BEWARE of PC Microworks .... Do NOT send in your systems for repair

I wonder why I haven't received mine? I sent mine in on March 30th.

-joseph

 

I left a bunch of angry messages and emails.

But the thing that did it was the BBB complaint, I'm pretty sure.

I wish you the best of luck, I'm really still pissed but @ least i have a 12 lb Paperweight i paid 5000$ for

 

I'm pretty sure it wasn't the BBB complaint because I got mine just by leaving angry emails against them, that was all I did. And considering I'm from the Philippines and I paid through wire transfer, as jmanh said, I'm the easiest to screw up but it didn't happen. I got my laptop back with all the problems solved and they even shipped it with a very fast shipment method. I got it just for about 5 days after it was shipped.

 

I take that back, not all problems were solved

The main reason I RMA'd my laptop is because of the fingerprint reader, the system suddenly was unable to detect the fingerprint device.

When I got it everything was working properly, I reinstalled everything and the laptop was smooth flowing.

Now, I used my laptop up without AC power until it notified me that the battery was low already (10%). Then I turned it off, plugged it in AC, booted it, and guess what the fingerprint reader, again, is not detected by the system. I tried rebooting over and over to see if something will happen, but had no luck.

What could be the problem with this? I got disappointed suddenly.

 

Disassembled the system, reassembled and it is working again, weird huh..

 

Depending on the version of the fingerprint reader I have hear a lot of people having problems with it in their systems. Especially the earlier HP laptops with it built in.

Seems to occur frequently and in the same manner you are talking about. Working one minute and dead the next.

-joseph

 

I would recommend to just disable the fingerprint reader permanently, they are not that useful and sometimes causes unneeded heat up and most of the software for fingerprint readers have memory leaks (wasting resources).

 

Agreed with Gophn. I disabled that garbage first thing when I loaded Seven on my machine. Unless you're James Bond, a complex password will do the job just fine.

 

Kevin, you sent your computer in and they fixed it? My comp just doesn't work anymore. I have a year left on my warranty and I just gave up trying to contact PCMW because of all the problems and inability to get through to them. Are you saying that now they are honoring their warranty. I've been told the motherboard is bad. Also one of the hard drives is gone also. It just basically stopped working one day.

 

They basically say that to all of their customers that their laptop's mobo is faulty, always been like that.

 

The problem with mine was the sound. I haven't received it back from getting repaired. They told me it was a mobo problem as well since the sound is integrated.

-joseph

 

The sound isn't really integrated per se.

There's a sound card board that is plugged into the motherboard. I've taken apart enough of the D900C's to know that. Granted its a pain in the butt to have to disassemble, but a tech who knows what he is doing can finish in 2 hours.

 

Yeah. I know but I was just stating exactly what they said.

I only had the machine like 3 days and this was before I found out about their return problems. If I had the machine for a while I would just fix it myself but I figured it would be easier for them to take care of it. Boy was I wrong.

EDIT: Just got an email from them stating that they have run into a number of road blocks getting my system ready, however, they promise to have it shipped out this week.

I will keep you updated on what is going on.

-joseph

 

That's almost comical you got an e-mail today too, as did I. My first one since I had problems, but since I already got my money back from my credit card, this was all I received:

Code:

We are sorry to hear about the problems you are experiencing. Your card has been refunded, please mail the system back to:

PC MicroWorks Corporation
41829 Albrae ST
Fremont, CA 94538
888-596-4276

Sincerely,
PC MicroWorks Support Team

I thought someone said earlier that they aren't at that address anymore.

Edit: Also I still wouldn't trust them.

 

I don't. I never will lol. If I don't get my system back this week or receive it and it isn't fixed I will contact my CC.

-joseph

 

Wow and they didn't even reply to me! Dammit!

 

Anybody got a f'ing personal number of this Matt O' Byrne? I have my laptop already but I want a full refund just like Xardon since they didn't even fix the damn laptop!

Problem is, I paid through wire transfer, you think I will be able to get my money back?

I'm tired of this bull!

 

I am James Bond. It is required for me. But you werent supposed to read that.



BBB complaints are the way to go. If unlike angry emails and such, they will spur (given, whatever little it is) attention in the community. It has a more "authoratative" spheal to it. I doubt they would care about angry emails.

