About to send my P-7811FX in. . . to Gateway. Need comments and answers from people who HAVE sent their machines to Gateway.

First off, sorry about the long title.

To sum things up briefly, I've begun to get the infamous "lock-up" / freeze after playing (insert recently-released game here). I've contacted Gateway support, followed their- rather noobish- troubleshooting guide, and have decided to send my machine in for the "repair". Now, I only get these "lock-ups" when I put all graphical settings on "high", which is what the machine is meant for, but the system freezes after 10-30 minutes of gameplay (various between games). I can play the games fine on "lowest" settings for about 3+ hours, but certainly I am not getting what I paid for. I can live with playing games on "lowest" settings, but I do not want to get buyer's remorse.

My greatest fear is that Gateway will refuse to warrant my system. I have opened the notebook many times, but mostly the CPU / HDD compartments. It is evident though, that I have opened the entire shell, but made no modifications to it; I just wanted to see what the system looked like on the inside. One of the three fins on the HDD panel broke off, which I assume shouldn't be a big deal. I took off the aluminum surrounding the 2nd SATA port, which also isn't a big deal. But, my main concern is that, by opening the whole shell I voided my warranty, even though I didn't modify anything (just a little compressed air). Can anyone justify this?

Now I have some quick questions for those people who have sent their P-78xx FX machines into Gateway. It's a quick little survey that will take tops. 5 minutes to complete. Any honest responses are valued greatly and will be rewarded with rep.

To ensure that I get honest answers, I will not include an anonymous poll, but rather, could you please answer the questions, as they will help me greatly with my doubts:

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1. State the model of your notebook. If it is a P-7811FX, then does the serial code start with P2887 or P2888?

2. How have your experiences been with sending your P-78xx FX to the Gateway Repair Center in Temple, Texas?

a) Gateway resolved my issue by replacing certain parts (such as the whole motherboard) and my laptop no longer freezes during gameplay?
b) Gateway replaced my computer entirely with the same model or one of equal value? Was this because your machine was a lemon (sent it in 3(+) times)?
c) Can't tell, but it's either A or B. The computer no longer freezes.
d) Gateway claims to replaced my laptop or fixed the issue, but you notice nothing different and it still "locks-up" / freezes?
e) Gateway refused to warrant / repair my system due to "infringement of warranty"? If you answer yes to this one, can you explain why?
f) Other (Please, please, please state what it is).

3. Did you pay for shipping insurance. If yes, then how much and was it really worth it?

4. How long did it take for Gateway to fix or send your notebook back after the day you sent it? Gateway claims 3-7 days, but I fear more.

5. What kind of box did you send the machine in?

a) The same box that came with my purchased P-78xx system, just followed the directions and sent it.
b) Found / purchased a box, slapped on the good stuff, follwed directions and sent it in.

6. Have you ever opened up your notebook (the bottom of your notebook):

a) No
b) Yes, but just peeked in to see what it looked like inside.
c) Yes, and have upgraded the computer (Ex: added 2nd HDD, more RAM, Bluetooth, etc. . .)
d) Yes, redid thermal paste, or some other modification that would void warranty. If you sent it in with the modification, did Gateway realize it or not?

7. What Operating System did you leave on the computer when you sent it in? (I am currently using XP-32 bit, but the sound drivers aren't fully functional and I am thinking about reformatting it completely back to Vista 64-bit).

a) Clean reformat back to Vista 64-bit.
b) Vista 64-bit
c) Vista 32-bit
d) XP 64-bit
e) XP 32-bit
f) Other

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Answers and additional constructive comments will be valued greatly. I appreciate your consideration if you posted and I will reward you.

