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

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Check out the Expert Day event on the HP Support Forums!

On April 26-27, HP Experts will be on the forums to help real time with any questions you have about HP Desktops, Workstations, TouchSmarts, Notebooks, Monitors, All-in-Ones, Printers, and Scanners.

For 24 hours, HP employees and other product experts world-wide will monitor the forums answering your questions as soon as they come in. And it's free!

This event is available in the following languages and times:

• English: 9am on Tuesday, April 26th, until 9am on April 27th (Pacific Standard Time)
• Simplified Chinese: Thursday, April 28th, 10am until 6pm (China Standard Time)

For more details on this event, see: Expert Day April 26-27 - HP Support Forum. Expert Day will also be taking place on the Enterprise Business and Simplified Chinese Forums.

How often do you get to directly ask HP questions about your products, and do it for FREE?

Hope to see you there!

Someone who can write good English can post a question? I would like see their answers. It is just here on NBR.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-compaq/571807-hp-experts-day-april-27th-28th.html

 

Thanks for the link. I will be busy at work, but maybe someone from this thread can show up and put them on the spot with the million dollar question about why they are treating their customers the way they are.

 

I totally understand how you feel...
I bought a new netbook for my dad too when the v6000z died. I suspect a lot of customers didn't file claims because they no longer have the original laptop in posession. (thrown away or sold.) I have stopped buying expensive laptops after 2000 because:
1. If they break after a year, the repair costs would be so high that I would be better off buying a new one.
2. I can get significantly more processing power from a desktop for the same price with a much bigger and nicer screen and a lot more RAM--up to 24GB.

So I generally buy cheap laptops(lower risk) and desktops(I can repair/upgrade them myself in an affordable way.) My last expensive laptop was a Toshiba 330CDS, which cost me $1800.... My expectation for today's laptops is quite low---if they can last for 2-3 years I would consider it acceptable. The V6000 series were just bad..
It actually has its own Wikipedia entry:

Compaq Presario V6000 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Additionally, I have participated in several class action settlements and all of them take forever. For example in the Netflix settlement, it took several years to get the "1 month free rental"...luckily for that one the value seems to increase over time..I am still waiting for the outcomes of 3 others as of now.
I expect some of them to take another couple years...

 

Here's a link with further information on the HP Support Forums days.

Expert Day - April 26th, 2011: Have questions? Talk to an Ex... - HP Support Forum

Here's the link specific for notbooks. Looks like someone entered a post for the display issue.

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Computers/ct-p/Notebook

But don't expect much. Looks like it's more for customers who are lucky enough to have 'working' HP systems and would like to know how to tweek them. As for the systems that are failing with the NVIDIA issue, well we know where we stand all the way up to the CEO of HP.

 

HP, during their "ask questions" day event, has actually addressed the nVidia fiasco!

However, this warning: You might not appreciate their answer.

Here it is:

Questions regarding the proposed NVIDIA GPU settlement - HP Support Forum


WABOA!!! All that really is is just an old regurgitated non-answer answer to the matter from last year! My take on their "answer":


They don't wanna talk about it!

 

i AM TRYING TO OPEN THAT, BUT LET ME QUESS, THEY SAID: " WE DON'T KNOW NOTTIN' 'BOUT NO TX1000 PROBLEMS, MON" .. I

 

Cool thank's HP!! Screw us over with dysfunctional equipment that they knew had problems, repair cost, warranty issues, and an unfair class action lawsuit denying any involvement with a device in your notebooks/tabletsthen, hold an expert help workshop and tell us we are not allowed to ask you any questions!!

BAD HP!!! SHAME ON YOU!!!!

 

I took a walk at Best Buy today after dinner to check some newer computer models as well as the CQ56(again). On the CQ56, there is a sticker that says "HP was rated to have the best customer service among any technology companies by Business Week (April 2009).
It's true, see link below:

http://www.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/customer_service_2009.html

 

I checked the model today. It's like an upgraded version of CQ56 with a much nicer touchpad, appearance and more interfaces.

