Computer Repair Undercover Investigation

[PsychoDaveFilms]

I call BS on the 30 second fix. Sure to change the bios would take 30 seconds once you know that's the problem but commonly the bios isn't the issue. I agree the issue should of eventually been found and properly fixed but not in 30 seconds.

[babylonastronaut]

@PsychoDaveFilms that's why they said someone who knows what they're doing after diagnostics.

[opisex]

Im not supprised my aunt took her laptop to Bestbuy's "geek" squad.

The told her the hard drive AND motherboard was bad and she needed a new OS..

So ya like 500 bucks in repairs to a 2 year old laptop.

Turned out HDD was dying, but they was gonna charge her for a new Mobo and OS (not just install but another copy as well)

Swapped the drive out for here & reinstalled her Windows. 50 bucks for the drive, 50 bucks tip.. saved her 400 bucks.

These things practically build them selves these days.

[bryang2k3]

I don't think I would even charge for that. I would like to see what would have happened if you let Best Buy fix it. They say bad hard drive? it's be nice to hear their explanation of why it still don't work after replacing the hard drive...

[OrlandoPCRepair]

We never charge more than $40 for labor!

[Sodiumreactor]

Well Circuit City isnt a problem anymore lol

[dauern]

i watched a customer named Christine Ruggles in Dallas Texas with her husband and her husband flipped when they asked for their location details. I've never seen so closed minded, paranoid couples, claiming they sell their info. The clerk was nice enough to explain it was for their records incase they loose their reciept. it is their job to ask. if he doesn't care, he wouldn't have asked. it is people like them that don't care about anything and those are the people i cannot stand.

[lancerooke]

@dauern It's not professional to name private citizens in these forums. Not to mention illegal.

[toribjork10]

@dauern gee, i can't imagine why they would be paranoid, it's not like you were gonna go online and release their names or where they live or anythi--- oh, wait. that's exactly what you did.

[ReevesElectronics]

This is fucking jokes! they need to rethink on who they hire.

[computeraces]

After watching this video is a fact now that all my Current Customer that had complained about these companies are dead on. After researching online as well we come across this type of actions. Lies, after lies just to take your money. Let me tell you what, here at Computer Aces we work honest, upfront and we go over everything with you before starting service

[RuskiKurgan]

The operating system doesn't fry, its software. The only thing that can get damaged is the boot sector where the master boot record is located on thus causing your OS to not load, but even that is usually fixable with a few simple commands in windows recovery. Physical HDD damage is rare and almost always fault-tolerant. These techs are not techs but salesmen with minimum computer knowledge, certainty not enough to diagnose PC issues.

[PensFan108]

I work at a small PC repair place, and I can tell you that this is a little bit unfair. There is only 1 way to get into the BIOS and change things, by pressing a certain F# button within a second of turning it on. We don't typically look at the BIOS first, because it's almost impossible for someone to 'accidentally' change a BIOS setting. I'm not defending the stores, because it still should have been fixed correctly, but the problem is harder to find than they make it out to be.

[pntba11er16]

@PensFan108 anybody who has been through any type of schooling on computers knows you always check the Bios settings first when there is an OS problem, only after every Bios setting is confirmed to be default/factory setting is when you move on to a physical problem, the sad truth is places like Best buy will not hire anybody with actual training in computer repair, i have applied multiple times to the Geek squad only to be told i am overqualified having A+ Repair and Programming on my side

[LAUGHINGMANWILL]

@PensFan108 Not to mention the fact that most computers bios do not have the option to do what they did, dell hp gateway etc at least ones made in the last decade...

[thebeetalls]

@LAUGHINGMANWILL What setting did he change? pata controller mode? I've never seen a BIOS say "operating system not found", usually its more like "insert boot device" When You shut the controller off.

[lancerooke]

@thebeetalls I once wiped the OS on a hard drive by misusing clonezilla. When I tried to boot up, it gave me the Operating system not found error. Also, I see Operating system not found every time I boot my old Fujitsu lifebook, but that's because I boot from an external HDD and BIOS doesn't see it until after I run a reset. But it's not a problem, of course, because it's doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing.

[maestroh]

"theres lots of ways to get into the bios and accidentally change things"... right.

[aquamaster9]

OH NO! I accidentally the whole BIOS!

[Stingshot]

GO MICROCENTER I LOVE YOUUUUUU

[AryanBlade]

A huge red flag should have went up when the so called "tech" began handling the hard drive without at least using an anti-static wristband. Very unprofessional.

