*HP HDX DRAGON Owners Lounge, Part 1*

what an odyssey

hope everything works out for the best

 

I check this thread twice a day for HDX news. (great because we're all hdx owners)

And I will be crossing my fingers for you out here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.


Aloha,
Asuhoru

 

I feel your pain.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Samuel and I recently went through hell with HP. Here is my horror story.

I ordered my HP Dragon at the beginning of February. Of course it took forever to get here but it actually wasn't as bad as I thought. As soon as I got that ring at the doorbell from FedEx I immediately felt overwhelmed with joy. I quickly ripped my HP out of the box and promply connected all the cables.

I turned it on.

The moment I pressed that power button my world would now be taken over by HP customer service. After the first powerup, I saw the HP introductory page and then a black screen that said something like "unable to detect drive." or something along the lines of that. In other words, it could not find the operation system. Can you believe that? You receive your computer after three weeks only to have the operating system corrupted or never installed from day one?

I make my first call to HP to a nice man who walked me through a couple of bios checks to see if maybe the HDD was corrupted. Well after about 2 hours of checking and system diagnoistics, we learned that there was nothing wrong with the HDD and that Windows was probably just not installed. You can imagine my frustration after spending 3000+ dollars on a computer and waiting for it to come in the mail only to not have a working os. Sensing my frustration, he asked if I wished to just send it in for repairs so they could get it up and running. I was like "are you kidding me? I just waited 3 weeks to get it in!" He then tells me it will only take about 1 hour to install the OS.... yeah right. I decide to install it.

8 hours later, and the operating system finally finished installing. 1 hour? Yeah right. The man who helped me was nice enough to call me multiple times throughout the day to check the progress. I don't think he realized how long it was going to take. I tell him I need compensation for my time wasted doing HP's work. I explain to him that I work from home and having to sit here and full with this NEW computer all day long set me back tremendously. He refers me to a case manager.

While I wait for my case manager to call sometime within *48* hours, I start checking out my "new computer." Well, for the next 4 days, I never did get a call from a case manager and I was only the phone for about 2 hours a night. Here is just a short list with what was wrong with this computer.

1. No Operating system installed. Upon further inspection, this turned out to be halftrue as the operation system was later discovered to be installed on the second harddrive and not the primary drive.

2. The primary harddrive had about 60 gigs not activated or turned on. I discovered this when I did an HDD check only to find out I was about 60 gigs short. Another 2 hour phone from HP got it resolved as I was walked through on how to "turn it on." Vista is new to me so I had no idea how to do it. On a side note, my "customer service" helper incorrectly told me there was no way to fix the partions on the hard drive and that I would have to do a complete reformatting in order to fix the many partitions. I wanted to fix the partitions because whoever built my computer had my hard drive diveded in about 5 DIFFERENT WAYS! So useless. Well after I did my own researched I discovered there was a way to fix that with reformatting. Thank you Google, screw you HP.

3. The video card was screwed up. I purchased the 8800GTS and from day one I kept getting a notification that the Video Card driver was not responding. Can you believe that? On top of everything else my video card is broken. I could not watch any videos because it would start stuttering so bad. Even youtube was unwatchable! A 3000+ computer that cant do streaming video. Awesome.

4. A huge fat virus was embedded in the system. How in the world does a virus get in your computer on day one? Seriously that is insane. It tooks about 4 virus programs to get it out. I mean.. I could barely get the internet to work much less get a virus!

5. The mouse would lockup frequently. When I would move the pointer around the screen, it would freaquently lock up and slow down. This was a common thing that I experienced everytime I turned it on.

6. The hard drive would grind something terrible. I could hear this computer a mile away everytime the hard drive would grind to a start.

I could go on but I think you get the picture. By the end of the first week of owning this computer, I was FURIOUS that a case manager STILL hadn't called me. Well after changing my concern for reinburstmant to now a complaint, I promptly got a call from the only English speaking person from HP.

