I supposedly have virus protection...

[LPBBEAR]

12. I think Cloudwatcher

is probably right.

I'm a mostly retired Computer Tech who ran a small business for many years.

1. It generally takes more than a minute to determine a system is infected with a virus or malware.

2. I wouldn't have replaced what sounds like a working hard drive with a new drive for a basic virus issue. That sounds a bit like up selling for no good reason other than puffing up the bill.

3. In some cases a tech might have to do a complete reload of a system if the virus/malware has caused too much havoc in the operating system. In that case I would have contacted the customer and talked about data backup prior to wiping and reloading the system.

4. If I had to backup a customers data I would have scanned the backed up data for virus/malware issues BEFORE restoring it to the newly restored system. I would have used 2 different virus scanners to do this to reduce the odds of one program missing an issue.

5. To do the data backup and restore process I would have used a Linux run from CD/USB operating system to reduce complications and time.

Anyway, from what you've described it sounds like you were "helped" by someone who really shouldn't be in the business at all and doesn't have the customers best interest in mind but more their own.
Hope it all works out.