Averatec 2371 Notebook PC power problem

OK, heres my issue.

About two days ago i was playing warcraft on my Desktop and Laptop computer, the laptop was unplugged at the time and just randomly shut off, there was no shut down involved it was like someone just turned pulled the battery out of the back of the thing. I itred to turn it back on with out the laptop being unplugged and nothing so i figured the battery was dead i plugged it in turned it on and continued to do what i was doing. i checked the battery level and it was at 33%. After some time i shut off my laptop and left it plugged in (for approx. 24 hours). Then next time i needed to use my laptop i unplugged it and attempted to turn in on, it did not power up so i plugged it into the wall and bang fires right up it still says the battery life is at 33%.

So in short my laptop does not work from the battery anymore but it seems like it detects the battery and will not charge it. the battery life has remained at 33% even after attempting to charge it for a few days.

I have tried to condition the battery using CMOS setup and when i do so it just cuts power and gets turned off.

I have tried to remove all AC power and battery then hold down the power button for 60 second to attempt a battery reset, it does not work.

I recently had 2GB of DDR2 installed from the GEEK SQUAD at the BEST BUY in Puyallup Washington. and it seemed to work fine after installation however i had not used my laptop frequently up until the point of power failure.

my laptop is under warranty still, but i think my 6 month warranty on the battery has expiried. I presently have an open ticket throught averatec.com and awaiting what they say may be the issue (there closed for Jan 1).

I love this laptop i have had it for around 6 months and have had NO ISSUES with it up until the point i had gotten the RAM installed by a "Professional" (idiot) from the geek squad. Averatectec said they would honor my warranty if i chose to get a RAM upgrade from an authorized dealer thats why i did not install it myself.

Any ideas on what i could possibly do to fix this seemingly strange battery power issue? Do you think its a faulty battery? help me please.

thanks everyone

 

If the system will not power on with the battery, but it does from the AC, and the battery charge level doesn't change at all, you probably have a defective battery. I doubt the RAM would have caused it, but you could attempt or have a dealer attempt to run off the RAM sticks individually and see if the problem persists with the battery. Based on what you're describing though, I'd say the battery has died. It's not unusual for a depleted battery to misrepresent its charge, and it would still be seen by Windows even if it were dead.

It could be a motherboard issue that'd be covered and you wouldn't have to worry about replacing the battery out of warranty, but the more obvious answer is it's just the battery. I'd contact your seller and see what they can do for you. If you're not convinced 100% it's the battery and think it might be something else, I'd use the warranty you paid for an have the system evaluated to make sure.

 

I concur with Joe - except sadly for the warranty part. The Averatec warranty requires you to do a factory restore before sending the unit in (which, unless you do an image backup with a third party tool, will result in the loss of all settings, documents and after-purchase software installations).

Also, there are too many signs that Averatec is under deep financial distress, and any unit sitting in the shop if they close their doors may be very difficult to retrieve.

I suggest you try to get a waiver to send ONLY the battery for testing. If it tests fine, then think about relinquishing the whole unit. If it tests bad, then you'll have to pony up for a new battery anyhow.

Although the RAM swap is very unlikely to have created the problem you describe, you could (and should) download the bootable .iso for Memtest86+. Burn the CD, boot with it and let it do a thourgh test of your RAM. This open source software does a better job than Vista's built-in tool and won't touch your hard drive.

RAM can and does go bad, and all kinds of weird crap can happen in Vista if your RAM isn't in tip-top shape.

 

OK so here is what i have done, RAM was tested and fine at BESTBUY, i had contacted averatec via phone and and internet and ask what they had wanted me to do, which was send the whole thing to them and they would have it back to me in 7 days after reception. they also informed me to RE-swap my RAM upgrade back to its origional state (at that point i checked the latop again to see if it would turn on, it did not) for fear of my RAM getting lost in the repair center which seems to be a seperate entity all on its own some where in irving Texas. I shipped my laptop 3 day air to the place and will keep you posted of the outcome and any troubles i have with them. thanks for the info all.

 

Best of luck to you Johnpeezy.

As for the remarks of Averatec going under, they are mostly a Korean company. While they don't update the American site, they aren't going away anytime soon. But the quality of the product and technical support are the same in America and S. Korea are the same, as in bad, according to remarks from my exchange students.

