@carterm48 you are right. Environmental factors impact on HDD failure I suggest @TrishFitz read the article at the link below regarding environmental factors, which Apple may say caused the failure
@TrishFitz separate to who should wear the cost of the replacement, the above article also reminds you to copy all you can from the failed HDD (i.e. onto USB, an external device or Time Machine).
@TrishFitz the following are examples of “fusion” type drives of 4TB and 8TB capacity, probably a lot more capacity than your current Fusion drive
The Apple file system (APFS) or the Apple OS extended file system are different to Windows OS file systems eg NTFS.
Typically macOS from 10.13 onwards use APFS which supports the following options
APFS: Uses the APFS format. Choose this option if you don’t need an encrypted or case-sensitive format.
APFS (Encrypted): Uses the APFS format and encrypts the volume.
APFS (Case-sensitive): Uses the APFS format and is case-sensitive to file and folder names. For example, folders named “Data” and “DATA” are different folders.
APFS (Case-sensitive, Encrypted): Uses the APFS format, is case-sensitive to file and folder names and encrypts the volume. For example, folders named “Data” and “DATA” are different folders.
Apple OS extended or sometimes known as HFS typically used on macs with version 10.12 and below uses the following options
Mac OS Extended (Journaled): Uses the Mac format (Journaled HFS Plus) to protect the integrity of the hierarchical file system. Choose this option if you don’t need an encrypted or case-sensitive format.
Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted): Uses the Mac format, requires a password and encrypts the partition.
Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled): Uses the Mac format and is case-sensitive to folder names. For example, folders named “Data” and “DATA” are different folders.
Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled, Encrypted): Uses the Mac format, is case-sensitive to folder names, requires a password and encrypts the partition. For example, folders named “Data” and “DATA” are different folders.
If your current drive is unusable then using the macOS recovery system to access Drive Utility to create the appropriate file system on a new drive likely will be necessary.
To find out about the macOS recovery system read the following
So the $800 quoted to you seems to be the Apple price for their help and not a real reflection of what is available.
As I suspect yours is an Intel based chipset the following is also a useful read
ACL may be difficult to use as rotational drives found in the Fusion drives are very susceptible to damage from bumping the machine while it is running. It is possible that they may find this type of damage on inspection which would then under ACL come as fair wear and tear or negligent usage, meaning it is at your cost to repair. For future replacement options I would suggest the use of SSDs as they are not subject to the same damage issues that a rotating spindle may suffer (vibration, jarring, bumping).
Just as an aside DELL if buying replacement DELL branded parts are quite expensive compared to products offered through other retailers. Brand loyalty often comes with extra cost for the same function and or product. Stick an Apple sticker or a DELL sticker on a drive as examples, means the price goes up markedly.