 

I also need the fingerprint readfer, really

 

Does that include face recognition and retinal scans?

 

how long did your CC co take to get your money back?
who is your CC co?

 

I called them on a Wednesday and they told me I had to type a letter up with specific information, and I also had to get a second opinion on the broken laptop from any place that would diagnose the machine (like a Geek Squad), and have them type a letter on their letterhead. Once I had both letters, I faxed it in that Friday, and by Tuesday morning the following week (2 Business days) I had the money back in my account. It was a Capital One credit card, and I must say they were great to deal with, they helped me out a ton with the whole process.

 

He probably doesn't have a personal at this point. He's packed up and left town. If you have your system, good luck on a refund. Especially since your an international customer and you paid via money wire...

 

Anyone has an idea how to get my dead pixels fixed? I got the dead pixels when my xr5 was about 4 months new, PCMW told me to ship it back but I'm an international customer I refused and I was worried not seeing my laptop back very soon (since getting my second video card was a real PITA) and the shipping was way to expensive. Now I do have a 3 year diamond plan warranty if that means anything... I also asked if I could have it fixed at a local clevo repair center but never received a response on that. I kinda got used to the black spots but on the other hand its a fricking 5k+ laptop you know... jscreen did help either....

 

Hi, The Voyager. Dead pixels (black pixels) cannot be fixed, hence why they are called dead.

 

Yeah of course i know that, I should have asked my question differently i guess... I meant getting my screen fixed by PCMW or Clevo, If i had shipped it out they would have replaced my screen but the wait could have been endless so it seems. They didn't want to ship me a replacement part either, said I couldn't do it myself, uhum still it's sad though

 

if you already spend 5k, i would recommend spending a little more and buying a new screen. I would not send your laptop to PCMW, you might never see it again!

 

I'm following this thread to see if I can be of any help so hopefully I can steer you, and others, in the right direction. If you have any problems with your notebook, which I'm assuming most PCMW customers do, then take a look at these tips:

-Asking for a refund from him would be like asking for a homeless person to give you your money back. The only way you're gettinga refund is to go through your credit card company or try and take legal actions.

-DO NOT SEND ANYTHING TO PCMW. They're not at the Fremont address and it's highly unlikely that you'll get it back. If you do, there's probably still going to be problems.

-If you're laptop is less than a year old try going through MediaWave (I've met them, they're a reputable company) or Eurocom for support. (Read first page of thread for more info)

As for your dead pixels, the only way they're going to get fixed is if you manage to get Eurocom or MediaWave to replace your screen for free, pay them, or buy one yourself. If you're confident in your laptop parts handling, you can easily install the screen in 30 minutes or so.

 

replacing your LCD screen is quite simple.

less than 10 minutes to do.

 

When you buy an M860TU without a fingerprint reader, what would be in the center of the touchpad to replace the reader?

 

Easy to replace the screen yourself, you can buy one here.

http://www.lcds4less.com/clevo-laptop-screens.shtml

 

I believe that the cutout simply isn't there, so the touchpad/buttons all merge seamlessly into one piece

 

gonna answer both posts in one....


Since it's easy to replace i wonder why they didn't want to ship me a new screen. I guess now it's to late my machine is a year and a half old (new) already. Though i have a 3 year diamond plan, but shipping it back Never i didn't trust that last year when i requested it and now after reading this thread OMG.

I should have bought it at Eurocom in the first place though, but i could get it in the configuration i wanted at that time.

thanks for you help guys, i'm gonna check it out to do it myself.

 

go through ebay look for a lcd model lp171wu1 and if you have a question pm me ill help you out.. its a piece of cake to do it

 

Sadly I've purchased from Eurocom, it would have just been the lesser of two evils as Eurocom is absolute crap as well, I highly recommend staying away from them too, they have utter garbage for customer service not to mention a half assed work ethic, and bad attitudes.. I will never buy from them again.

I recommend buying from a US based company like XoticPC or Powernotebooks.com

 

PC Microworks, I would not really trust them again, I waited for them to receive my payment for 8 days once, and no answer, they offered me a $200 discount, but I had already set up a purchase with Xotic PC, so, I refused and asked PC Microworks to cancel the purchase.

