Your opinion is not well founded and if you really understood how repair of a device like this works.
First, I would posit that Hunter had at least one with him in the bathtub that went for a swim when he passed out. The nature of the information tells me that it was running when it went in the drink and fried components.
I have been in the repair side of the industry since 1978 and have seen just about every permutation of failure and causes including a hols the size of a golf ball blown from an internal component due to ground faults.
More recently I have replaced Hard Drives for customers most typically to get more time from the unit as in putting in an SSD. This procedure was a migration but often the original drive or system had issues rendering the core unit unusable and moving the data from the drive to a whole new unit. I would posit that the drive that would not come up may have been in the unit that would not come up due to immersion in the tub. The only way to even attempt to recover is too long to document but in a case where there are no other copies you go into a deep forensic procedure. Think hammered hard drives & Hillary. In that case it is a crap shoot that you will ever get everything. This requires the drive itself to be opened and platters/components (SSD) to be walked through manually.
Additionally when the unit was brought in for troubleshooting and repair if possible the contact information, terms of service and payment (deposit, remainder upon return etc) are discussed with the client and their signature is acceptance of same. Otherwise you can spend many hours or even days trying many permutations to even get close.
So when Hunter brought them in there is no guarantee that all of or even some of the data and unit are recoverable. As they were not under warranty it is Time & Materials based and no guarantee of success. When customers hear the estimate it is not unusual to have them say no thanks and abandon the device.
And last to your “opinion” the individual bringing in the unit is provided a full procedure on payment terms etc. If Hunter signed after the owner walked him through this then that includes contact info etc. We call this T&C (Terms and Conditions) and until that occurs the unit never comes into the shop unless an evaluation fee has been paid or agreement on it signed off. Calling someone else whom you posit has authority to take alternate possession is not something I would do as the data and it’s provenance and content are not just something you just hand over. Last when you are scanning and attempting to replicate the drive tools used to repair or copy may find files but when you try to access them they may be damaged beyond recovery or use, have seen it many times.
Your last comment bears truth, especially when images are concerned. You can see the “file” but when you try to view it no go or it is pixelated or unviewable. I am sure his mind was blown when the first ones came up and he realized holy cow this is dangerous. The only person authorized per the agreement to pick up the device was the signer of the contract, unless Law Enforcement gets involved.
Hunter never responded and under Delaware law the unit was abandoned and all bets are off
I'm going to assume money is no object for a man making $60,000 a month - even if he has to kickback a portion to his father.
Knowing that why would he choose to abandon the computer? Did he feel if all of it couldn't be recovered it would be junked? And once abandoned - as you say - all bets are off. Is Hunter just lazy and/or stupid or concerned with paying a bill for time and effort when he couldn't get his computer back? What's your best guess?
Thanks for the input. It is fun to speculate. I am a retired IT guy from a big organization so didn’t have to deal with “legal” customer agreements.
Let’s say the laptop was the property of the University of Delaware. Would the computer repair shop have the right to claim ownership after 90 days if nobody called about it even if their is a sticker that say property of UD?