Static electricity, built up in the body and then suddenly discharged into ungrounded electrical components, have been known to degrade the performance of those components, sometimes even blowing them out completely. I call it the silent killer!

[mistoroboto]

@AryanBlade Puh-LEASE, once you've ground yourself with the case, the likely hood is so low it's an over-exaggerated issue.

[AryanBlade]

@mistoroboto Every computer repair school on the planet teaches about the dangers of ESD and how to defend against it. There is a professional method and an unprofessional method. Now, I'm a certified IT Technician and I do my own work, but I sure as hell wouldn't want some bozo working on the $5,000 computer I've built for myself without an ESD wrist strap. Even a mere 100 volts of ESD can cause a significant performance degradation in many computer components.

[mistoroboto]

@AryanBlade Every computer school over-exaggerates it. It's like the people that over-exaggerate about the dangers of the registry, if you've grounded yourself, it really doesn't matter after that point, though I do understand where you're coming from. Certification doesn't make you anymore likely to be intelligent about proper care, but that doesn't change the fact that the ESD issue is way overblown. Once your grounded, you're grounded, unless you plan on shuffling around a lot in a store.

[AryanBlade]

@mistoroboto Grounding yourself 'once' by touching the case is by no means the definition of being grounded. Every movement you make after touching the case is building ESD all over again. Today's components and assemblies are more efficient and smaller than ever before. They're also much more delicate and sensitive to static electricity!

I think that if you studied ESD and learned just how easily it is built up within the body, you might just change your opinion. But hey, zap away if you like

[mistoroboto]

@AryanBlade I'm well aware of ESD (I solder boards all the time to fix laptops), but you speak of bullshit. The likelihood that you will build that much ESD to damage a component is fucking ridiculous.

[AryanBlade]

@mistoroboto I hear ya, it's pretty hard to short out a mobo with ESD while you're sitting or standing at your work bench. Having said that, there are components that are very susceptable to damage from ESD, such as memory chips and hard drives. Check out dude at 2:22 where he's touching the exposed components on the hdd. I mean come on! At least try to look professional in public! I'm just saying

[mistoroboto]

@AryanBlade Oh shit, didn't catch that the first, that's a little insane. Screw ESD, the oils from his hands all over that thing is just asking for corrosion. O_O

[Ecocide112]

Oh no! not the SOBD?!?!

Wait...

o.O

[kotowicz2007]

BSOD baby!!! Non-maskable interrupt, sometimes a simple freaking reboot will fix it right up, other times, a good system restore will do fine, and in extreme cases, a registry restore will get you back up and running.

But for stuff like this in BIOS? A simple load default settings will help even the most inexperienced of the techs.

C'mon, some idiots make us all good techs look bad!!!!

[TheDennyvu]

thats why I want to work at microcenter and not bestbuy

[CillersFan]

Good thing it wasn't a Mac. Would spend an hour to figure out the beachball is a beachball of death :).

[marineguy4eva]

The correct term actually would be "Blue death of screen" Lol!!!

[truthIsStranger]

I once went to futureshop for this and they were pissed off that I included the keyboard and everything else in the main box. It actually bothered them so much that I did it differently than they would, that they smashed and broke the keyboard, kept the cardboard, and threw it back in the box. I can't remember the rest but there was more. I had to argue with the manger over what is basically the nature of reality to get a new keyboard back, but he didn't really sound surprised.

[MoeMonayE]

imm 13 andd imm tryin to run a computer repairr thing at my housee andd i only charge 30 dollars to reinstall the OS but everytime i see all those people in the geeksquadd line i feell bad cause the pay like 200 for somthing that can be fixed easily

[NudeNuke]

best buy chrages 129 to get to your house and 250 to install the OS, wtf?

[InternetSandman]

the trouble is, for us people who know what we're doing, a job at any of these stores where we could actually do some good wouldn't pay enough to be worth it. they do employ incompetent people and they're paid the wages they deserve, cause the corporations don't wanna spend bigger bucks on better employees

[bigoutlaw1]

@InternetSandman ur absolutely right. Im preparing for A+ cert and these stores dont pay enough to make it worth applying. I asked a tech at Fry's if he had an A+ cert and he said "we all do", then I asked a salesman and he said "they have some training".

