nVidia Class Action Fairness Hearing is Tomorrow - Almost time to make a claim!

Tomorrow (December 20, 2010) is the fairness hearing that will lay the groundwork to begin the claim process for the nVidia class action lawsuit. This includes a bunch of hp Pavilion notebooks, including my wife's dv6449us.

Read more details at the following links:

The NVIDIA GPU Litigation - Home Page


Consumer Affairs Headline: Nvidia Settles Faulty Processor Suit---Dell-HP-Compaq-Mac Owners Stand to Benefit


Update 02/15/2011: For everyone's convenience, here is a link to contact information to register a written or phone complaint with attorney Jeff Westerman. Contact information for all attorneys involved in this class action can be found here.

Update 02/20/2011: You should also check out Fair NVIDIA Settlement

Update 03/14/2011: The deadline for filing a claim was March 14, 2011.

Update 03/21/2011: I just added a poll to this thread so we can get a pulse on what the opinions are of everyone that has a valid claim. I previewed the poll before creating it and the full question was displayed in the preview mode. However, now that it has posted, the text is truncated. There is no option to edit the poll now, so I cannot shorten the question. It was supposed to read:

Poll Question: Is the CQ-56 or Asus EEE Netbook a replacement "of like or similar kind and value" when compared to your defective HP notebook computer?

Update 05/20/2011: If your Replacement Claim has been approved, your computer must be received by July 18, 2011.

Update 06/07/2011: Finally received the Compaq CQ56-115DX and it's a piece of junk. By no means is this a "replacement computer of like or similar kind and value" for my wife's defective Pavilion dv6449us. It may be a reasonable replacement for the bottom end Compaq systems that were on the affect model list. These sell for $299 at BestBuy. In my opinion, spending $299 for this crappy little notebook would be a waste of money.

Update 06/29/2011: Ok boys and girls, it's time to turn our lemons into lemonade - LINK

 

Yep. Hopefully the settlement will be adequate.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...ion-suit-affecting-apple-dell-hp-laptops.html

 

Has anyone heard about the outcome yet? As mentioned above, the approval should have been at 9am(11am central). I'm anxious to move forward with the claim process if it has been approved. I keep reloading The NVIDIA GPU Litigation - Home Page over and over and I don't see anything new :\

 

Things move slow in the legal world. It might take a few days to get the website updated.

 

rcase13 is correct, things do move slowly in the legal world. Very slowly, in fact. It would not surprise me if it took more than a week for the final approval process to be posted and the result published, especially considering the Christmas holiday is upon us.

There could be a lag in the OEM's gearing up to handle all the extra work associated with the claims, too. It could take more time and resources than their normal staff can handle to deal with the claims.

You can register on the settlement web site to receive an email notification on status changes and the claim filing process.

 

hxxx://nvidiasettlement.com/index.html site is updated!

It says: 'The Final Hearing occurred on Monday, December 20, 2010. The Court has approved the settlement, and the Claims Phase will begin shortly. Please visit this website for updates.'

It seems the consumers have won!!

 

I'm surprised there's not more about this on the major tech news sites. I'm not really seeing anything about it. It's a huge win for those affected by the problem, which previously HP (and other companies I'm sure, but I only have direct experience with HP) flat-out denied on the phone and ceased communications with customers referencing sites such as hplies.com or even the hundreds (thousands?) of posts on their own forums concerning the issue.

I'm curious to see how they'll handle this, now. If they require original receipt, I'll have to try and remember what my HP.com username and password were, as it was purchased straight through them. If all they require is shipping them the defective unit, there's going to be a MASSIVE flood of used HPs on eBay, followed by an equal flood of brand new ones, destroying any value whatsoever.

 

Me too, Zeromus.

I have never been happy with the shoddy warranty service from hp support. Twice (two different machines) they tried to claim the unit was no longer under warranty when I had documentation to the contrary, FROM THEM. Both times I had to fax information to them and wait weeks for a response. They eventually honored the warranty, but I'm sure they pull that on customers in hopes they will give up, shut up and go away.

