As a freelance tech, I believe the test was quite fair. Checking the BIOS is a quick no-nonsense way to figure out if the computer even has a chance of “seeing” the drive. That knowledge alone will distinguish between a software problem (bad MBR, etc.) or a bad drive with failed electronics. Note that a crashed drive will still appear to the BIOS.
Hardware problems should, IMO, be ruled out first, which can often be done with simple checks. There was no need to, say, remove the HD as a first step. Even if that was done, it would confirm the HD works and there is a problem between it and the motherboard. In turn, the cable, power, and BIOS should then be checked.
I’ve also seen a test where reporters cut a few wires on the side of the HD cable and sent it in for repair. Of course, this prevented the computer from “seeing” the drive. Several diagnoses came back, including bad motherboards. Cables do fail, and a good tech would take the few minutes to swap out with a known-good cable.
I don’t think it’s an unfair test. It really is pretty damn basic.
User tells me He has a problem with a hard drive I first check out the Hard-drive on the OS to see if I can fix it.
2 When I don’t see the hard drive on the OS, and the system won’t boot at all,I look to the BIOS to see if the system sees it at all, there really is no other possible next step.
I notice it has been disabled, and re-enable it.
Perhaps I would decide to try to connect another bootable hard-drive to the system to see if that works first, but I would check the BIOS in that circumstance too, and come across it.
Does anybody know how these techs are paid? When I worked at Circuit Shitty I was paid on commission. I got some pittance - like $3 - for doing an estimate. I only got the balance of the commission if the estimate was approved by the customer and I successfully performed my quoted repairs. It should come as no shock that the customers usually got an estimate that was worth $3.
I think a better test would be to come in with a practically pristine system and just ask them to check it and see if there’s anything that needs work/replacing.
I bet you’d have all manner of hardware that’s just on the verge of death, I tell you!
While I agree it’s pretty basic, what are the chances this would happen in the wild? 1000 to 1? 10,000 to 1? I’d say it’s a pretty uncommon (and unrealistic) problem.
Disabling the HD, specifically and intentionally, yes. But that’s not the only way the BIOS can get misconfigured. Someone could have been screwing around and not known what they were doing (the worst kind of customer, because they know they screwed the computer up but are too ashamed to tell you what they did). But the BIOS should be among the first things to check, especially considering it takes less than a minute to bring it up and knowing if the computer can even see the drive gives you a place to start working. You don’t even have to enter BIOS setup, actually. When you boot a PC you can see the detected ATA devices print out on the monitor, right after the memory count. If your BIOS has a splash screen you can hit tab, escape, or some other key to remove it and see the boot info. A tech that doesn’t know this or doesn’t notice the HD not come up in the boot sequence is incompetent.
Hell, I’m just a shade-tree IT guy, and if you brought me a computer that couldn’t find the hard drive on startup, I’d check the BIOS right from the get-go, since (as Larry Mudd and Giraffe point out) it’s about the only thing you can easily try.
For the sake of argument, though, let’s say I didn’t get any sleep last night and I happen to have a functioning machine with the case open right next to me, so I decide to just start throwing hardware at the problem.
Test problem drive in working machine. Works. Drive fine.
Test working drive in problem machine. Doesn’t work. Machine not fine.
Test problem machine’s IDE cable. Works. Cable fine.
Hmm, whatever could I try next? It’s not that hard of a thing to diagnose, and it’s not like nobody in the history of the world has ever fucked up their BIOS unintentionally. For that matter, the majority of the sort of people who’d do this probably either honestly wouldn’t know what they’d done, or else wouldn’t cop to it.
Sure, it’s not the most common problem in the world, and in general I loathe TV “exposé” tactics, but the techs really should have cottoned onto this one before giving up and recommending an OS reinstall (which, as mentioned, wouldn’t have fixed anything anyway).
I understand that they are paid hourly. No commission. No incentive to find extra things wrong. They are, however, usually college kids so don’t expect decades of experience. That said, I think that Geek Squad definitely fills a need. From a personal perspective, I am not nearly as often asked by people to come help them with their computers.