Hi

I recently had my laptop repair at a local Computer shop.

I was told the hardrive was bust and it was replaced with a new one - which I paid an extra £80.

When I got home I look at the hardrive and noticed it was 2nd hand
I ve had no satisfaction from the shop - just treats

Not knowing who s Hardrive this belonged too is a bit worrying - God knows whats been wipped off it.

Is there anyway of finding out who may have owned this Hardrive previously.

Thanks

John

Not knowing who s Hardrive this belonged too is a bit worrying

Why?

God knows whats been wipped off it.

And if wiped properly, ONLY God knows - a good thing!

Is there anyway of finding out who may have owned this Hardrive previously.

Hmmm, you should not be concerned with that - as it probably is none of your business, unless you have reason to believe that hard drive was stolen, or you have found something criminal on it. And if that is that case, you should be calling the police - which you should be doing anyway if they sold you a used drive, pretending it was new.

I ve had no satisfaction from the shop - just treats

Assuming you meant "threats" and not "treats" - are you saying the shop is threatening you? With what? Again, you should be calling the police.

I don't think you've been looking at this the right way - instead of being worried about the previous owner and his data, you should be worrying about why there is a previous owner - you illustrate perfectly why we all must ensure our HDs are properly wiped before we get rid of them, and why we need to only go to reputable shops.

Did you get your old hard drive back? Since it may be full of your sensitive data, sold as new to someone else, you should be worrying that they are NOT trying to find out who you are, or what you had saved on it.

Hi

Thanks for your help.
Sorry about my spellings

I did not get my old HD back this is what made me suspicious - he said he could not find it!!!!!!!

I hate to waste police time with such a minor issue

Thanks again for your help

John

I did not get my old HD back this is what made me suspicious - he said he could not find it!!!!!!!

I hate to waste police time with such a minor issue

A merchant, a computer repair person, ripping off customers is NOT a minor issue. It is an embarrassment to my profession, for one, but simply wrong. And if they are threatening you, then certainly someone should be informed. The Better Business Bureau, Consumer Protection Agency, or the like (or equivalents for your country) should be notified.

Not getting your old hard drive back is one thing - old parts often do get tossed into a scrap pile. But I always ask my clients if they want the old parts back before I scrap them, especially hard drives. But your "new" hard drive should be "new". Note that most HDs have a manufacturing date on them - that might be a clue.

Why do you think the new drive is used?

And I deleted your other post - it is not proper forum etiquette to "shotgun" post your question in multiple forums. Not only might it tie up volunteer resources that could be helping others, it often results in conflicting advice being given, or confusing results to those helping.