Can I remove my HD before I send my laptop in for service?

July 30, 2009 10:23 AM

I am sending my Lenovo Thinkpad to an EasyServ repair center to have its fan replaced/repaired. Do I have to send my hard drive along with it?

I'd rather not, as it would involve backing up and wiping clean.

Also: if I do have to send it, will running Ubuntu pose a problem? I don't want to re-install Windows.

posted by alligatorman to computers & internet (6 comments total)

The easiest way to answer that accurately is to call and ask.
posted by kenbennedy at 10:26 AM on July 30

Tangentially, have you tried compressed air?

Last week my Thinkpad X61 overheated. Attempting to reboot produced the dreaded "fan error" message. I learned two things:

First, you can still boot if you hold down Esc. Second, a solid blast of compressed air fixed the mysterious problem completely. The fan seems to be just fine now.

Probably you don't need to send your hard drive, but call and ask. Note that it's really easy to take out a ThinkPad's hard drive.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 10:39 AM on July 30

You can remove the hard drive. However, depending on the level of competence of the technician doing your work it could cause delays. Try to get in touch with the people that will actually be doing your repair work and clear this with them beforehand, make sure everybody's on the same page that you are fairly certain the problem has absolutely nothing to do with the hard drive.
posted by odinsdream at 10:40 AM on July 30

No, You don't have to send it for that service. They do like to have it so the entire machine can be tested while its in for service. (Make sure you include any other hdw issues you're having on the sheet) .
posted by Rubbstone at 11:30 AM on July 30

I sent my Thinkpad in for in-warranty repair last year. I called first and they said I could take the hard drive out (we were all pretty sure what the problem was, and it was not hard drive related). I did. Turnaround was a week including shipping from San Francisco area to Kentucky (where the repair center was located) and I had no problems.
posted by needs more cowbell at 11:14 PM on July 30

Followup: I removed the hard drive without notifying them and put a little post-it note on the computer saying that the hard drive was removed and that the problem was unrelated.

I shipped the computer Friday, it was fixed on Monday, I got my computer back Tuesday, and everything works.

Thanks!
posted by alligatorman at 9:54 AM on August 4