How do you tell your IT people they doin't know what they're doin?

[Deviant Ollam]

they OS (WindowsXP) starts up but the goes into a STOP ERROR. UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME. You can't access anything in Safe Mode, the people in my office like to play around with the computers internally, my guess is they deleted some of the drivers or other critical elements.

if the O/S starts to boot, then the drive is recognized by the BIOS and is capable of read/write. all you have to do is install it in some other workstation as a slave drive and pull off anything you want. where are you located? if you're within easy driving distance of me i'll do this for your company for a couple cases of Guiness or Smithwicks.

you asked the question of how one would go about bringing this up if it's not your offical place to say anything. the answer is: you pick the highest-ranking company person with whom you have any routine contact. (hopefully, this is a person for whom the "lost" data was important. while in casual conversation, you glance side to side a bit, lean in, and in a sort of soft voice say "by the way... you remember the hard drive that died... how important was your data on there?" when they assure you that it was very important, you say (still in low voice) "i don't know if should be going around other people in telling you this, but you were badly misinformed if anyone told you that it's lost... there is a good chance that it would be very trivial for us to recover what was on there."

when their eyes open wide and they express interest, then you can mention that the price is likely a lot less than they think, etc. in all fairness, if it is as simple as i'm guessing (barring bad luck or other unforseen weirdness which is not out of the question) it would take about two to three hours of labor to get the data off. you're talking $300~$500 depending on whom you get to do it. and those are VERY steep labor rates. i'm not kidding when i say i'd do it for you under the table for a few cases of beer.

in a way, though, the comments you are getting from people here are a roundabout answer to your main question of what to do when your company's IT dept is staffed with fucktards... you don't take it to them, you take it over their heads... but never with unfounded claims, always with results. if you can accomlish something concrete (i.e. - getting data off a drive that was a "lost cause" according to them) that has financial impact on the company, bosses will then take you seriously if you say (respectfully and with no malice) that the IT dept could use some some housecleaning... or at least some training. heh, maybe you'll all get work-paid trips to defcon.

[klarencio]

where are you located? if you're within easy driving distance of me i'll do this for your company for a couple cases of Guiness or Smithwicks.:

i'm from arizona, but that beer sure sounds good tho.

you asked the question of how one would go about bringing this up if it's not your offical place to say anything. the answer is: you pick the highest-ranking company person with whom you have any routine contact. (hopefully, this is a person for whom the "lost" data was important. while in casual conversation, you glance side to side a bit, lean in, and in a sort of soft voice say "by the way... you remember the hard drive that died... how important was your data on there?" when they assure you that it was very important, you say (still in low voice) "i don't know if should be going around other people in telling you this, but you were badly misinformed if anyone told you that it's lost... there is a good chance that it would be very trivial for us to recover what was on there.":

you see deviant, my situation is much more complicated than that, the guy in charge here is screwing the woman in charge of all computer related issues, and she has a dad, auntie, sister-in-law, mother-in-law, best friend, about two other kiss asses that are in their klique here at work, my workplace really sucks when it comes to knowing more that them, i demonstrate this alot as it is, this would probably make me the most hated person in our office. lol,... thats why i said "i think were just screwed".

i'm not kidding when i say i'd do it for you under the table for a few cases of beer.

i'm from arizona, but that beer REALLY sounds good tho.

...or at least some training. heh, maybe you'll all get work-paid trips to defcon.

i went to DC 13, i only went for one day tho and it kicked ass; i hoping to do the whole weekend next year, and hopefully make new friends. thanks for the advise from everybody tho, you guys are the best. oh and thanks for not flaming me.

[ndex]

I know all the data isn't lost, and i'm for sure you know it, but how do you tell them that, it's not really my place to say, ..lol they just suck. Here's the problem; they OS (WindowsXP) starts up but the goes into a STOP ERROR. . You can't access anything in Safe Mode, the people in my office like to play around with the computers internally, my guess is they deleted some of the drivers or other critical elements.



To tell you the truth, I don't think they even went there.



We're a small office, all the money goes to paying these guys the salary. We probably wouldn't pay for that stuff, although the information on it is IMPORTANT. I think we're just screwed.

If you were working for me and talking that much shit, I'd can your ass.

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;555302

Much like google, msdn.microsoft.com is the crutch that most windows poseurs rely on. It took 0.093 seconds to return this article and 5 others on the subject.

When I said don't touch it, I meant it. If it's not your job, don't assume because you think you know something that you know everything or, in this case, that you know shit.

I could have recovered from this error if I'd ever been put in such a ludicrous position with no possible means of escape by morons with nothing better to do than waste money on shiny things.

[klarencio]

If you were working for me and talking that much shit, I'd can your ass.

When I said don't touch it, I meant it. If it's not your job, don't assume because you think you know something that you know everything or, in this case, that you know shit.

Funny; lol... whatever tough guy.

[ndex]

Funny; lol... whatever tough guy.

Wow. I had to sit for a minute and laugh for so many reasons that I could not begin to enumerate them all here. It's worth noting that some non-zero number of forum regulars contacted me to tell me of your dismissiveness. How lovely it must be for you to have such a clarity of insight and foundation in the principles of the technical universe that you can risk offending total strangers with no concern about how it may reflect on you or impact your future successes.

A shame really, when you think of just how many people here either have worked for me, or with me at some point, look forward to the opportunity to do it again. You might say it's a real old boys network here and if you take a look through the archives you'll see that I'm one of the oldest "boys". You might want to take a serious statement such as mine a little more seriously.

One of the first things you need to know is that I never joke about the *work* that I'm responsible for and if you're working for me, the statement "I will can your ass" has a certain amount of gravity. Next, it's important to note that you are crunchy and would probably be quite appetizing grilled over an open fire and served with a remoulade. Finally, yes, I am tough but I'm a woman not a man and I always laugh last.

[klarencio]

...Finally, yes, I am tough but I'm a woman not a man and I always laugh last.

my apologies ndex; i think i love u.

[tepster]

Reminds me of school.