Performance-wise, I checked the Windows experience Index. Mostly the same as CQ56 except for processor(5.5 compare to CQ56's 4.1).

You may ask for it if given a chance to......

 

I can't believe this. May be they got good score for free repair of the same laptops with extended warranty. If any one asked me after may 2008(first failure and free repair) and june 2009 (second failure, quoted $400 for same defective mother board, i understand the design fault by this time) I might have given HP a A+ for sure.

 

Here's a cheap 17" computer from Staples that would be a suitable replacement for those of us with a 17" model: HP - Laptop / Intel Core i3-380M Processor / 17.3" Display / 4 GB Memory / 500 GB Hard Drive - G7-1070us for $529 ($455 with coupon code 89646). This computer doesn't have everything our dv9xxx's had (e.g. remote control, 4 USB ports, modem, expansion slot, firewire, 1680x1050 resolution), but it does have a dual-core CPU, 17" display, 4GB of RAM, webcam, memory card reader and a 500 GB HDD. Certainly a $455 computer shouldn't be out of the question, as we have to give up our computers for 10+ weeks and Milberg argued that the repair non-HP owners are getting is worth $300 to $580.

 

dchen2k - I see that wikipedia has a page with information that mentions problems with the dv-series Pavilion notebooks also. Scroll down to the section under the heading "Overheating issue" and you will see it. LINK

 

Read the fine print, folks. This goes back to February 2009, using data from 2008, so this information is around 3 years old now. If this is the data source for the propaganda you saw at Best Buy today, I would say their marketing tactics are a real joke. But, considering the I.Q. of some consumers, I can see how they might easily get away with such a shenanigan. Anyone remember the famous quote from Biff Tannen on Back to the Future? " Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, McFly. Think!"

Also, remember that hp sells a lot of products besides computers. I have a hunch that if they took a survey of only hp computer customers that have made a warranty claim or used hp technical support, those A and A- ratings would be in the toilet, even 3 years ago. (I had horrible experiences with hp service and support as far back as 3 and 4 years ago and if you think things have gotten better since then, pause to remember what thread you're reading from.)

It gets even more interesting when you see how Business Week chose their "champs" for the ratings and ranking propaganda. Read the link for "methodology" and you will see they used second hand information from J. D. Powers and Associates, and in some cases Powers used as few as 100 customers from which to derive a score. In addition, if I am interpreting what I read correctly, Business Week supplemented Powers' data based upon secondary responses Business Week gathered from a base of only 1000 customers and relied on as little as 10 votes for any given company to arrive at their "conclusions". I did not see where they provided any information about how many hp customers were surveyed, or how many of those surveyed were computer owners versus owners of other hp electronics devices. Also undisclosed is data on which, if any, of hp's direct competitors were included in the very small survey sample.

This paragraph was especially interesting (emphasis added):

I put very little stock in surveys such as this. In most cases they are only useful to the "champs" that can use them for marketing purposes to deceive customers into thinking they are buying something excellent from a great company. Just take a glance at the other data on that page and notice that only 55.79% of their customers "Would definitely recommend brand" and only 53% "Will definitely repurchase" another hp product.

As dismal as those numbers are, I suspect they would be even lower today than they were back in 2008. That was before all the dv-series notebooks and tx-series tablets were dying left and right, and before hp conspired with NVIDIA to offer garbage replacement models for defective systems in this class action.

The real proof comes through the ownership experience and word-of-mouth communication, not from unscientific surveys based on limited or cherry-picked data. If I run across someone that thinks hp is a good company that sells quality computer products, I will be offering them a killer deal on some ocean beach property just outside of Phoenix.

 

This whole deal with my tx1000 can be summed up in one old saying.."You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

Who do they think they are fooling ?

 

I didn't know that I could keep the hard drive from my HP TX1000. I called 877-440-7557 and the guy told me they couldn't give it back. Am I just totally SOL?

 

I would agree with the 'SOL'

 

Yes, I am afraid you are SOL as far as the hard drive goes. Too bad.

 

Roger that.