[windywindy]

google is your best friend

[mtb416]

Simple fix. Don't be computer illiterate. It's the 21st century, not the 20th Joe Biden, get with the program, learn to be computer savvy.

[Informer3X]

I remember that Best Buy charges some obscene $200 for "Data Recovery" if your motherboard fries....though all you really need is one extra SATA cable and power connector to do the same thing at home....gotta love how easy it is to rip off people nowadays....

[RottenTreat]

He just went to the Bios and had the computer try and load the operating system from a location where it could not be loaded......

Solution- Go to the Bios and set it to load the OS from wherever its stored CD....HDD....Ect.....

[Vargas1349]

My logic with repairing PC's give it a KISS (Keep it sane and simple). Most of these self-proclaimed computer centers hire people that can't tell a difference between SATA or a IDE hard drive nor can tell DDR2 from DDR3. And I hate it when "techs" say I have to wipe out your PC you will loose everything.......Seriously over a BSOD!?

[falubii]

What is this BIOS? I hate when people try to talk about computers and they don't know what they're saying.

[falubii]

Also, LOL @ screen of blue death.

[twinbytesinc]

This is exactly why I make my how to videos, and why I wrote my book. To try and help people avoid being taken advantage of by bad techs or techs that simply diagnose incorrectly.

[BrainRemovalD3vice]

dentist do the same thing too . watch out

[Boxtupac]

wow good thing i know how to fix my computee

[cisco760ca]

well good thing i know about pcs. i would be a poorman by now with all the pc problems i use to have. its always good to know a little about everything.

[jazztrio2008]

that is true.. many tech wiz's don't look at the computer. It does take time, look at all connections or memory. takes a little common sense to fix small problems..

[thestreetdogg]

cheap most of the time cost more....

[snake88usa]

Screen of Blue Death? LoL Blue Screen of Death

[twinbytesinc]

@snake88usa lol, I had to listen to it again to make sure I heard it right. That`s funny.

[1ofmeNlotsofU]

@snake88usa screen of death is so mean -_-

[acheron426]

The way I see it the computer is going to have to be checked in, I work for Geek Squad and I'll admit we have a lot of agents that don't follow PROCEDURE and thats a shame, but we are not allowed to check the computer for longer than 15 minutes if its not busy in the store anyways and we cannot use MRI, or perform any other diagnostics that fall under our diagnostic fee, (which I'll admit is over priced), remember people we work for a business that hounds us for check ins and revenue.

[jazztrio2008]

Geek Squad is out of the question

[techtuts0]

All he did is just change the boot order i would of noticed straight away.

[manwithnoface3]

"screen of blue death?"

you mean blue screen of death

wtf

[JDV9507]

LOL WATS A MISTAKE?

[prototype21]

Same thing w. car repair, just add a extra 0 to the charging fee.

[prototype21]

It just clicked, that usually means its bad?? lol

I know more then all of these people combined from having to fix my shit over the years.

[amdo2008dragon]

for atleast 15 minutes so automatically the bios would have got set .

[amdo2008dragon]

hahahah , the bios was not working and when the oc was not fuunctioning some one might have messed up or accidental esd took place , so bios password or the settings on the cmos got changed or got corrupted . so all the tech should have done is removed the cmos and the

battery which is sending the charge  and keep it out in the open

[DJTEVAdotCOM]

This is same idea with cars...

[khrixtian18]

ok let me get this straight so he just changed the driver configuration and instead of using the IDE he switched it to ATAPI Removable right? i guess for any tech in that kind of situation lookin at a "Operatin System not found" would be kinda weird unless it'd be like a computer i just got and i wanna get fixed mm i think askin the right questions might save a lot of time.

[lbrex78]

I am a tech and not even trained through school and you could put a computer infront of me without telling me any info except what it isnt doing and I could easily figure out the problem. These guys all suck or are just stupid.

[pshinspections]

What do you expect? They get their A+ certifications and then follow company procedure about upselling.

Always go to a local PC shop. Like mine!

[ibmz60t]

More scary thought is how many of these techs are dangerous sexual predators. Michael Ward of Friendly Computers in Las Vegas was arrested Nov 2008.

[Webzk22]

BIG difference between a real problem and sabotage. Plus more than half the people that go in with a computer are clueless about anything to do with a computer let alone know what the BIOS is and how to get to it.