If it wasn't for this guy, I would have returned this laptop and be done with it. However, he told me that he could not reinburst me for my time loss but he can offer me some items to compensate for my troubles. I decided to simple return the Dragon and reorder a fresh computer. Best move I did.

Unfortunately, I had to wait ANOTHER 3 weeks to get new Dragon. I was really concerned with what I would receive in the mail. A quick aside, I did not mention how many times I was on the phone with HP trying to get my original Dragon up to par. I now believe HP has the most incompetant staff customer support staff there is. It is pretty bad when the customer calling knows more about the product than the CSA's. I must have talked to about 8 different customer service representatives who all had no idea how to even begin to trouble shoot this computer. All in all, I spent around 20-30 hours on the phone with HP on the first week.

Fast forward to my new dragon. Unbelievably, when I boot it up it actually boots up to Windows. Shocking I know. All the problems that I experienced with my first HP Dragon were gone. No video problems, no hard drive problems, no locking of the mouse problems, everything worked! And on top of that I got a better deal on my second laptop.

So after experiencing that hell, here are some tips for those brave enough to order an HP dragon:

1. Order over the phone. You will save about 100-200 dollars if you do this. Never pay the price on the Web Site. Both times that I ordered my computer I was given an ADDITIONAL 100-200 dollar discount. Whatever you do, don't buy it online.

2. When I finally built up a rapport with my case manager, he offered me MANY free items inluding an extra HDx battery, bag, and blue tooth mouse. (about 280 dollars in goods). Now I don't know if this is standard, but it does not hurt to ask if you have been suffereing from HP. Here are the things I got for free for my troubles and my time:

A) A free carrying case. It is the 100 dollar HP case that they have for this computer.
B) A free blue tooth mouse. It is a 60 dollar value. Oh btw, about this mouse. When I received it in the mail the installation disk was cracked. Pretty awesome huh? After 4 calls and many more problems, they not only have not sent me out a replacement disk but what they did send out leads me to the following..
C)I also got a free HDX laptop battery. Here is the funny part. In the end, I ended up with 2 FREE BATTERIES. When I called up to get a replacement disk for my mouse, they screwed that up so bad they thought I needed a REPLACEMENT battery! Can you believe it? I never once said "hey I need a new battery." How HPs poor customer service messed this up I have no idea. I ask for a disk and they send me ANOTHER free HDX laptop battery. Unreal. So now all total with the battery that came with my laptop I now have 3 batteries. I am trying to sell one of them (it is still in its sealed factory packaging). This brought my freebies up to about 380 bucks.

So yes in the end it worked out good for me and HP did what they needed to do to recitfy the situation. But while I got free items, in the end they really were not free when you add up my many hours I spent on the phone with HP. This whole nightmare lasted about 2 months and I will never again order from HP. From broken installation disk to poor products, it just is not worth it.

You know a company has poor CSA service when they accidentatly send out free $130 batteries.

With that said, I am selling one of my extra batteries for $120 or best offer so send me a PM and we'll work something out. I only ship in America though. Sorry.

If you are experiencing trouble with HP, do not hesitate to call and complain. Yes they are incompetant, but it is the only way to log in your complaints. Quietly suffering and fixing your own problems may be faster, but in the end you have nothing to show for your lost time. Everytime you call to voice your complaints it is logged so if you were to take it to the next level and file a formal complaint for damages you will have it all documented.

This really is an AMAZING machine. It is just too bad its made by HP. Its so hard to recommend it to people because one hand I love it and I love what I can do with it, on the other I still remember quite vividly what I went through.

Buyer beware.

Samuel

 

That was a good read.

The 'man' tried to stick you, and you gave it right back to him with extra batteries to show for it.

Aloha

 

there must be a problem if you order the HDX in the mail

i got my HDX from the store and did not walk out until everything was running smooth and fine. and since the day i left that store (about a country away, hahaha) i never had any problems whatsoever

i do have a question though. is the HDX available in all countries or only in select countries

 

You Know?

With all these problems we all have been having.
HP is still rated number one by J.D. powers and the BBB when it comes to
customer service.

