PC Hardware → I need HELP and SOME real MORAL support

I own a Hewlett Packard. I am on my way to getting my FIFTH Hewlett Packard it seems. The company that sold me the first HP seems to be out to rip me off at every given turn.

Example one - I have only been online for going on 3 years now and have no one to teach me tech. In the FIRST year they sold me Norton Ghost and told me my problems would be over. I opened the software to a warning " caution for experienced PC users only." Any techs here--would you sell a newbie Norton Ghost?

I'm real upset and just trying to give you a picture of what I have to deal with when I deal with my computer company. Time went on and I was taken out by a trojan nuker. I bought a Hewlett Packard. Upgraded it from (is it 16 gigs I don't know the lowest anymore) to 40 gigs and from 128 megs to 256 megs ram .

They did not tell me they were sending me a refurbished computer. I did not know until the thing arrived . Ok this long story has to stop. That computer's hard drive died in a couple months. Multiply that times four. And my fights with my company grow more nasty each time. Last night I got that "windows has experienced a problem and will close down. "

Then they give you the option to send or not to send.This happened FIVE times in sequence last night when I was trying to get an email out and I'm getting that almost every day now. I sign into DSLR and get "this page cannot be displayed" click refresh , there is the page.
I get dll errors. I get all sorts of green boxes with "explorer has encountered an XXXXXXXX error and will shut down. If you keep having this error reboot your machine."

If I phone for a tech it costs me $90.00 for him to walk in the door. Not to mention the frigid response I get when I tell them whose calling. Any suggestions? I am so stressed with my computer company whom I have spent over 10 grand to now , and with Hewlett Packard who cannot see past their way to sending a NEW computer instead of a darned refurbished computer I am about to pop.

THE ONLY THING THAT KEEPS ME GOING IS TEAM DISCOVERY. I CANNOT LET THEM DOWN. I need help and if anyone has anything they can suggest even how to deal with these people it would be tremendoulsy appreciated.

Literally in tears and likely on to the FIFTH HP in one year
LadyHawke

I would stop dealing with them now. I wouldn't give them one more dime. I would find help elsewhere. DSLR/BB is a good place for tech support except that detailed problems can be tough to troubleshoot.

Is this a local computer store you are talking about? Are you in a major Canadian city? If so, there has got to be some better alternatives for you.

Keep your chin up. If you give out the city you live in, I am sure someone can steer you in the right direction.

first, team discovery will continue on. your contribution will be missed, but you'll be able to make up for your absence by getting a computer that finally works.

unfortunately, since it appears that your system is still under warranty, you'll have to deal with them and pray that eventually the problems will be resolved. it sounds like you are going to the proper channels. the only other thing that you might be able to do is contact hp's customer relations and explain to tell them the history of problems and relate to them your dissatisfaction with the product.
i would also complain about the service charge for having a tech come out.

I disagree, dragon. I have seen others stick with their warranty company only to shell out more dollars. If this situation is as bad as it sounds, the losses need to be cut. I do agree that some time should be spent with HP customer relations however, IMHO LadyHawke's best spent time will be to find a new vendor.

I do not see how selling a referbished machine without you knowing is legal...

The other matter is your crashing, dll errors, etc...

You may need to format that machine and start over...

IE, look for your restore CD and use it :/

I would call them up, ask for a refund and threaten to give them a bad review on resellerratings.com. Also as dragon suggested, tell them you plan to call HP to complain about their service.

And maybe, just maybe your credit card has some customer protection features (my Amex does), that would be another route to explore.

OK, being a computer techie, I can rightfully say that HPs are crap. The only thing good that they have ever made were inkjet printsrs, and they're the best. Their computers suck, and my own grandpa had a lot of those issues that you have had. Except that his repair was done at best buy, and they couldn't figure it out. But they still charged him $150. His HP warranty was 90 days. Get a new vendor, buy a new PC. It's sad to say, but it's the only way, that you'll ever get rid of your worries.

said by TheHondaMan:

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OK, being a computer techie, I can rightfully say that HPs are crap. The only thing good that they have ever made were inkjet printsrs, and they're the best. Their computers suck, and my own grandpa had a lot of those issues that you have had. Except that his repair was done at best buy, and they couldn't figure it out. But they still charged him $150. His HP warranty was 90 days. Get a new vendor, buy a new PC. It's sad to say, but it's the only way, that you'll ever get rid of your worries.

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compared to compaqs its as fast as poo!