 

PC Microworks took a while on my original order from them but they upgraded the processor for free and gave me the carbon fiber for free due to the delay.

I honestly thought they were legit. However, after I received my laptop the sound didn't work and I sent it back. Through the entire process I never had a problem contacting them and everyone seemed very nice. It wasn't until they had my laptop for about 2 - 3 weeks that communication desintegrated and I started having problems contacting them.

-joseph

 

They tried that with me, i would get the 4Nm cpu dual core instead of the quad i paid for... i said no way if you wanna give me the upgrade then it should be the new quad 45nm. eventually i got the 6nm quad i originally ordered and thought to do the upgrade later at wholesale price like the said on there website, lol never received a answer when i asked for the upgrade price quote.

 

Still nothing. Everytime I send an email I DO get a response but its always the same "We ran in some more problems. It will be early next week when it goes out. Thanks for your patience during this process."

That isn't an exact quote but each email says basically the same thing.

-joseph

 

You guys will find this pretty funny. Part of my requirement to get my money back on my credit card, officially, was to actually attempt to ship back the laptop. So I got a response from PCMW on the address to send it to, and they responded with the same address that is on their website, which people here have driven by and said they were gone. Well I got an e-mail from FedEx today about my shipment telling me to login, and this is what I saw: Will have to click to make it bigger, its a screenshot of my FedEx tracking --> "Incorrect address - Recipient moved."

 

The good news for you is that the only requirement of your credit card company is that you "attempt" to return the merchandise...which you can now prove that you have done. Requirement fulfilled!

FedEx should be returning it to you shortly.

 

And actually you are correct paladin ... I just got a phone call from FedEx in Cali, and they asked me if I had another address for the company because they are no longer there. And since PCMW gave me the same address that's listed on their website, I do not have a new address, and FedEx informed me they will try to see if they can locate them, but if they cannot they will be shipping it back to me. I always wanted a $3000 paper weight.

 

Well, as Paladin44 said, what matters is that you "attempt" to return it, which you have done, so unless the credit card company wants you to send the unreturnable merchandise to them, you should end up with $3,000 or so in-pocket to spend as you see fit, plus a $0 paperweight in the form of a dead laptop computer.

 

Well, when you get your money back I would recommend sending it to Sager for repair. Then you will have a working laptop with a bunch of money left over.

 

Am I the only one that has no problems communicating with PCMW? Since my post about 3 weeks ago every time I send an email I get a response. They have told me now that my laptop will ship by Wed. of next week for sure.

Do I believe them? No I don't but its odd that they communicate with me but ignore others.

-joseph

 

But didn't you buy yours in Jan ... not get it until March ... then have to send it back to them for repairs, and it's now nearing the end of June and you still don't have a working laptop. That's pretty much 6 months of no laptop, and you've spent a ton of money on it.

I never got any response from PCMW until I filed the BBB report and got my money back ... only then did they finally send me an email. I did notice though that both times I got an e-mail from them it was on a Wednesday. It seems like they might only check their e-mail once a week. Or they just happened to read mine and reply on a Wednesday.

 

An even better idea! (Unless, of course, you like paperweights that look like dead notebooks )

 

Actually I prefer to have PCMW just take it off my hands and be done with them for good. The last thing I want is them trying to come after me for money or something because they never got their equipment back.

I was talking to a friend of mine and he said he wasn't shocked that when I sent it back, it went to an address where they weren't at anymore. That way they can claim I never shipped it back to them and they can use that as leverage with the CC company to recharge me.

It's obvious they don't want the lose the money so the best way to attempt to keep it is to keep running me in circles so they never get it back and they can say they never got it back.

Thankfully though I keep extremely accurate records for shipping and receiving it.

I still find it amazing that they never responded to me for a month when I was looking for service, and now every Monday like clockwork I get an e-mail from them asking about the laptop being shipped back to them. Simply amazing how they treat their customers.

 

That is probably the best thing anyone can do - make sure that there is a provable, documented record that backs up what you say.

 

I just got a fedex shipping confirmation. Lets see if my laptop is fixed.

-joseph