Troubles with Tech Support

Ok, I'll try to give the condensed version of my laptop's woes over the last two months. The laptop in question is an HP dv9000t.

First time I sent my laptop for repair was because, while playing WoW, the computer's screen froze completely. I was listening to music as well at the time, and it was still going on. The computer itself had not froze, just the screen. So, I hard powered down and rebooted, only to find that the screen did not show anything anymore. No BIOS loading screen, no Vista loading screen, no nothing. Only the backlight worked. I called HP, and they said my warranty ran out two days prior rolleyes: ) but they would issue me a free repair because of the model. When I got it back, the notes said that they did not find anything wrong rolleyes: ), yet they replaced the system board and some of the casing.

Second time I sent it in was, not long after I got my laptop back, I kept having issues with my framerates dropping considerably for a period of 5 seconds every 10-20 seconds. At first, it elluded me (although it seemed familiar) as to what it was. That's when I remembered that the way it was running seemed similar to as if I had left the computer in Power Saver mode. Since it was still in High Performance, I knew something was up. I decided to install SpeedFan, and noticed that my CPU was reaching 90c or higher (which explains everything; if it was reaching that temp, more than likely, the CPU was throttling down to lessen the heat). My theory was that even though they replaced the system board, they did not replace the thermal pad from the CPU. It's also possible that the heat sink / fan assembly was not working as intended, however the fan was definitely still running.

And this leads me to the third time I'm having to send this laptop back. I get it back from repair and notice it's running cooler, so I'm happy. Then it starts going into sleep mode randomly. I didn't know what to think; then I noticed that it was doing it sometimes when I was typing on the keyboard. I wasn't quite sure what to think, when I happened to stumble on another clue: it went into sleep mode whenever I pressed where the casing joins right beside the Escape key. This lead me to believe that the power button was stuck, but after changing the settings to where it wouldn't do anything should the power button be pressed, I learned that wasn't it. Changing the settings for closing the lid, though, did. Apparently that sensor is being pressed whenever I tap that side of the laptop (which, of course, is a flaw in their reassembling of my laptop).

Do I have any more course of action since I've had to send this in three times to their repair center, twice because of their own mistakes? This is getting really irritating, and I'm beginning to wonder what else would be wrong when I get it back.

 

Call HP and ask for a replacement....I'm doing that today because my laptop is running so hot and yet again and this is after 3 repairs....dont give up

 

I called yesterday and was given the "I'll let a case manager know, you should receive a call in 24-48 hours" line. I'm giving them exactly 48 hours, after that I will not be let off the phone until something happens.

 

just go straight to the top and call HP Executive customer relations: the number is 1-800-756-0608 option 7...it will get you very far....no case manager is going to call you back in 24-48 hours i can tell you that

 

Just got off the phone from calling that number. The lady I talked to got a case manager on my case (as apparently it had not been escalated as of 48 hours like they said ). Talked to case manager Dan ( *shudders*), who told me that it had to be sent in to be repaired for that third time before they could even consider a replacement. So, I'm sending it off again. I'm hoping that whomever's doing the repair will actually do it *right* this time.

 

Yeah thats what happened to me...its sucks that they don't offer a replacement after the second time and believe me I fought hard but still lost..remember though if it comes back broken again or with another problem call your case manager or executive relations again and they will replace it just say its the same problem over and over again...

 

Hey Seth, I have a dv9000 but it runs WoW terribly, is there anyway to fix this or am I screwed?

 

Bought a DV9000 in October 2007. Motherboard failed in June 2008. Fan failed in December 2009. Something else (possibly motherboard again) failed a few weeks ago.

During all of these trials, the following things happened

- A tech support agent had me remove the two hard drives and try and start the laptop. I told him it wouldn't work, he said just do it. It didn't work. He said it was because there was no hard drives in it.

- A case manager told me he extended my warranty 4 years. Turns out he only extended it 1.

- A case manager told me he will not respond to emails.

- They sent the box that you return the laptop in to the wrong address. Twice.

- During the second issue, I asked a tech support agent to transfer me to a case manager. He refused and promised me I will not have another issue with the laptop. I asked how that was possible. He said if there is, they will fix it. He put me on hold, and then came back and promised me the same thing.

After it was determined I had to send it back a third time, I spoke with a case manager who is sending me a replacement laptop. A very nice gesture. I was assured it would be arriving Friday March 28th. It's not here, and I have no email from HP saying they sent it. Also, they are upgrading their computer system all weekend so I have no idea where my laptop is or when it will arrive.

Everytime HP does something nice for you, they just mess right back up.

 

i also had a hassle. you really have to keep at them, and triple check everything they do to avoid them making mistakes. hopefully you pushed for as many upgrades as possible. im very happy with the unit i got. + processor, + GPU, + blu-ray, + extra battery, + bluetooth stereo headphones, + quickdock, + speakers, + printer. they accidentally subtracted the fingerprint reader but made up for it by adding 2 years of ADP and warranty. was it worth the hours of frustration? probably not, but now that it's over im happy with the result.