 

What still blows my mind, even today, is that they "repaired" your laptop twice, and thousands of others as well, with KNOWN BAD GPUs.

What kind of sick management promulgates and engages in practices as warped as that!!

 

This is my first post to this thread. I've been following since about page 150 but I'm trying to stay out of the way while we watch for the judge's ruling. This post made me want to reply. When I contacted HP over my dead TX1000 they offered to repair for $300 or $400, I can't remember for certain. That included a warranty in the 30-90 day range! I declined and soon found out about the litigation.

I'm going back into watching mode now. Hope we hear something soon about a better replacement.

 

Same here, they had made 2 repairs under warranty, I offered to 'give' them $100 with a 12 month warranty vs the 30 day they offered for
$400. and the case mgr said: "sorry.." and I told her that her company
are the "sorry" ones. Now of course I am glad they declined to take my highly generous $$offer$$

 

I had about three repairs, and was about to send it in again, when a case manager told me she would replace it with an new Envy17. Maybe it is the way you talk to them? I was very nice and was taken very good care of.

Mind you they tried to charge me for one of the repairs way back but upon explanation they did it for free. I am beyond my 1yr warranty on my DV8 but it was extended 3 mo. when I sent it in for service. Maybe you need a new CM? I spoke with Adriana M. and she was excellent, except for the jigabyte thing she kept doing.

 

The poster to whom I was responding when I made that post had had his laptop repaired twice for free. Your situation, it seems to me, is very different:

In your situation they were offering you a very expensive repair, still with a known-bad GPU, and with too short a warranty period for the problem most likely to emerge and/or reveal itself. This is an expensive time bomb, so to speak.

Others will certainly have a different take on the deal offered you. But to my mind it was flat out, straight up, unvarnished fraud.

 

I believe paying a company almost 2-grand for a product sold with a know weakness that has to be repaired twice in less than 12 months and end all warranties at 12 months and refuse to make a concession (no charge) towards the same problem is fraud also when they claim to have good customer service, and then I find out that do to mis-design can not be repaired. If I had paid $4-5 hundred bucks and bought it from a store, and not HP direct as I did makes it worse. One thing for sure is I have not spent another penny to buy anything with HP's name on it and do not have anything in my home HP and will most likely pick the other brand being offered to me because I will not have anything HP .. and one more thing,
my Discover card has never had $$$ removed that said: "nVidia" ..
..........................................................................................

 

I kept my hard drive. No way they were getting it, I also pulled my 4GB of ram and put a 1 gb back in.

 

FYI - You are allowed to keep your hard driver. I emailed Milberg and they said you can keep it.

 

No, They did not repair it second time for free.

HP quoted $400 for repair. As my computer showed similar problems again exactly one year after first repair (this was free), I refused to pay and left it there.

 

My error. Sorry. Still a horrid situation.

 

For anyone who is considering an upgrade of the V140 CPU like me. Below is some useful information:

AMD V Series for Notebook PCs microprocessor

(Note only the V105 is soldered, even V120 can be upgraded, click on the details for V120--it is said to be the slowest upgradable CPU)

V140 specs:

AMD V Series V140 - VMV140SGR12GM

One of the comments:
Quote:
"This CPU is great for the price of the notebooks it comes in. Its pretty fast and a lack of second core only means it cant do many things at the same time, but it does run a few things REALLY fast."

Be aware of that upgrading the CPU requires disassembling practically the entire laptop and reapplying the thermal paste so there are quite a bit of risks in doing so...

 

Why in the world would anyone waste the time or money necessary to upgrade the processor in a POS computer like the CQ56 ????? Talk about an exercise in futility ... moving all the way from a slow piece of crap to an only slightly faster piece of crap.

 

Great point, dfs +1 Rep

 

deleted post.

 

an AMD P320 CPU isnt too bad and with 4gb of DDR ram, it can perform most tasks decently. For cheap under 40 dollars CPU upgrade, why not?