In contrast, Dell support has always been MUCH better to deal with. Dell has already been taking the high road on nVidia problems and either repairing, upgrading the graphics modules or outright replacing laptops because of these problems. There will likely be far fewer Dell customers to deal with as far as claims from this litigation is concerned.

Hopefully the claim process on this settlement will be swift and painless for the many thousands of hp customers that have been stonewalled until now. My wife's dv6449us is having the black screen issue (comes and goes randomly) and an intermittent issue with the wireless card not finding any signals. I have our receipt and we're lock and load once the claim process is established.

 

I have a Compaq F572 that was affected, but I'm a bit confused. The product number is GF596UA#AVA, but only GF596UA is listed. Do you think that really is an issue? And does anyone know if you can keep the hard drive when/if you send in the computer? I've never done anything like this before.

 

Now the question for those with HP/Compaq models is: what does a replacement " similar in kind and value" mean?

Do we get newer models with newer processors, HD's, etc, that are comparable to the level of what our model was when we bought it 3 years ago?

OR, Do they just have piles of our identical models stockpiled that are refurbished and ready to ship out, like what Microsoft did with RROD'd XBox's? If that's the case, that would significantly diminish the whole "cool, a replacement" thing, since it means I've had a hampered laptop for 2 years (wi-fi card) and unreliable/useless video for 18 months while rapidly advancing mobile tech passed me by. $600 buys a hell of a lot more laptop today than it did in 2007.

 

Hmmmm, you might be left out since I see that both the GF606UA AND the GF606UA#AVA are listed, and they're being pretty specific about models since there were a ridiculous number of similar but subtly different models . Have you had symptoms? Are you sure you have the same GPU and you purchased in the affected time frame?

 

I bought during summer 07 and it has a Nvidia 6100 gpu. I actually had it repaired by HP after around 19 months for network issues, and now it doesn't boot at all. Does anyone know what the #AVA distinction even means?

 

I just spoke to HP support, and was assured the the #ABA is NOT an integral part of the HP product number.

I'll also refer you to this is at the end of the HP section of "affected models" on the settlement website. "* If the notebook product number is listed here, it is included as a Class Notebook computer whether the product number does or does not contain the letter "R" or "#ABA.""

I believe this has been added to the site recently, as I don't recall seeing it earlier, and I had the same question with regard to my EZ675UA#ABA.

This appears to clear up the mystery for all of us. #ABA or not, the products listed are part of the settlement.

 

The sample claim form at the settlement site has changed. It is still a sample only, but has been expanded. One of the additions is the statement: "...you are permitted to remove and keep your hard drive if you want." Good news, in that I upgraded from an 80GB to a 250GB, and wasn't looking forward to giving away the larger drive since I moved the original 80GB to an older laptop which is long gone.

If you've added memory, don't forget to downgrade to the original level before returning the computer. There must be some better use for it than to fill Nvidia's dumpsters.

 

Wow great to know dfs, and it looks like things are moving along.

 

The characters after the # sign are not relevant. The number to the left is the only part of the product number that matters. It's good that dfs called to confirm it, but it is also posted on the settlement web site... http://www.nvidiasettlement.com/notice.html

I just checked that out. That is really great news for everyone.

I am reasonably certain there will only be sample claim forms posted on the web site. I believe the claim forms will be issued by an administrator and have a unique claim number on them. I could be wrong about that, but I think you have to contact them by phone at (877) 440-7557 or register on the web site to start the claim process and wait for them to provide a claim form.

EDIT: I already registered my email address on the web site, but just discovered that this is now closed for new registrations. Anyone that has not already registered has to periodically check the web site to find out when the claim submission phase begins. Anyone subscribing to this tread will most certainly find out swiftly.

 

Does anyone know what happened to hplies.com? That place was a great resource for people who weren't specifically covered by this lawsuit and it seems to have disappeared recently.

 

The domain expired. HP Lies: The nVidia Defect

 

There is another site that has taken up the cause, Index page • The Nvidia Defect Forum, but there isn't much action at all there, except to point back to the archives at hplies.com. The one we are on here at notebookreview is most active. Let's keep this the "go-to" site for sharing info.

