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I purchased a new laptop at Best Buy last Friday. Dropped it back off on Saturday, to have the OS disks created as well as antivirus & MS suite installed. When I dropped it off the girl said it would take about an hour. I got lunch, then shopped for several hours and went back. I got a cool reception from another member of the "Geek Squad" when I asked if it was done. He said, "did you get a call?" I said that I hadn't, so I was told to return when I got a call. Sunday I called and the guy I spoke with said it could take 12 - 18 hours to do what I needed done and to wait for a call. Now it's almost 3:00pm on Monday and I really need my computer. I'm afraid to call because I don't want them to do anything to my system. I don't know how long this process should take but I'm thinking it should be done by now.

How long should it take to create backup OS disks and install two programs?

I'm sorry that this is a simple question but I'm (obviously) not tech savy and don't want to be the squeeky wheel if, in fact, it takes this long to accomplish this task.

Thank you, in advance, for whoever takes the time to respond.

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In theory this process should not take this long, but the girl at the front desk doesn't necessarily know how much work the guys in the back have left to do. – Informaficker Jul 16 '12 at 19:48
Anyways, I don't think that this kind of question is a good fit for superuser. – Informaficker Jul 16 '12 at 19:50
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Lori, please don't be offended. Check out the FAQ, and have a look around at the rest of the site to get a better feel for what we do here. It's nothing personal, I assure you. – Randolph West Jul 16 '12 at 19:58
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The question could be interpreted as how long does it typically take to perform a back and install X and Y. That should be on-topic here. (In fact, it doesn't even have to be interpreted, that is the question.) – Synetech Jul 16 '12 at 20:08
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Regardless, there is no way that it would take 12-18 hours, let alone several days unless there are some serious problems that they have to resolve, but since you said it was a new laptop, there should not be any, so they are probably just being incompetent/inconsiderate. Talk to the manager and explain the situation and if he does not offer to waive (at least half of) the fee, then ask for it yourself! – Synetech Jul 16 '12 at 20:14
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closed as too localized by Oliver Salzburg♦, Diogo, Nifle, Randolph West, EBGreen Jul 16 '12 at 20:00

This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question more broadly applicable, see the FAQ.

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote accepted

This all depends on how large the backup of the OS is and how busy they are. If they told you that it would take X amount of hours. Phone them and complain and state that you only took it to them because they said it would only take X hours.

AntiVirus install 10 minutes with updates. MS Suite 30 Minutes.

Creating a OS backup ... Hours depending on the file size.

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I presume "create backup OS disks and install two programs?" could mean that he is getting a backup of his file system ? Stand corrected however – David Murray Jul 16 '12 at 19:53
I believe he means a startup disk. – ekaj Jul 16 '12 at 19:55
Hi David, Thank you for your response. I'm sorry, it was brought to my attention that this was an inappropriate place to post this question. I appreciate the info on the antivirus and MS suite, good to know. Thanks again, Lori – Lori Jul 16 '12 at 19:58

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