 

dchen2k, I doubt that dfs posing the question was intended to be a personal attack, but we will need dfs to confirm that. Written communication is notorious for being misinterpreted. If it was intentional, then that would certainly be unacceptable and an apology would be in order. I'll say that you are a valued NBR forum contributor and I'm sorry to hear it came across as offensive. I enjoy hearing your perspective on things, as well as other NBR members.

Honestly, I don't know of many people that consider the CQ56 as being a capable computer, and it is definitely not what I would consider to be a capable gaming computer; unless your idea of gaming means stuff like Free Cell, Solitaire and maybe Sims. You will not be playing any of the good RPG and FPS games because it simply won't handle them.

If you stop and think about the logic of upgrading the CQ56, just a little more money could be spent on buying a computer that is better and faster than the CQ56. If you already own the spare parts and receive a CQ56 as part of this class settlement, then it might make sense to an invest an hour or so to tear it apart and install the parts. If you were to purchase a CQ56 and purchase the components (CPU, RAM, 7200 RPM HDD, etc.) for the upgrade, it would not be cost effective. And, after the upgrade you would still have a stripped down cracker-box that looks cheap, feels cheap, has mediocre performance and very few nice features. If you start adding a webcam, bluetooth, card reader, etc., then it becomes even more cost prohibitive and you have to deal with the inconvenience of using external devices. The integrated video is not upgradeable, so you'll be stuck with what it comes with but it's a slightly better video subsystem than what some of the class members had with the NVIDIA GPU. And, the low display resolution is another thing you'll have to learn to live with.

No matter how you slice it, the CQ56 is a $300 disposable cracker-box that is best suited for low demand tasks such as web surfing and word processing. If you're in the market for that, want to spend as little as possible and have very low expectations, then it's an OK option. It's definitely more powerful than an Atom-powered netbook, and better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

It boils down to what you want, need, and expect in a laptop. For my wife, the CQ56 will likely be palatable in the absence of a truly legitimate replacement, although she has already expressed that she is disappointed with its looks, flimsy build quality, and lack of features compared to her Pavilion dv6000 series it is intended to replace. For me it would be totally unacceptable, even with the best CPU and the most RAM that can be crammed into it.

 

Being you are the only "Urocyon Cinereoargenteus" that I see let me run this by you. Have not seen much if any posts on the Asus product being offered and my research kind of tells me that it may be a nice 'deal' for my wife, since whatever I get will be hers since the 2nd time my tx1K took a dump I purchashed a Dell Studio 1737, which I use for a desktop replacement, and am very happy with it, the tx1K was my first non-Dell computer, man did I have a big brain fart when I choose HP, what are
your Urocyon Cinereoargenteus thoughts on the Asus ? And thanks for all you do for us 'stung' consumers, rest assured that you are appriciated !
***********************************************

 

Happy Saturday! I can only offer my humble thoughts, so please accept my words as that rather than sage advice from an Asus netbook owner. And, thank you for the very kind words. A nice start to my day, for sure. It's always good to hear that you're appreciated.

Asus has a reputation for manufacturing quality computer components. I have built many desktops using Asus motherboards and they have all been top-notch products. While I do not own, and do not know anyone who does own a EEE, everything I have read about them is positive as far as netbooks go. The Asus EEE was the pioneer of the netbook revolution. If you know the limitations of a netbook and have the right set of expectations, you will probably be numbered among the happy campers.

The one major caution I have in my mind is whether it will be shipped with the "Starter" version of Windows. I don't see where we have obtained any degree of clarity on that subject. If it does come with Starter Edition and you plan to use the touch screen or have a little more eye candy on the desktop, you will need to purchase a full-fledged version of Windows 7 Home Premium or higher. To do that, you will need an external optical drive or you will need to install Windows 7 from an external USB hard drive. If you're a computer geek like me, that's no big deal. If you're not, it would be. It's also going to cost around $100 just for the operating system. (NewEgg has the 32 and 64 bit OEM Windows 7 Home Premium for $99.99 with free shipping.)

I think sometimes we take our optical drives for granted. Many of us don't use them every day, but you never realize how much you need something as when you no longer have it. Prior to the advent of the netbook, it was very unusual to see a desktop or laptop without an optical drive in recent years.