HP sold Millions of PC's last year. Does anyone know the real number?
The BBB only received something like 4,000 conplaints. It looks like all but a couple were resloved by exchanges. This must mean that You and I must be the exceptions
People seem to be much more Happy with HP then they are with Dell or Gateway????

This is very Very scarry to me.

Another thought, Since the dragon is a very high end machine. HP may not sell that many. So they have no one that is an expert at building these monsters. This then causing the HDX's to be shipped with more problems then any of the other PC models HP ships.


Good luck.

 

Has anyone installed SP1 on the HDX yet? If so, any problems?

 

I installed it last week and nothing has gone wrong. The bootup is faster and it seems to be a little more stable and run faster. DEFINATELY install it.

I also hear that SP1 fixes some network N errors which I have yet to verify. I had a Network N setup but returned it because my HDX was unable to recognize it. Don't know if the new service pack fixed this problem. When I get my N network setup again I'll let you all know.

 

has anyone's media console buttons stopped working? i just got my HDX 2 days ago,(bought it myself from a HP authorized distibutor). THey were working fine but then stopped working. I rebooted the computer and still noresult. then i downloaded the Media buttons software from HP but still not working...Then i used the HP recovery thig which reformatted my C drive and reinstalled windowed...then they started working again..what the Hell is this problem..is this gonna keep happening?

 

A fact of the technology business is that the first edition (beta gold) of any product will more than likely have more problems than later editions. Early adopters almost always run that risk. Best bet is to never buy a new product until 6-12 months after its initial release. HDX was release at the end of July '07.

With that said, manufacturers are generally prepared to work with customers to ensure their satisfaction. They know customer feedback can make or break a new product.

So hang in there, be patient, and always no matter what be as courteous as you can tolerate being with CS reps.

I've bought a number of first run products and have always received very good to excellent customer service. I know I'm taking more of a risk by buying an untried product. So I approach customer service with that in mind. And like I am Sam, I too would get all sorts of "freebees" as compensation and have ended up being totally satisfied in the end.

 

Thanks for the quick response, I will go ahead and install SP1 tonight.

 

I've been reading the forums here now for about 2 months. I was having a hard time deciding on which model of laptop I wanted to purchase. After looking at Dell/Alienware, Toshiba, Gateway, Sager and Clevo I finally decided I would give the HP HDX a try. I have read this thread pretty carefully and still with everything that has happened to others I decided to give the unit a go since they are on the third revision of this unit.

Mine won't arrive until next week. I'm sorry some of you have had a bad experience. After having a bad deal with Dell twice now I figured HP deserved a shot. Here's a look at my build.

HP Pavilion HDX Entertainment Series CTO
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme Processor X9000 (2.80GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
- 20.1" WUXGA High-Definition HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen Display(1920x1200) - "True HD" 1080p res
- 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
- 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS
- HP Imprint Finish (Dragon) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
- 240GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (120GB x 2)
- LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
- Integrated HP HDTV Hybrid TV Tuner and 4 Altec Lansing speakers +the HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer
- 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- System Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
- Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
- Power Pack software - muvee autoProducer Premium, Cyberl! ink DVD Suite Premium and Serif Web Plus.


Of course like everyone else I will use it for a ton of different things, but mostly online gaming and something to lug around with me from time to time on trips. My only gripe so far is HP is out of the only carrier i've been able to find for the unit. A 20" bag or case is difficult to come by. I'll be happy to share my experience once the unit has arrived!

 

Congrats on your purchase. Best wishes. Sweet setup.

 

I pretty much got the same exact setup except I got the blueray drive. It is blazing fast and you should have no trouble playing games like Unreal 3 and Call of Duty 4 at max resolution (1920x1200) with settings maxed. It really is an awesome machine.

As part of my settlement with HP, I got this for free: http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/notebook/notebook_hp/carrying_cases/1/accessories/KD853PA .