I would steer clear of that company and go with a Dell probably. Dell has a great reputation for reliability and service. You can custom build your system online and it will be shipped to your door.

*cough* not a thing wrong with my 3 compaqs tks very much.

I have to agree with you about HP's tech support.....it's virtually non-existent. They don't have an 800 number, and the calls really add up. On the other hand, though, I must say that I haven't had one problem with any of the HP computers I have had, they've all been good to me. Sorry Hondaman, but I have to disagree about HP's printers. That's all we had had for the last few years and all they give me is trouble.....That's how I found out about their tech support hehe....for my first printer in 1995(?), I recall them being great, and sending out a spare part for free.....but after that, downhill.

said by LadyHawke:

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Then they give you the option to send or not to send.This happened FIVE times in sequence last night when I was trying to get an email out and I'm getting that almost every day now. I sign into DSLR and get "this page cannot be displayed" click refresh , there is the page.
I get dll errors. I get all sorts of green boxes with "explorer has encountered an XXXXXXXX error and will shut down. If you keep having this error reboot your machine."

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I'm guessing you bought this computer from some Ferangi computer dealer. The first rule of aquisition clearly states "Once you have their money never give it back". So a refund is out of the question.

Cut your losses, buy a screwdriver, salvage what you can from the POS and well help you build your own.

OK... thats kind of drastic. So, the error you are encountering is most frequently caused by bad memory, a bad or corrupt driver, or a bad piece of hardware. Memory is the easiest to swap out so start there. See if you have a friend or a local computer shop that will swap the memory out and test the machine with different memory. It's hard to for sure without seeing the computer but I'd bet that fixes it.

In no way shape or form should you give the company you bought this POS from another dime.

[text was edited by author 2002-06-10 22:52:46]

Here is another avenue you may want to walk down. I'm betting that Canada has the same or the equal service called the Better Business Bureau, Email them or write them and explain in complete detail all the problems you have had and your steps to try and resolve this amicably. Ask them for their assistance in getting this matter resolved. Second thing to do is contact your Credit Card Company, (here it helps if you still owe some cash on it) and tell them how you have been suckered with second hand goods and you want to fight their resolution, and you demand that a charge back be placed back on your card. Lastly tell the HP tech support to take a walk and find a buddy that is an Attorney or a friend of a friend. Buy them a case of beer, take them out to supper, whatever. All you want is a simple plain letter on their official letterhead telling them you want this squared away or you will be seeking a full refund and damages (now its good if your machine is used for work). Mail it to the HP Headquarters and send it Certified ~ Return Receipt Requested to this address,

Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Ltd.
5150 Spectrum Way
Mississauga, Ontario
L4W 5G1

Address it to this nice fellow:

Mr.Paul Tsaparis, president and chief executive officer, HP Canada

Now release this is nothing more than a very poor strong arm ploy to pressure them into correcting the problem. The first and hardest hurdle you have to cross is for them to offer you anything at all. Once they do that, they have admitted fault and you can play them from there. Not a great solution, but it sounds like you are past the point of fairness. So smack them between the eyes and good luck.

Sorry for your problems Ladyhawke. I can't speak to your prior problems, but its seems to me from the little you posted, and I'm surprised nobody here has mentioned it, is that you have a software problem, not a hardware problem. Yes, HP service sucks, but continually returning computers because you're getting software errors is going to drive you crazy (maybe it already has???). You need to reinstall some system files, or maybe do a complete repair/reinstall of the OS (I'm assuming XP Home?).Give us the lowdown on your setup, OS, etc., and we'll tell you how to do it. Before you know it, you'll be up and crunching for Discovery in no time!

said by Cariad:

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*cough* not a thing wrong with my 3 compaqs tks very much.

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Wow... that must be a miracle

*knocks on wood for Cariad*

said by C0deZer0:

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Wow... that must be a miracle

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Um, no, I'm just good at a what I do, and don't mess things up

And Cariad doesn't take temperatures of her PC and so she doesn't burn CPUs like I did installing a new HSF

Smart Cariad.

For the money you have spent, you could have had one custom made with top notch components. Many (not all) of the big computer dealer (HP, Compaq, etc...) use dirt cheap compenents to lower their cost and increase their profit margin. They also limit the upgradability in many of their products to keep you coming back. Cut your losses, start looking for a new computer (research), and when you get it, throw the HP off a cliff.

said by Cariad:

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said by C0deZer0:

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Wow... that must be a miracle

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Um, no, I'm just good at a what I do, and don't mess things up

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Agreed. So many people are quick to blame their mistakes on the make of the computer. I know a lot of people who have had zero problems with HP (and compaq). It seems like the "in" thing here at DSLR is bash any computer you didn't build yourself. Dell being a possible exception.