If you are looking for über portability and battery life for web surfing and basic computing, and you can do without a lot of frills, the Asus EEE will probably be a choice you can find peace with, even though that is an unacceptable replacement for class members. It's definitely not a "like or similar kind and value" system.

If you are considering accepting the Asus EEE, you might call the Settlement Hotline and ask if they can confirm which version of Windows 7 the netbook will have preinstalled. If you can get a straight answer from them, please come back and post.

 

Just returned here and seeing your post now only for the first time. I really appreciate your input. Thank you!

You see, I was under the impression the V140 is BGA and (therefore) soldered. If you are saying you know for certain the V140 in a CQ56 is socketed that's big for me. Really big.

I would for sure consider an upgrade to dual core if I knew I could get it past the CQ56 BIOS (or upgrade the BIOS to support the dual core). My personal situation is quite a bit less desperate than many other victims here. My original laptop was only a (relatively) inexpensive Compaq. But it was (is) a dual core. Absence of a dual core replacement is the only thing restraining me from returning my laptop right NOW. Single core V140 aside, the CQ56 is not a lot worse than my old laptop.

So for me upgradeability is a big deal.

Also one must be cognizant of, in addition to your post here, the recent posts over on FairnVidiaSettlement. All these things considered I might just be ready to ship and bring my personal involvement in this debacle to an end. Posts over there are indicating we have about a zero chance of court action prior to the critical 18 July 2011 deadline, with 2012 appearing more likely to hear something from the Court. Absent assurance from Judge Ware that the 18 July date has been eradicated, I will not wait much beyond mid June anyway to ship. It's too risky. And at this stage of the proceedings, I don't think Judge Ware even knows we are alive.

So bottom line, for me it all hinges on ability to unplug the V140 and upgrade. I should add, too, I'm not unaware of the thermal issues and I would check out TDP prior to doing anything of this nature.

But if the V140 is not BGA, not soldered, that is great news. I did not know.

Thanks again!!

 

I hope I am wrong, but I no longer have any confidence that the outcome is going to improve and I have a gut feeling the class is going to be stuck with the current pi**-poor offerings in replacements.

I have never seen this particular family of CPUs for sale anywhere. If they are not readily available, there is not much point in burning any calories thinking or talking about it. For the benefit anyone that is seriously entertaining the idea of dropping a better compatible dual core AMD CPU into a CQ56 to replace that lame little V140, please post a link where they can be purchased.

 

I've bought my share of processors on eBay.com. Never a problem. It does not have to be new.

Would probably also sell my V140 on the Bay, if I upgraded. Could offer it as a "new pull".

 

When you mentioned $40, I had a hunch that a used CPU on eBay was the only source. Does anyone know where a person might buy one new? I cannot find them for sale anywhere from conventional sources.

 

Happy Saturday back at you, and you are welcome for the kind words, you are very deserving of appreciation. Of course I am hoping that the tables turn on the ones trying to back-door us and higher and better products will be offered. Thanks for your thoughts on the Asus products, my CFO-wife only has a Sony Reader and loves it, she does the Goggle search and facebook so she doesn't need a lot. She might miss my 22" monitor but seems to like the tx1K when I fire it up.

Don't know where Mr. (Gray) Fox hangs out but I sure hope the weather is the same or close to ours here in North Florida, sunshine, 82*-30% humidity and a slight wind, might say perect fox weather.

 

That was not myself. Actually, the $40 price tag was mentioned here:

 

I believe Jeff Westerman communicated to one class member that Asus did comes with a Starter edition

 

as dchen2k warned in his post, taking apart a laptop is exponentially more complicated than taking apart a desktop pc.

tight space, thin wires routed in a specific manner, multiple screws with differing lengths, etc. all adds up to taking a huge risk in attempting to upgrade the cpu

 

Kevin, I second your opinion and I've said several times that anyone who intends to do so should be aware of the risks involved. Honestly even myself is in a wait-and-see status regarding the CPU upgrade.