I went back last night to the original notification I received by email on September 27th, which I think was a day or two before the news broke in the media. I do have a receipt email acknowledging the registration of my email address for future notices, but to date haven't received any.

My primary anxiety at this point is over what sort of replacements they intend to provide. As soon as anyone hears, please let us all know. I picked my Compaq V3000 for a number of very specific reasons over similar notebooks, some functional, some cosmetic. I'm really hoping that there is something other than a "one size fits all" bent to the replacement program.

 

I have been checking the settlement site several times throughout the day since it got approved..from looking at the sample claim form, it looks like they will pre-fill out forms with our names and claim numbers. Does this sound right? If so, I'm guessing that means we'll be getting our forms in the mail. I hope it's soon! I really need to have my own laptop asap for school. Good Luck everyone

 

Not likely in time for school... people who settled the ancient ATi HDCP lawsuit with the X1900 series only got their settlement in the form of a HD4650 sometime back in early 2010. Basically, a couple of years.

 

Christ. Really? That site was a huge resource for people and it's gone over a ~$10 yearly fee?

 

I think you have to wait until the claim period commences and contact them to begin the claim process. At that point you will most likely receive a claim form and instructions, shipping box, etc. We will have to wait and see once the claim period starts.

 

Any estimates on how long it will take before the claim period comes online? Days/weeks/months?

 

I'm betting we won't hear or see anything further until at least a week into the new year. This is not informed, it's just a guess:

Nothing's going up on that site without legal approval; The case has been settled and approved; Do you think the legal team is going to scramble to get things in order for the recipients within the 4 days before Christmas, or are they going to immediately take the rest of the week off, as well as the following week up to New Year's Day.

I'd also guess the return process would take at least six weeks following submission. If I recall the xBox repair/replacement process took about that long and they weren't happening all at once, they were trickling in as failures occured (only took 3 for me but mine failed a few months after the bulk of failures). Granted they're simply replacing, not repairing, but I doubt they're going to have much concern for expediting to ensure customer service and satisfaction.

So that means my guess is that new laptop will be knocking on your door right around (and no earlier than) March 1st 2011, but then I'm the cynical type.

Does the betting pool start now?

 

My guess is that the claims process will begin shortly after the new year, but from there it will take a while because of the back and forth with the claim forms, shipping boxes, replacement time, etc.

I tried turning on my affected model (F500) and the fan wouldn't even spin up. Do you think this would possibly conflict with "symptoms" of the gpu failure? I.E. would I have to fix it to the point of it booting and displaying the graphic and network issues? I looked on the website under the symptom list for models that don't boot but it just redirects to the same general issues. I'd hate to get screwed by this class action suit.

 

My Compaq first exhibited symptoms that I didn't realize were even related. After sitting idle for a short time, the display would shut itself down and not come back without a reboot. At about the same time, I noticed that the wireless adapter wouldn't connect with the internet. It wasn't until a bit later that I realized that the wireless adapter wasn't even being recognized by the system. Wireless problem was intermittent at first, but eventually, it ceased functioning altogether. Recently, the machine has been having problems booting at all. About every third or fourth try the machine will boot to Windows. The other times, the lights will all light, but the machine will not boot - either from the hard drive or a recovery CD. At this point, the machine is esentially useless. I've pulled the HDD and memory upgrade, and am simply waiting for the claim process to commence. I have no doubt whatsoever that the problems are a result of the overheating and failure of the Nvidia graphics processor, and that the symptoms are entirely within the scope of this settlement.

As I understand the process, as stated on the sample claim form, we file the claim which is either approved or not. If approved, return packaging materials will be provided for return of the computers. Some time later, a new computer, hopefully at least as good as the original will arrive.

I'll be thrilled if I have a new computer by March 1. I can see it dragging on much longer than that. Hope that I'm wrong.

 

Hello,

Sorry but I saw your post regarding the forum at http://www.nvidiadefect.com

We have nothing to do with www.hplies.com and our site does not point to their archives.

We are an independent site and have been going for almost 18 months now. In that time we have helped secure countless refunds and replacement laptops for owners of inherently defective laptops.