[jpimp808]

FYI. Managers start @ $32k a year salary. So remember next time you are in one of these stores. The person that you are speaking with needs more help than you do. They cannot even afford to shop in there own store. The Store General Managers(1) and corporate managemant teams get all the money. Try to give them a hard time, they will give in quickly just to get you off there back... Trust me.. I watched my whole entire team do this for years.

[jpimp808]

Dont be judgemental. Remember, Circuit City laid off all of there high paid senior sales associates, TWICE. I used to run these stores. The people behind the counter start at a $8.00 an hour pay rate. Best buy starts theres at $7.25. I guess we know where the profits are going to. I really do not recommend shopping @ these big box retailers. They are quick to take your money and for them to share it with the local community (local employees) is like pulling teath,I saw the light and left

[lwvmobile]

What a bunch of idiots. There is a reason they are working in some retail chain's consumer repair department and not either for themselves or a real IT department. They don't know what they are doing. I always check the BIOS first to see if it detects the hard drive and that the IDE or Sata Connection is active and then check the boot order in BIOS to make sure the hard drive is in the list. Then I'll open it up and take a look at the connections and run a diag on the drive to insure its good.

[Jay9928]

Whenever I have a PC problem that I am unsure of (I know a few things), I just go to my IT specialist 20+ years experience.

[friendlycomp1]

That sounds terrible! Why call a GEEK when you can call a FRIEND! Our on-site mobile service is #1 in the nation for mobile computer repair.

[NerdsKrew]

lol fuck man i install a operating system everyday lol they charge OMG 64$ JUST TO TELL YOU WAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH IT? AND IT MAY NOT BE RIGHT , AND THEY CHARGE 32 DOLLARS FOR INSTALLATION FEE? AND A 120$ FOR THE OPERATING SYSTEM? THEY USE THE SAME DISK LOL. I INSTALL XP OS EVERYDAY ON THE COMPUTERS AT MY HOUSE THAT BREAK OR U KNO HAVE SOMETHING GO WRONG..... THEY ARE GREEDY DICK HEADS MAN

[ChristopherLucky]

You would think that this would be the first place to check. All this guy did was tweak a setting under the boot tab in the bios. heck I am 13, and know more about fixing this stuff. What a shame. I must say Micro Center certainly has had the best service yet. I was able to ask one of the employees his recommendations when my optical drive in my computer was not working correctly. His suggestion clear CMOS which I did and works like a charm now.

[moecage]

he said screen of blue death

[bri13615]

I manage a small repair shop, I agree with the comment below, I probably would say to the cust well it looks like a bad drive. However I would run a test on the drive later just to be sure.

I don't want the customer to spend money on parts they don't need, nor do I want a customer to think I'm being dishonest.

[khrixtian18]

yeah i agree. I run a computer shop too and i've seen alot ALOT! so OPERATIN SYSTEM NOT FOUND means HD was wiped out or some other device where u can storage DATA was installed like when u plug in a usb flash memory and restart ur computer with it this message will come out in some computers :P. Just to make sure i'll check the HD and then the computer no more than 15min.

[thedoctor01101111011]

Or the MBR/bootsector corrupt. C/H/S incorrect or not detected.

[nighthawk663]

Honestly, it's kinda a nasty glitch that the station played on them. Yes, it's an easy fix, but it's one that's also easy to overlook. Very few people accidentally even get into their BIOS, much less change the boot disk (which is, I assume, what he did.) Simply based on how many times things go wrong, a hard drive failure is more probable then BIOS misconfig, if you assume the BIOS hasn't been tampered with. And hard drive failure is a very reasonable cause for "Operating system not found."

[thedoctor01101111011]

Well said, but the key word that needs to be re-iterated is "assume."

Children playing w/ their daddy's computer taught me that.

[xxtrustxx]

I find this ridiculous, that such a simple mistake was over seen. Then again, those workers are not paid enough nor are they trained properly. I work part time for circuit city, am not a tech, am a sales man. I know my tech to an extend, and i do see some sloppiness in terms of knowledge and understanding computers. But it all makes sense because they hire anyone wanting the job, even people who don't like tech as much as others.Of course am over simplifying because their are some who love tech.

[easydave007]

It sure pays to learn the basics of the gadgets we use these days! being a little computer illiterate can be costly!

[DybbukAdonai]

BestBuy and Circuit City are money rackets. They hire kids to do the work and ALWAYS act like you seen in the video. You will never get out of there without paying extra fees. Scum bags, its worse then taking your car to a repair shop.