Sacrificed SP3 for Data

[BrotherShoe]

Today, I had to make a terrible choice. My SP3 froze and then would not fully boot, stopping at the login screen without actually showing the login fields. I called MS tech support. After rebooting over a dozen times--the SP3 would not enter any safe or restore modes--the tech told me the only way was to completely wipe my system and start again. I asked to be escalated and was told I had to wait several days before escalation--"in case a patch comes out." After I noted that I would not be able to install any patch, the useless "tech" gave me the old "I'll get my supervisor" trick. After an hour on hold I hung up. (Yes, I know I'm the stupid one.) Then I called the MS store line. The rep was very friendly, but an "intermittent phone problem" on their end made it impossible to carry on a conversation. Even with regular backups, it would still take several days to reload my Surface from a full wipe and recent data would be lost forever. I decided to cut open the back of my machine to recover the mSATA drive and my data. MS can go to #@%!. I will NEVER buy another computer from them--ever. It was a top-of-the-line SP3. I had to destroy a very expensive computer or lose data forever. My wife was in the middle of entering several hours worth of financial data...never even had the chance to back it up. We've lost a machine my wife loved, a lot of money, and a ton of time. Now I'm waiting for my mSATA to SATA adapter to arrive so I can see if we even have any data left. #@%$ Microsoft. Never again.

 

[hughlle]

Welcome to the forum. This is why my documents folders are synced with onedrive. Never have to worry about loss of data.

 

[Wayne Orwig]

A bit of heat to soften the glue on the display and you aren't going to 'destroy' anything.

 

[convergent]

Wow, this is a rather extreme reaction to a computer problem! There is no computer company you can buy from that would avoid the possibility of a system that won't start and the potential for data loss... not Microsoft, Apple, Dell, HP, etc..

You didn't backup your data, and that unfortunately left you with a tough decision to make. Windows 10 has incremental backup software that can be turned on, and if you use OneDrive and save your files periodically then you would be covered without having to rely on the backup software.

I think that I would have consulted a computer shop that could have used heat to open it up without destroying it, but sounds like you got out a chainsaw and took care of it yourself.

Good luck with finding the perfect computer company.