They've just announced the new revision for the 2371, the 2500, based off of the MSI PR210, which I don't hold in high regard anyways.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/25/averatec-shows-off-12-1-inch-2500-laptop/

 

The company your thinking of isn't actually averatec it is a Koren company who does happen to be one of the primary shareholders of averatec stock. avertec is actually based in Santa Ana. Averatec supposedly operates independantly of Trigem Computers Inc.

source: http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/sections/business/oc_region/article_555592.php

 

Having just gone through Averatec warranty hell ultimately getting the Better Business Bureau of S. Cal, the Attorney General's complaint office and the Exec. VP of OfficeMax where I bought the thing, I can tell you it isn't a fun thing to go through. Their 7 day time estimate is only in their dreams. It took them 7 days just to look at mine. Another 7 weeks to get the part. Only after the above screaming and shouting was I able to get it miraculously fixed in one day and air freighted back to me the next.

Be afraid, very afraid. I was told by one of OfficeMax's computer buyers that he believes Averatec is having substantial financial difficulties, especially since most of their big box retailers have dropped their line like a bad habit. Just look and see if their previous big suppliers Best Buy, Circuit City or OfficeMax lists them. You'll see a big no.

Good Luck in a big way.

Rick

 

Well i just tracked my fedex shipment, and it was delivered today 1/7/2008 at approximatley 7:30 AM PST. I hope my experience with averatec will be nowhere near as bad as yours. I bought my notebook direct from them and registered it the day of reception. I was i did more research into the nightmares stories of the warranty department before i hastley shipped it off, unfortunatley for me, i did not. Only time will tell, I will however keep on top of there progress with my notebook to the best of my abilites.

 

Hey johnpeezy,

If you start running into the usual runaround they're (Averatec) infamous for, please recontact me through the forum. I'll sure try and help you through all the things I learned going through it including all the email addresses of the big-wigs at Averatec (not that this helps much).

Rick

 

Oh I will, its been 5 buisness days so far and no so much as an E-mail from these people the only thing i have seen them do it confirm that my Laptop has been recieved. They have about 2 buisness days left until i start to go bonkers, I hate not having my laptop available considering im going to school programming. It a huge benifit to have a PC handy at all times and now that i have grone used to having it these past few weeks have been rough at school.

 

Like I said, their 7-10 days is usually in Na-Na land. Mine showed up on their RMA repair tracking site as delivered on Oct. 31st. They didn't so much as touch it till Nov. 7th. You can call them but their Cust. Service folks will give you the same song and dance they gave me. That is, we can't tell you anything and it'll be fixed when it's fixed. Do not ever expect anything from them as to notification, update or F--k you very much. And whatever you do, don't rely on their site to give you any info on what is really going on. I had to call to find out that the LCD was defective and that it was on order.

They don't call this the black hole for nothing. Everything goes in and nothing comes out. And God help you if they have to get a part from China. It is sent by a little boat that rows across the Pacific.

In actuality, I never got so much as one word from Averatec. This was after emails to their CEO, President, and VP of Sales and six calls to their so-called customer service line. The ONLY way I knew action was happening was that the BBB let me know Averatec's action after I lodged a compaint. The idea of customer service doesn't exist in this company.

Watch them closely. Give them an opportunity to perform but expect the worst.

Rick

 

I a little shocked, i just logged into the averatec website and had a response to my RMA number, it was like they retained all the worked that was being done on my laptop until they shipped it out back to me, which amazingly happend on time. this was buisness day #8 and and my PC was shipped as of yesterday, I had to call customer service for my tracking number which was not provided for me online, and after i tracked my package i discovered my laptop to be in the same state i am expected delivery is for wednesday of next week.

As for there customer service.....well what customer service. you definitaly right about that.

And I sure as hell won't give them praise for getting my laptop shipped back to me on time even though they managed to do so. I think of it as more of an accident then a sucess. I mean jusus christ how long does it take for them to plug in my laptop and discover the battery was bad.... apparently 7 buisness days. Hell who knows maybe there utrning there company around for the better, i would sugesst to them to provide the customer service department with at least some tid bit of information as to whats going on with items in the service department so they could atleast make a feeble attempt at providing there customers with and estimated problem description/delivery date instead of the canned responses they have issued to all of there service represenatives.

I appreciate all the horror stories i have found here about averatec, I think it had something to do with them getting my laptop to me on time. It made me call customer service everyday as of buisness day #4 asking about my laptop. It got so bad one of the representavies actually remembered who i was.

I suggest to all others who have to send in there laptop for repairs (becasue they do not have money to fix it themselves) do as I have done and HARASS, HARASS, HARASS. Call them on a consistant basis around the same time of day, every day. Give them no slack, expect answers that customer service cannot provide make them stumble with there response. I have suspisions this is what got me my laptop back in a timley manner. I never once got angry at them, I did question why there were no updates on my computer and constantly asked for updates (which they could not provide) about my computer. Do it, it worked for me. thanks for your help all


P.S. I'f my laptop comes to me in pieces I'll be back.....