Had a client in Phoenix who insisted their old PC was fine after I found a failing hard drive

Last week, I ran a full diagnostic on their Dell Optiplex 9020 and the S.M.A.R.T. data showed over 1500 bad sectors. I told them it was a ticking time bomb and needed a replacement drive immediately. They refused, saying it 'felt fast enough' and didn't want to spend the $80. Has anyone else dealt with clients who ignore clear hardware warnings until it's too late?

2 comments

2 Comments

caleb_gibson3h ago

Ugh that's the worst. I had a guy with a power supply making this awful whining noise, like a dying mosquito. I showed him a video of one actually catching fire and he just shrugged and said "well it hasn't smoked yet." Came back two weeks later to a dead motherboard and a melted SATA cable, and he was mad at me for not forcing him to fix it. Some people just have to learn the hard way lol.

the_spencer2h ago

Man, that's a classic. Get the S.M.A.R.T. data printout and circle the bad sector count in red pen, then make them sign a paper saying they were told. It sounds over the top, but when that drive finally dies and they lose all their family photos, that signed paper is the only thing that stops them from blaming you. Cover your back, because they always come back angry.