It's very debatable whether an upgrade is necessary for most general users as the computer itself is already capable of playing some games and I suspect the performance bottleneck would most likely be the ATI 4250 GPU than the V140 CPU---to be proved. I'm very eager to get the CQ56 to test.

Below is an youtube video on playing a First Person Shooter on CQ56-115DX:

YouTube - Left 4 dead on cheap $299 laptop.

Below is another video on AMD P340 with the same ATI 4250(like an upgraded CQ56):

YouTube - Playing Left 4 Dead on the HP G62-340us(L4D Download in Description)

As many owners previously reviewed the CQ56-115DX stated, the performance is in fact not slow especially with upgraded memory(DRAM).
I'm 100% sure I'm going to upgrade to 8GB as I already secured them for $55.
But not so sure yet about the CPU.

I have acquired an AMD P340 2.2GHz for a total cost of $26 on eBay simply because it's too cheap to pass. Also I have bought thermal paste and anti-static wrist strap since I need them for working on my 3 desktops anyway.

For "geeks" who are willing to take the risks, you may want to watch a few youtube videos on laptop repair first to determine whether you want to go through the hassle. (Unless you are like me who like to mess with computer boards.)

The HP Maintenance and Service Guide is here:
http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02657369.pdf
(List of officially supported processors is also in the document.Theoretically you could also use higher-end chips that have the same S1G4 socket but I didn't want to take any risks that the motherboard may not accept it.... also I'm not sure if I want to use a real high-end processor with lower-end ATI 4250.)

There are a couple of Internet retailers claim to have brand new replacement parts. Search for keywords like "AMP340SGR22GM price" on google and you will find them. However, I personally prefer eBay as eBay has a Buyer Protection program.

My suggestion: You may want to wait and see before deciding to upgrade. If you are lucky, you may receive something better than CQ56. If not that lucky, then try the CQ56 out and upgrade it as needed based on your usage.
You may be surprised.
The last option is to get it, sell it asap and add some $$ to buy a better one. While the price of CQ56 is dropping, the prices of more powerful laptops are also dropping. So you may not actually need to add too much more to get something better.

 

Has anyone actually received a replacement yet?

 

FWIW I agree tear down and reassembly of any laptop is non-trivial, and should not be tackled by those without experience.

For me the big news is that the V140 is not soldered, as I had thought. I work on laptops. But changing out BGA CPUs is beyond my capability.

 

This is an excellent question. At another site a couple of posters have claimed to have received their replacements. Then another poster there said he was told by a rep at the 800 number that there so far have been no shipments of replacements.

All these forums are wide open and anyone can post anything. Thus, the nVidia/Milberg forces could be throwing up a little chaff. For them, spreading of FUD serves their purposes, and especially given the court, intended or not, is favoring their side because delay favors their side. This will continue to be true unless the court eradicates the completely artificial July 18 "received by" date. Right now, such eradication does not appear likely. So right now they "got us".

 

Just about anyone with average mechanical skills can take apart a laptop. If you have replaced a motherboard in a desktop, you can pretty much tackle a laptop without a need for concern. If you are the type that normally breaks things on accident, then perhaps you should think twice. Using brute force will bite you in the tush every time on a laptop.

Laptops are actually made to be serviceable and are not sealed units. The order in which pieces are removed usually makes a big difference in how easy the dismantling and reassembly process is. Some pieces have to come off first before other pieces can be removed. Caution cannot be over-emphasized because some things are fragile, and a service manual (see link from dchen2k above) is very valuable to let you see where things are and the order of disassembly and reassembly that is required. The chassis on the CQ56 feels especially cheap when handled, so extra caution would be advised so as not to break something. Also, the clips and clamps at the end of some ribbon cables can be a little tricky, but being gentle and looking at them very closely to see whether they flip, clip or slide into place works out for most people. If your eyesight is a bit weak, using a magnifying glass to look at the ribbon cable connections should do the trick.

The main thing to remember is that taking apart a laptop can void the warranty in some cases, so read the fine print and be informed before you dive into it.

 

Well Said Mr. Fox +1