drive.

You might pay the computer shop for a professional report that shows the fault was inherent, so it looks like that was the purpose of tampering with the hard drive but that depends on what was done to try to recover/ repair the gadget.

agrinnall

Did you buy the drive direct from the manufacturer? If not then you really should have contacted the seller first, as your SOGA rights are entirely with them. They may then have suggested dealing directly with the manufacturer, who may well have just sent you a replacement (LaCie did for me), but by going elsewhere you may have shot yourself in the foot.

Data recovery, if it's possible, is often a very expensive business that may require the use of a clean room. It's too late now, but the lesson to learn is never to have any data in just one place - if you use the drive as a backup that's OK as the data will still be in it's original location, but if you are using it as a data store then you also need to make a copy of that data on another drive.

keyser666

look into replicating your data via the cloud in future, there are sites out there with personal allowances