If you need any help in securing a refund and you live in the UK then all the help is there.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes

Paul
http://www.nvidiadefect.com

 

QUOTED TEXT
Hello,

Sorry but I saw your post regarding the forum at Index page • The Nvidia Defect Forum

We have nothing to do with www.hplies.com and our site does not point to their archives.

We are an independent site and have been going for almost 18 months now. In that time we have helped secure countless refunds and replacement laptops for owners of inherently defective laptops.

If you need any help in securing a refund and you live in the UK then all the help is there.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes

Paul
END QUOTED TEXT
-------------------------------------------

I'm sorry if you thought that I had implied some connection between your site, and hplies. That was not my intention. It was from a link in a post at your site that I was directed to the archives of the hplies site. That is the only means I have found to access the information at hplies, some of which is quite relevant to those of us involved in the Nvidia USA settlement process.

I have no doubt that your site offers information of some value to those in the UK with Nvidia problems, but only meant to indicate in my post that it contained little of apparent interest to we Americans embroiled in a similar dispute.

 

nikeseven asked, "Any estimates on how long it will take before the claim period comes online? Days/weeks/months?"

My best guess would be "weeks longer than it should take."

Had nVidia really cared about its end-user customers, or preserving its reputation, would there have been a need for a class action in the first place? .Dell .deserves a lot of credit for stepping up and starting to take care of customers with defective nVidia components long before the verdict was rendered. The other OEMs whose products are on the affected list could learn something from watching their example.

 

The NVIDIA GPU Litigation - Home Page

 

Good news, nikeseven. Thanks for the heads up on the updated info posted on the web site.

 

I'm worried sick that i can't qualify because the dead computer was given to me and i am not the original owner. i'm desperate for a new laptop and haven't the money to get one. this is my only hope. it doesn't say on their site if you have to be the original owner but it asks for the date of purchase or a receipt. i don't have that information. mines a Compaq F500. does anyone know what i should tell them when i call them for a claim?

 

Did you check with the person that gave it to you for the date of purchase and receipt? If the only thing you can nail down is the date, (even if it is only an approximate date,) you should be OK. Once you come up with the actual or estimated date of original purchase, then go to HP Product Registration and register the product in your name. Save a print of the web registration and use that registration as proof of ownership in the claim.

The settlement is a legal remedy, not a manufacturer warranty. I doubt you will be forced to prove you are the original purchaser and unless something in the settlement stipulates that a legal remedy for the manufacturing defect is only available to the original purchaser then don't even create a problem for yourself by going down that road. A defect is a defect, so nvidia should not get off the hook on fixing their engineering blunder.

 

The NVIDIA GPU Litigation - Home Page The claim form has been posted!!

 

Claim submitted! Had a bit of trouble with the product number at first, since mine is a GF596UA#AVA but it would only accept it without the #AVA.

 

I may have broken my sister's tx1000 while trying to repair it for the nVidia issue (since HP would not fix it for free). Do you think my claim would be accepted? Computer no longer turns on.

 

Not turning on is one of the symptoms. It probably won't affect your claim, but that depends on what you mean by "broken". If it is visibly torn up, you may have a problem. If it is not obvious that you broke something from a visual inspection of the laptop, then there is no reason to even mention it. You would not have tried to fix it if it were not defective to begin with, right? I doubt they will be testing the functionality of every one of the thousands of machines, as any laptop that is on the affected models list is prima facie evidence of defect.

 

I'm missing two keys on the keyboard. would that disqualify me?
also there's no option on the claim page for computer not turning on. which would be better to select?

also it wants proof of purchase either uploaded or printed and mailed in. like i say earlier i dont' have a receipt but did take MR Foxes advice and registered on HP's website. i'm not sure how to upload the information from HP's email or whatever if that is even satisfactory.

It looks like a proof of registration will work. i registered already so i just have to print it out i guess. So i guess Mr Fox is correct. I called the number btw. also credit card receipts will work to and something else i didnt' catch. only thing that concerns me is i registered it on the 5th this year not back in 07 so i dont' know if that will cut it.

 

I'm trying to get my receipt off HP's site, since I purchased it straight from them, but it's showing no purchases from my name. Awesome.