It is a great case and has a special slot for the HDX and keeps it secure. If I had to actually pay for it I would still think its a great deal. Trust me when I say this you HAVE to have a carrying case with this laptop. It is such a behometh that it is impossible to just lug it around under your arm. I know... I did for an all day conference and by the time I got to my car I was sore.

That bag I listed is about the only bag I've seen around for it. Worth the price.

MAKE SURE you test out every feature when you receive your HDX. When I returned the HDX and got the new one it was the latest version and its so far worked flawlessly. Just make sure you throughly check it out and if you run into any major problems return it and have them build you a new one.

Congrats on your purchase and good luck!

Samuel

 

nice bag but still a bit bulky for me. i use a jansport flywheel messenger bag. its not as padded but very convenient to use if you transport your HDX around. now all i need is a good padded computer sleeve

 

I went ahead and ordered the Dicota MultiGiant. I found someone in the U.S. that has a few in stock and can get it to me around the same time I should be receiving my HDX. I got the Zalman NC2000 a couple of days ago to see if it would help with cooling. I measured it and the HDX will barely overlap in all around, it's still a nice fit. Can't wait to get everything to try it out!

 

Link to Dicota MultiGiant 20" Notebook Case for $37:
http://www.pcconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=8281636

Link to HP 20" Roller Case for Notebook PCs for $100:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/notebook/notebook_hp/carrying_cases/1/accessories/KD853PA

Each case has its conveniences and use.

RE: HDX issues and Hpshopping experiences

I am Sam: Like tinman and others before you who spoke up, it is good of you to invest the energy and complain in a timely fashion. Even though at times it can truly make us sick, still, one must speak up when something is wrong with a unit. The worst thing one can do is be passive about that which is wrong.

Better luck to you Samuel, tinman, and all of us really.

To tinman: I have found that J.D. Powers and Associates is little more than a marketing tool. You would do yourself a favor not to think highly of it. BBB or Better Business Bureau, on the other hand, is a respectable outfit.

Link to BBB - Better Business Bureau:
http://welcome.bbb.org/

 

That Dicota MultiGiant looks really nice. The HP case is great and all, but its very big and bulky. For long trips, it is the superior case but for going to the office or school, its not very practical.

Have you used the Dicota Multigiant? Is it really bulky or could you see yourself easily carrying it to the office or school?

 

I have used neither. I suppose it is a matter of personal preference. Of course, it would also depend on one’s tolerance for what one considers weighty or uncomfortable. With the Dicota MultiGiant, one would probably have to be careful making sure the unit does not bump against hard objects or walls. I should think that the 20” Roller Case from HP would be the perfect bag for a comfortable journey, thus eliminating the need to lug a separate small suitcase and a notebook case.

Personally, I would lean toward the Dicota MultiGiant. But then again, I have little reason to if any and would seldom if at all need to transport the HDX. I carry on a 15" notebook.

On a side note - HDX is more of a desktop replacement than a carry-on:
Even though the HDX is transportable, technically, it is a powerful desktop replacement and a work of art. Personally, I do not think the HDX is the notebook of choice to be carried to school or to the office on a daily basis or as a matter of course. I also tend to think that the heavier the machine the more chance something might go wrong if one transports it. And more frequent transportation adds that much more risk.

 

yep, the HDX is really a portable desktop. as a consultant, i lug this however in between offices (at most about 3 different offices in a day)

another alternative case is the crumpler bee's knees messenger bag but again you will need a good padded notebook sleeve

 

Just wanted to let everyone know that I still have my HDX 9 cell battery for sale. It is sealed in its original packaging. If anyone wants an extra battery, PM and maybe we can work something out. It retails for around 140. I'm asking 120 for it but feel free to make me an offer on it.

Thanks!

 

Hello,
I'm new on this forum, i'm from Belgium.
I got mine HDX laptop from today.
One question, is it possible to upgrading the videocard when next gen gpu's come out?
Thx sorry bad english

 

Generally the answer is no. Notebooks do not upgrade well. But the CPU will be upgradeable to quad core.

