• Chronographs@lemmy.zip
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    11 months ago

    Tbf, most of the people who are going to best buy to have their device serviced aren’t going to know how to back up and wipe it

      • Chronographs@lemmy.zip
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        11 months ago

        I had one of those come in once when I was working IT. Iirc the hdds may have been raided so I’m not sure if you could easily recover the data unless it was like a raid 1. That said if you just want the hdds yeah they were just normal shit in an overdesigned enclosure.

    • Izzy@lemmy.ml
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      11 months ago

      Also the device is in a condition that makes this difficult like not turning on or the screen being broken.

      • Chronographs@lemmy.zip
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        11 months ago

        You wrap a fridge magnet in a soft cloth (so it doesn’t scratch anything) and then give it a good scrubbing duh. Make sure you get between all the keys (the data can get stuck in there)

      • Uriel238 [all pronouns]@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        11 months ago

        I’d extract the hard drive from the computer chassis and plug it into a working system using a drive repair hookup (an external drive array without the enclosure). I’d borrow a friend’s if it was possible.

        The problem is the hard drive is commonly the thing that bricks, in which case your SOL. This is where you (and businesses with business secrets) are lucky to know a data-recovery expert that doesn’t squeal to the coppers. Few do.

          • Uriel238 [all pronouns]@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            11 months ago

            And I applaud your privacy ethic.

            Yes, the average user is neither aware of the process of drive recovery / data erasure, nor aware of exposure risks that come with taking your system to Geek Squad.

            I suspect most of them are not engaged in anything that might excite the FBI (so are only guilty of the typical CFAA violations that are not enforced except when an official wants to silence a given journalist).

            Though to be fair there are a lot of ignorant criminals.

    • Rodeo
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      11 months ago

      Time for them to learn.