 

That said... tx1000z users are getting replaced with an Asus EEE? That seems... well, I'm not a big fan of that, but free replacement is free replacement I guess.

 

The Claim system won't let me submit!

"Based on the information you have provided, your notebook computer is not eligible to participate in this settlement. If you would like to try again or enter information for a different notebook computer, please click the "Try Again" button below."

The system said I DID qualify back in October when I signed up for email notification -incidentally I never received a single email - My model and product number are on the list, and I purchased it in 2007. So why won't it let me file? There also aren't any alternate contact numbers listed for recourse in this instance.

W*T*F!?

Has anyone else had any problems filing?


Update: Now the site is listing an 800 number on the "Try Again" page. I'll try calling.

Update 2: The notice said to call the number and "please press 0" I did, and the system told me it was an invalid entry. So neither their online submission system nor their backup phone system is working properly. These people really need to get their act together.

 

I'm sure you can sense my enthusiasm when I know I'm receiving a $400 netbook in place of a $1500 notebook.

Oh and I guess my previous question is answered by this...

I think they printed that in anticipation of angry HP owners. In any case, my owner induced damage is not severe by the above definition.

 

I too own an HP dv6449us and visited the NIVIDA litigation site this evening and it is telling me it is not a covered computer. Please post reply after you visit the updated site and see if it tells you the same thing about your wife's laptop. I plan on calling them tomorrow. Should have known they would try to get out of it some way. I even contacted HP before the final court hearing to verify that my computer was on the list.
My laptop was purchased back in 2007 prior to my daughter starting college and within 4 months it started having problems. We had to send it back to HP and they repaired it and within a year the wireless went out and shortly after the screen went black. I will check back for updates.

 

Yes....the same thing happened to me. I also agree with the post that we spent around a grand for a computer we never got much use of to be replaced with a cheap one. Bunch of crap.

 

Now the 877 number is disconnecting immediately after connecting.

Maybe the claim submission system was down or overwhelmed so it was throwing the error and providing the call number, which was then overwhelmed with angry claimants, so the just figuratively 'took the phone off the hook' until the problem is fixed.

I guess technical problems are to be expected, they only had about 6 months and several million dollars to get everything prepared for claims.

 

I have to agree that the laptop replacement is a disappointment as well: they say most will be replaced with a Compaq Presario CQ50. 1) what the hell does most mean? 2) Which version of the CQ50?

At any rate that means that the replacement for my over $500 laptop is being replaced with a model that I could buy today for less than $400.

Es no bueno.

But at this point I'm not even getting that. Hopefully the submission system will be back in order soon.

 

Where did you read that the replacement laptops will be CQ50's? Not that I don't believe you, I haven't heard anything about what replacements they would ship. It really will be disappointing if they do ship $400 notebooks, even my crappy F500 was over $700.

 

here scroll down to the HP section https://roscomps3.securesites.net/www.nvidiasettlement.com/claimform.php

I looked on amazon and that model is a poor quality model as well with motherboard problems. they replace our crappy model with another crappy model. figures. no windows 7 at that. it's a 2008 model.

 

I think they really screwed a lot of people with this. The problem is that, had I know it'd be an Asus Eee that I was getting as a replacement, I would have opted out of the class-action lawsuit and sued them directly like many other people have done (successfully). Now that they've announced what the replacement is, it's too late to opt out. To me, that's just shady.

My tx1000 was $1,144 new, so I do understand your complaint. The Eee is slightly worse than the tx1000 in almost every respect -- at least when compared to my order, it's got a slower processor, less memory, a smaller screen, a worse OS (Starter edition flat-out sucks), and no optical drive. The hard drive's slightly larger than my tx (120 vs 160), it's got much better battery life (rated 6.5 hours), and it's multitouch (I don't think the tx was). It seems like they basically just tried to find something that kinda matched, and went with it. I don't think anyone expected to get a brand new TouchSmart tm2 out of this, but I know I expected more than an Eee.

EDIT: Another thing I don't see is the ability for us to remove our hard drive before sending in. I know people had discussed that as a possibility. Guess not. As a general reminder, make sure you remove any extra RAM you've installed as well!