 

2.0

Upgradable to quad core? Up to which kind of Quad cores?
WOW I never realised that! would that imply a lot of work? Is there a link to some guide for doing that?
I could get that HDX with a T8100 after all... and upgrade later !

BPAT

Which HDX did you get? a HDX92xx or a HDX93xx? could you please post a little review of it?

 

Hello,
It's HDX 9350EB

Notebook Processor Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 • 4096 MB RAM • HD 500 GB (2x250GB) • Nvidia GeForce 8800M GTS (512 MB dedicated) • Blu-ray Disc-lezer en DVD-brander • scherm 20.1' TFT • Bluetooth • Wi-Fi • TV tuner • Webcam • Fingerprint • geheugenkaartlezer • Windows Vista Home Premium (NL-FR-UK)

I made a phonecall to Hp belgium, they say that upgrade the gpu is possible?

 

Yeah, it's doable. All you need is the service manual. Details on how to get at the CPU are there. Then it's just a matter of swapping out the CPUs and replacing any thermal compound that's there.

I wouldn't waste money on the "QX" prefixed quad cores. Get the "Q" prefix quad cores that'll be out by year's end.

Service Manual URL: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01279508.pdf


As for the graphics card being upgradeable... first consider how much it'll cost if it is possible. Currently what would probably be possible is to upgrade an ATI HD2600XT to a Geforce 8800M GTS. But you'd have to send it into HP to do it if it's under warranty. You could probably do it yourself, but the cost of the card from HP replacement parts wouldn't justify the endeavor. Plus you might have to get a new motherboard as it might be as simple as plugging the new card into the MXM-like slot.

 

Update about the Italian market

(FULGORE this probably could be interesting for you)

http://notebookitalia.it/forum/view-6586.html

For those who don't speak italian the article is an interview with a HP rep who says that althought models with a T8300 or a T9300 are not officially sold in Italy, some stores get those versions from foreign countries, therefore they can be found around. (If anyone sees an italian site selling a HDX with a T8300 or T9300, please let me know!)

Also today the same site announced the HDX93XX series in Italy (HDX93xx = Blu Ray):

http://notebookitalia.it/hp-pavilion-hdx9300-e-tx2100-tablet-pc-1909.html

 

hey does anyone know that an HDX with a TV tuner accepts xbox360 input through the S-video port....i m looking into buying my 4th 360(dont ask) and would like to know if it will work on the HDX scrren....

 

help!!!!

windows mobility center is showng my display brightness set as 78% even though i set the slider all the way to maximum....i even tried to get the brightness at its highest using the function+F8 key but still 78%

oh and i have the adapter connected

 

Is it possible to get this resololution on my HDX 1920x1200? I think i read a post on the forum about it....
Now its 1680x1050 max
grts

 

Can't believe there is an owner's lounge for the HDX, that rocks!

I had been mulling over what big laptop to get for month or two and then there was a $500 off coupon on techbargains.com for the 9700 and I said to myself, self, try it on an HDX! BAMMO! it worked, who would've thought.

- HP Pavilion HDX Entertainment Series CTO
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.50 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
- 20.1" diagonal WUXGA High-Definition HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen (1920x1200)-"True HD" 1080p res
- 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
- 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS
- HP Imprint Finish (Dragon) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
- 240GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (120GB x 2)
- LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
- Integrated HP HDTV Hybrid TV Tuner and 4 Altec Lansing speakers +the HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer
- 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
- Power Pack software - muvee autoProducer Premium, Cyberlink DVD Suite Premium and Serif Web Plus

Product description Product #Qty 1 Your extended price
HP Pavilion HDX Entertainment Series CTO
Product price does not include a $8.00 recycling fee per unit*
eligible for free shipping
$2434.99 Summary of discounts for order xxx3084xxx:

Instant discounts you received:
$500.00 Coupon NB1567

So, I haven't read through all the posts yet but now I will be in the Battleship club.

 

Mine shipped a few days ago. Should get here in the next day or two. I've been reading on all the things I should do once it gets here, like remove bloatware right off the bat and check for newer/better drivers.