 

Hi. I sent my laptop (P7811fx with serial code starting for p2888 if im not wrong...) twice. The first time they "cleaned the fan". The second they replaced the motherboard, cpu, ram and gpu. everything. Unfortunately after a while I started having freezing issues again. Now I'm thinking about sending it in for the third time but I'm not sure it will really be useful (and i will have to pay for shipping again...). About your survey:

1. p7811fx sn starting w p2888 (or 7, i dont have my laptop right here);
2. sent it twice and they replaced mb, cpu, gpu and ram
3. i did. i cant remember how much was it.
4. i think it took more than a week each time.
5. i got a box from the ups.
6. never.
7. vista 64bit, it was a clean reformat the first time but not the second.

do you think they will give me a new computer if i send mine in (since it's gonna be a "lemon")?
I hope that helps!

 

I do not have a Gateway P-78xx series, but I do have a P-6831FX that went it for issues with a blank screen. My answers are in bold

1. P-6831FX

2. How have your experiences been with sending your P-78xx FX to the Gateway Repair Center in Temple, Texas?

a) Gateway resolved my issue by replacing certain parts. My motherboard, CD drive (for other reason of the button being unresponsive), fan, HD, VGA Heatsink, and USB/Modem/DC Jack board was replaced, . My problem was completely fixed

3. Did you pay for shipping insurance. If yes, then how much and was it really worth it? Shipping was free both ways.

4. How long did it take for Gateway to fix or send your notebook back after the day you sent it? Gateway claims 3-7 days, but I fear more. My whole repair took me from my 8/3/09 order date to a 9/25/08 shipping date. It was long, but I'm not exactly complaining since I did not need my laptop back ASAP.

5. What kind of box did you send the machine in? Gateway provided a box with foam packaging for secure transport.

6. Have you ever opened up your notebook (the bottom of your notebook):

b) Yes, but just peeked in to see what it looked like inside. I also removed my HD to backup some data, and then reinstalled it.

7. What Operating System did you leave on the computer when you sent it in? (I am currently using XP-32 bit, but the sound drivers aren't fully functional and I am thinking about reformatting it completely back to Vista 64-bit).

c) Vista 32-bit

 

1.
7811 and yes, p2888

2.
f. From what I can tell, they locked it in a closet for a week and then rubbed dirt on the screen.

3.
Yes, $1500. No it wasn't worth it, as I have closets and dirt where I live. But it's your call as to whether or not you want insurance.

4.
Whole thing was about 2 weeks. They probably had it in their possession for 3-4 days.

5.
b.An HP box that was a little small.

6.
Very much d. I installed a copper shim to replace my damaged thermal pad, which I threw away. I don't know if they would have cared (probably), so I got rid of it, cleaned the chipset as best I could (shouldn't be any thermal grease on there if you didn't screw with it), and stuck a note on the power button telling them not to turn it on without a thermal pad. There was also thermal grease residue around the CPU because of the many applications I've done, and I think there was/is a screw lodged in there somewhere from when it broke off the back panel. So yeah, they don't really seem to care too much if you've messed with things. By the way, replacing thermal grease won't void your warranty. You'd have to if you installed a new CPU.

7.
b. They actually left it alone. I was expecting them to reformat. Still back up your data though.


I should add that I didn't have any problem outside of the common problem of all 7811s. I just sent it in to see if they would give me the new heatsink, and they didn't.

 

Thank you all for the responses! Well I sent my machine back, the whole process took 7 days, and literally nothing was changed about it. All Gateway did was replace my HDD bay, which had one tab broken off, and claimed to have tested it and sent it back. Now from what I can tell, there are more scratches and smudges on the machine than problems fixed. In my report 2 problems were reported by me: white spots on the screen and constant freezing. I have yet to test the freezing issue, but from what I can tell Gateway completely ignored the screen issue. This worries me as a customer because I only have 1-2 months left of warranty and if something happens that is related to any of these issues ill be pissed. Man, they don't lie when they say Gateway Customer Support sucks.

 

This is where the Better Business Bureau usually get involved. With Dell it was unresolved issues but Gateway doesn't have that option. I would also keep trying to send it in until they fix it. On that token in the warranty they have "Limited warranty does not cover or gateway is not responsible for... Damages caused by failure to perform preventive maintenance"

 

I bought the laptop back in November of last year and I still do not have a working laptop.

I will be contacting the BBB.