What do you do with your Data when taking your Macbook Pro to get fixed?

[Astrophys]

I have horrible light leak in my screen again and plan on bringing it in for a second replacement. The first time I brought it in they had the laptop for about 3 days. The light leak wasn't as bad after the fixed it by putting in a new screen, but over the course of a year it has gotten much worse.

I am curious what you do with your laptop before you bring it in and drop it off for a few days. Do you backup everything to time machine and then install a fresh OS system that deletes all your data on the computer. Then when you get it back fixed use time machine to load your original data?

Also, I think I am having problems with my video card as well. I am on the unibody 15" macbook pro. Sometimes there is a glitch where the screen goes out for a partial second or becomes distorted, this happens ever hour or two.

 

[maviso5]

I haven't taken my machine in, but I personally, would use a program called superduper and clone my HD to an external HD.

Whether you want to wipe the system is upto you, I would guess they would only repair the screen and have no reason to touch any of your data, but your choice entirely, if there's something confident you would want to.

Then when I got it back I would clone it back the other way (if you wiped it of course)

 

[Chundles]

I back up and then I give them my computer. Doesn't bother me because all I have to do is open the door to my right and I'm in the service centre.

 

[shadygrove]

I couldn't imagine anyone good at their job would actually care about looking at peoples' data. The amount of computers they repair would certainly take up their time rather than browsing somebody's pictures, videos, and documents. It could certainly happen, but I just wouldn't expect anyone to care. Out of all the years I have done this, I never looked at customers financial records or anything. I just fix the machine and get it out the door as quick as I can so I can get the money.

But who knows...maybe people are a lot different than me.

 

[maviso5]

I couldn't imagine anyone good at their job would actually care about looking at peoples' data. The amount of computers they repair would certainly take up their time rather than browsing somebody's pictures, videos, and documents. It could certainly happen, but I just wouldn't expect anyone to care. Out of all the years I have done this, I never looked at customers financial records or anything. I just fix the machine and get it out the door as quick as I can so I can get the money.

But who knows...maybe people are a lot different than me.

snap, i fix machines on a regular basis, and I don't have the time to sit and ponder what they may have. When theres a queue of machines waiting...

 

[DewGuy1999]

Not a MacBook Pro, but when I took my iMac in a few years ago to an AASP for service I cloned the internal hard drive to an external hard drive using Carbon Copy Cloner, then I did a clean install of the OS on the internal hard drive. When I got the iMac back, I just cloned the external hard drive back to the internal hard drive.

 

[ae3265]

I am curious what you do with your laptop before you bring it in and drop it off for a few days. Do you backup everything to time machine and then install a fresh OS system that deletes all your data on the computer. Then when you get it back fixed use time machine to load your original data?

Being a bit paranoid when it comes to backups, I have a Carbon Copy Cloner clone, a SuperDuper clone and Time Machine backup.

At one time or another, I've restored from all three and been very pleased with the results. The nice thing about a clone is booting from it if I need to.

 

[Mactagonist]

I have horrible light leak in my screen again and plan on bringing it in for a second replacement. The first time I brought it in they had the laptop for about 3 days. The light leak wasn't as bad after the fixed it by putting in a new screen, but over the course of a year it has gotten much worse.

I am curious what you do with your laptop before you bring it in and drop it off for a few days. Do you backup everything to time machine and then install a fresh OS system that deletes all your data on the computer. Then when you get it back fixed use time machine to load your original data?

Also, I think I am having problems with my video card as well. I am on the unibody 15" macbook pro. Sometimes there is a glitch where the screen goes out for a partial second or becomes distorted, this happens ever hour or two.

I put the original HDD back in and drop it off. The original drive just stays in a new machine long enough to make sure it isnt defective, then it is replaced.

 

[MacDawg]

I always have a current backup, so I don't have to do anything special

Any sensitive data I have that I wouldn't want anyone accessing is kept on an encrypted disk image anyway

 

[macjunk(ie)]

clone the HD like others have said...
Also, put a password on your account and create a new admin account whose password you would be willing to share with the Apple technicians...

 

[Eddyisgreat]

Crack open MBP
remove SSD
replace with stock drive OS loaded from the original system disks, patched to latest, w/ user name "test" and a copy of coconut battery.
send/bring in

Then when it's repaired I do the opposite in reverse order

 

[LucidPsychosis]

Is someone embarrassed about the massive amount of porn on their laptop??

Ah, I'm just messing I don't really have this problem because I don't really keep any private information on my computers. If I ever had to cross that bridge, I'd just clone my HDD to an external HDD and format it most likely.

 

[toolbox]

If mine had to go for repair, i would put the stock HDD back and reload OS X on it. Too much personal information on my current HDD. How do you know if there looking at it or taking a disk image to look at it all later.