We currently have 3 HP's and a Compaq (older one). Very few problems at all. In fact, I have an HP laptop (with the ever bashed ME no less) that has NEVER BSOD'd in over a year of daily use (that includes much surfing, many installs/uninstalls)..

All that said, you may very well have a lemon(s) ladyhawke. Just don't believe everything you hear here. If you don't build it yourself, many here feel it necessary to tell you your computer is junk. Bah! [/rant] JDM

I think what people don't like about Compaq's and HP's are that they are too OEM, i.e. they are so customized that they are hard to upgrade and you get all the annoying advertising on the boot screen and what not. Dell's are more standard but not totally either.

said by SlashDot14:

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I think what people don't like about Compaq's and HP's are that they are too OEM, i.e. they are so customized that they are hard to upgrade and you get all the annoying advertising on the boot screen and what not. Dell's are more standard but not totally either.

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Slash,
I'm not following the difficult to upgrade thing. I've updated my "main dog" plenty (no, I don't mess with the CPU). I have added RAM, USB 2.0, TV card, ext. HD, etc. I'm not too demanding I suppose;)(Seems I'm forgetting something on ther others). Anyway, most stuff today is more than enough for the average user.

Oh, and that annoying advertising on the boot screen? Come now, how big a deal is that? If I'm not mistaken that can be disabled as well if it's too bothersome. I don't boot much anyway, no need Take care, JDM

Piece of cake to upgrade. My old compaq PII 350, 8meg graphics card, maestro onboard sound is now, PIII 750, with 64meg GeForce2 Graphics card, and Soundblaster live, hmmm think it's a soundblaster live, one of them anyway, forgot which one, and the Max allowed Ram 384meg.

It's cruising along.

how did you get the cpu up that high? did you switch mobos?

Um no, I took the old cpu out, and put a new one in.

well the problem i have with some CO. are no agp slot,3 pci slots, putting a p4 with pc 133 ram and so on.

but if any co. gave me that much of a problem. i wouldn't buy anything from them again.

i'd reformat and see if that works, if not. start a new post with what's going on in detail. i would install adaware and always check for spyware. i had a computer once that kept crashing. came to be that there was spyware on the computer that was know for crashing computers.

no way a p2 board could support a 750 p3

Honey, trust me...my compaq 5610 PII 350 upstairs is now a PIII 750, with extras. same mobo.

My apologies ladyhawke, I seem to have highjacked your thread.

My topic ended.

said by LuckyBob:

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no way a p2 board could support a 750 p3

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Sorry luckybob, but if it is an P-II 350/450, then most likely it is at least a 440BX, chipset which does support a 100FSB, but if lucky you may have the 815e chipset, which supports a 133 FSB.

All you have to do, is stay within the FSB family, since most OEM manufactures use the "automatic" function that was started ages ago. This allows the FSB, multiplier, and voltage to be set automatically.

Taken quite a few, P-II 350/450 and P-!!! 450/650/750 to 1Ghz (1000/100). (And verified the settings afterwards)

If your MB, does not automatically adjust for voltage, then you can use »www.powerleap.com .

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Sure HP, Compaq and the like have the possibilty for upgrading. In most cases the people who buy these machines have no idea who the mobo manufacturer is and they also do not know how to find out. Without this info, upgrading CPU, Ram, and Video can be a shot in the dark. Sure any savvy tech user can find out what they need to know to upgrade their HP, but everyday HP user....... ask them their mobo manufacturer....... LMAO!

said by squeakyg:

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Sure HP, Compaq and the like have the possibilty for upgrading. In most cases the people who buy these machines have no idea who the mobo manufacturer is and they also do not know how to find out. Without this info, upgrading CPU, Ram, and Video can be a shot in the dark. Sure any savvy tech user can find out what they need to know to upgrade their HP, but everyday HP user....... ask them their mobo manufacturer....... LMAO!

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"LMAO"? Why? Do you know how many people actually need to know their mobo manufacturer? LMAO. Few, very few. Sorry, the "holier than thou" stuff amongst the "build your own crowd" gets old quickly for moi;)