Keep hard drive when sending laptop out for repair?

I have been debating whether to get an Onsite or Return to Depot warranty. The main factor is that I don't like sending my hard drive out for confidentiality / privacy reasons.

I understand that for Dell business laptops, there is a "Keep your Hard Drive" service. It means you can keep a defective hard drive to try to salvage the files or destroy the drive. That is not what I am inquiring about, since it applies only when the hard drive itself is defective.

What I am inquiring about is the case when the laptop needs to be repaired but the hard drive is not thought to be defective. If I got the Return to Depot warranty service on an Inspiron, XPS or Vostro laptop in Canada, can I take out the hard drive before sending the laptop out for repair, assuming the hard drive is not thought to be the problem?

If so, I would not need the Onsite service, which is more expensive.

Any experience you have with this situation would be much appreciated.

 

Atleast back up anything important from the harddrive. Dell sometimes reformats computers sent in for repairs. Sometimes without warning even if the situation has nothing to do with the harddrive. That's actually a common occurance in the industry and its always advisable. I supposed you could also keep the whole harddrive. I keep everything on my harddrived backed up so it didn't matter, I left that in there on my old Inspiron. However, I always did take out my upgraded ram and put the original sticks back in when the techs were coming.

 

Just take your HDD out and keep it - if it has confidential data surely Dell should respect that.

 

Keep the HD or back it up. Dell is not responsible for any lost data.

 

Thanks everyone.

I agree that keeping my hard drive would be best when sending the laptop off for repair. My question specifically was whether Dell would allow me to do this when the hard drive is not thought to be defective. Does anybody have experience with that?

 

What would you do if you lose your notebook (in the normal course of life)? What would happen to your data then? Can it be accessed easily? Is that your only copy of data? If your answer is Yes to the last two questions then you are not taking good care of your data.

First and foremost, encrypt all your data. Second, always back it up on an external source (optical disc, external hard drive etc.). Third, delete your encrypted data with free software (the one that will write 0 to the deleted areas 7 times so no recovery is possible) before sending the system for repair.

 

Most of you didn't even understand the OP's question.

He's not worried about dell formating his drive and erasing everything. I'm sure he's got backups.

What he's worried about is exposing all his sensitive information to "strangers". Yeah sure Dell techs sign agreements and stuff but still. If he's got his personal data on his drive, he just doesn't want to take the risk of it getting in the wrong hands. World's a f'd up place right now...

OP, if you are THAT worried about it, get onsite repair. If you're getting a vostro, the onsite warranty is cheap.

 

I already have backups; that is not a problem.

The problem is confidentiality. Encryption might be a solution if it does not slow down the computer too much, and encrypts not just the "My documents" folder, but also the Recycle Bin and various caches and temp files, etc.

I can't count on being able to delete files once the computer is malfunctioning, eg if the power supply or video card go bad.

So, my question was whether I could keep the hard drive when sending the laptop for repair under Dell's Return to Depot warranty, or whether I should pay extra for the Onsite warranty.

 

Actually, Dell is better suited to answer this question. Just call their tech support line and ask them.

Most of the time they want the full system back. You could be a 100% sure of the problem and even tell them... but they will still want the whole thing back.
This is kinda like them having you install buncha drivers and software and reinstall OS for a grainy screen. Clearly it's a hardware problem... but they still make you do a buncha retarded crap. The techs follow the same thing.

Not sure what notebook you got. BUt on the Vostro's 2 year onsite is only $79 more.
I have never kept a computer for more than 2 years so for $79 onsite was a no-brainer.

 

I plan on keeping it 4 to 5 years (My work laptop is 5.5 years old and my home desktop is 6.5 years old!)

I plan to get a 3 year warranty. Without Complete Care, the Onsite warranty costs CDN $100 to $120 extra over the Return to Depot warranty; that is, it is nearly as much as the Return to Depot with Complete Care. In practice, that means I would either get 3 years of Return to Depot with Complete Care or 3 years Onsite without Complete Care.

Thanks for the replies, everybody