 

Congrats Creekdweller!

Nice work with that $500 coupon!

I noticed in your sig you put "vista SP1" with the unsure icon. I was wondering about that too since all the other lappies HP sells, when you config, they all say SP1. Hopefully HP just didn't get around to updating their HDX options and it will ship with SP1 pre-installed.

 

Hey 2.0,
I put the icon there mostly because I have not used Vista before and with all the feedback/reviews of Vista I am just a bit leery. If it had the option of XP I would have done that. Any experiential thoughts about that? I thought about getting a buddy of mine to help me set up a dual boot Vista/XP but I think I will wait and see how it goes. I CANNOT wait to get my behemoth. The laptop I have been using is a 12.1" Averatec, great for email and internet but NOTHING else.

 

Wow! 12.1" Averatec. Man, you're probably going to love the HDX.

On Vista; I like it. You most likely won't have any real problems with it especially since you went with 32 bit version. I doubt that you'll run into any program incompatibilities. I have 2 legacy programs that won't run on it. So I'll probably set up an XP virtual machine using VMware just to run them. They're old school financial programs I need for work. I've been using them since the mid 90's. Yeah yeah, I know. But I'm old school like that.

So try it out before you go the dual boot route. It's tough getting XP to work on the HDX. Sound driver is non-existent for XP. A few other issues.

 

Damn you with your $500 off coupon!!! Grats to you for trying it and having success.

/slaps self with a Delicious Bass

 

2.0 - The only older programs I would like to run would be DVDDecrypter and DVD Shrink. Don't know if they work on Vista but I hope so. I'm sure there are workarounds and I know there are other options. We'll see. I just need to get Homeworld 2 to run on vista and widescreen (I want to try out Beyond the Red Line mod and others for HW2... but that will wait until the BigBoy arrives.

Asuhoru - I had been coveting an HDX so when that coupon showed up, figured what the hell, there is no limit on the AMEX card right? I think the HDX can actually swallow my old Averatec 12" and not even burp.

 

Looks like HP is no longer offering 32bit Vista. Only 64 bit SP1 home and ultimate verson.

Going to have to bust out the VMware solution.

 

Wow I wonder when that happened? Mine didn't ship until Saturday this weekend. It's hung up by FedEx/customs in Anchorage. Hoping to get it by Friday morning. No big deal if it has the 64bit Home Edition. I'll make do or manage. Never really planned on running anything old on it anyway.

 

Happened sometime between today and Monday. I checked the site on Monday to see if they updated to SP1 but they hadn't yet.

Sounds the death knell on hope for a 32bit XP sound driver from HP.

Don't think you'll get the 64 bit edition or SP1 though. If you install SP1, do it from a fresh install of Vista as that has been working best for most on any system.

 

Holy s**t!!!! There are a lot of reported problems on the HDX for a system that has been out for 8 months or so. I Read all 290 posts and optimistically I hope that is not a general problem. A couple tweaks here and there is to be expected but wholesale computer inflicted high blood pressure is something else.

Since the posters on this thread have probably forgotten more than I know (technically speaking) can some of you post a list of what you would check and how you would check it? There is the 21 day window and if there are major problems the thing is going back. I just would hate to find out 22 days down the road "oh, this feature/hardware locks up totally and won't work". That would be all bad. The HDX is just so gorgeous that I have to give it a try. Kinda like that blonde psycho with the great...

 

Primarily what i've been reading is the first thing you want to do is wipe Vista and reload without all the crap HP installs(bloatware). Then install the proper drivers and update to SP1. If Fedex didn't have such a horrible tracking system and HP didn't have so many customs delays I might be able to tell you. My system was due to be here by 10:30 AM(roughly) this morning. Last update status was for the 3rd day it sits in Alaska waiting for customs to clear it. So in the next 3 or 4 days hopefully I can give you a more updated rundown on what I had to do.

 

I currently am running DVDDecrypter, DVD Shrink, and Rip it 4 Me. The only thing I had to do is get a new version of Nero. They will work on both the 32 and 64 bit Vista.

 

I think their website just has hiccups. They took off the 8800 one day after I ordered mine a few weeks ago. Almost had a heart attack, until I called and they assured me it was still on my order. Then later that day, it was available on the website again.

Doesn't seem realistic to drop the 32bit anyway, seems way less buggy and more program friendly than 64bit from what I have read. But certainly no expert.

 

At this point i'd just like to get mine. I'll quibble about what's on it or hopefully what's not wrong with after it's in my hands. It would be nice to see a few laptops being manufactured here in the U.S. Nothing against other countries, but customs can be a bummer. Cheap labor always wins out.

 

Im just curious, has anyone ever tried to sue contact support or HP over their lack of support? My hdx9000 had issues from about 2 months after I received it. My quickplay buttons ceased to work, and then the speakers a bit after. It seemed to be either a short, or most likely a loose wire. I was going to take it apart myself to check, but after seeing all the screws involved, I decided I would just use my warranty. (and me being a laptop n00b, I purchased the extended so if it broke and defected. . . )

Thing is, with outsourced tech support, you never actually deal with hp, so they dont care if it gets fixed or not heh.

So its been **months** (like 6 or so)

I cant get them to actually send me the stuff to ship the lappy to get fixed, even though they keep saying their going to. I really wish I could at least get my money back since it doesn't do any good to have it.

Sucks, paid just about $4k for mine after customizations, and don't even use it now since it doesn't work right.

Id love to sue them for their neglect, but doubt its even a realistic idea.

End of my rant. but I really am curious. Companies shouldn't be able to get away with having this poor of support.

 

Just in case you're feeling adventurous, here's the HDX service manual in pdf format:

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01279508.pdf

The fix for the quickplay buttons is in this thread towards the beginning I believe. To sum up, take out that battery, make sure it's unplugged from the wall, hold down the power button for 30 secs.

In any event, ask to speak to someone higher up on the chain. Let them know your situation. Rare that this shouldn't be resolved unless there are some extenuating circumstances on your side such as currently residing outside the US while having purchased in the US. That's tends to be a sticky situation.

One other thing, if you used a credit card like Amex or a Mastercard, check to see if they have buyer protections. See if they can help you out.

 

Sounds like you haven't lit the fire under the right set of buttocks yet. Believe me, if my stuff breaks it will get fixed or replaced. You can't play around with anyones tech support. Call them and give them your customer info. As soon as they ask how they can help, tell them to get a supervisor on the phone NOW!!! Then tell that supervisor what your problems have been and you want them resolved by the end of that phone call. If they aren't capable of doing what you want, then they need to put someone on the phone who is.

Don't be crude, be straight forward, calm and confident. You have spent 4k with them and you don't want $2.00 treatment or the runaround. If they say they will have a issue resolved for you, tell them they have 48 hours to do so to your satisfaction. Otherwise you will be calling snd asking to speak to his boss's boss, and you won't be as nice next time.

Drive the point home and get all the info you can, their full name, badge number, whatever you can and repeat it back to them. That way they know you are serious and paying attention. Last but most important follow up with them. Don't sit back and hope things work out for the best, make them work out. Just remember not to make a @ss of yourself. Be polite until it's time to not be polite.

I hope everything works out for you.

 

I checked with AMEX ahead of time and they will help with any dispute. Didn't say for sure they would cover anything but would look at both sides of the situation and if it is a BRAND NEW computer there is really only one side, THE COMPUTER SHOULD WORK PROPERLY

Let us know how it goes since my setup will be almost identical.
Good advice re: phone support. If you get snotty they become even more unhelpful.

That's great to know, since I love those programs.

 

Creek,

That's their 90 day buyer satifaction guarantee. Amex is great like that.

Also Amex offers a 1 year extended warranty for free. Their program is great.

https://www212.americanexpress.com/...e_allccsg_shareddetails&type=intbenefitdetail