Remember Hybridgear.net? It appears that they've been reincarnated as PCMW - UPDATED

Update (and apologies for posting this in 2 threads, but both threads concern PCMicroworks business practices):

On 18 March I received an email from Fedex saying PCMicroworks has sent a package to me. I have no idea what is in this package since PCMicroworks did not contact me in advance.

Worse, I work at a US Embassy overseas and PCMicroworks sent it to my home address and I will not be home for another 5 weeks. Had they emailed me in advance and asked for shipping instructions, which I repeated asked them to do, I would have provided my work address.

I sent PCMicrorks support an email about this situation but they have not responded. So I have no idea if the package they sent contains a new hard drive, which I asked for, nor a resolution for the problem of the invalid product key for the Microsoft Office Small Business software they sold me.

Bottom line: Both the hard drive issue and invalid software product key problems are still unresolved at this time.

 

I have now purchased four PC Microworks systems over the last two years. Having also purchased the top of the line Voodoo's and Alienware machines, I can state without reservation that the PCMWs are by far the best, and they have unviersally stood behind them.

 

I have to confess that on reading this thread, it is almost as if they are dealing with another company. All I can do is report my own experience.

I have bought four PCMW machines over the last two years, two Blackhawks and two desk tops. I am typing this on a Blackhawk. For one reason or another over the two years all have developed issues with hardware that was not PCMW manufactured, and PCMW has fixed them all. I fried one Blackhawk with 220V and 60amps through a USB port (don't ask) and they fixed THAT for free!!!! I have had 3 hard drives fail in my two Blackhawks, but their brilliant RAID 5 configuration has prevented me from losing a single byte. More incredibly did you know your PC will still work, a little more slowly to be sure, with only two drives functional in a 3 drive RAID 5 configuration? I didn't, but I assure you the PCMW machines do. They have sent me three replacement drives with 48 hours of telling them, and never asked for the old drives back. When I dropped the new drive in, and let it rebuild over night, pow, complete system again. When the motherboard fried on the of the desktops (again, don't ask, but nothing they did) they replaced it completely on their nickel.

I have just ordered a 5th machine from them. Compared to the quality control disasters that all five of my top-of-the-line Voodoo's were, PCMW is building a lexus.

 

well i'm almost sure that you work for them

 

OMG! I was just spammed this totally unrelated email from PCMicroworks today. I almost laughed orange juice through my nose.

Funny how they find the time to spam me with dubious business opportunities but don't have time to respond to my support requests.

Anyway, for you reading pleasure. BTW, original author of this thread, please take note and add to your history-of-Hybridger-to-PCMicroworks story:

 

I found this forum when I was researching online about why I might not be able to have my warranty at PC Microworks honored since I can't reach them by phone. I have the Vega 20.1 and have had no problems with it until now. In the past the company has bent over backwards for some issues I've had like my cd rom drive has been replaced 3 times and the notebook cooler also. I purchased the 3 year warranty and have 1 year left as of March of 2009. So now I have found this forum and after reading several pages of posts I have to say I am very discouraged. I guess I could leave messages at their 800 number everyday but why bother if they don't get back to you anyway. They have even said that the direct line number is no longer in use and to have all calls directed to the 800 which of course no one answers. HELP!! Even just a response from someone who knows any more about what's going on would be nice. Thanks!

 

heartgard: even if they answer you dont send anything to them for repair because most likely you will not get it back at all better way just buy what you need from other place

 

Thanks for your reply. Well I don't exactly know what's wrong with it. One day it worked and the next it comes on and I see the amd sign and sometimes the startup that shows because of a bad shut down. But then I just have a black screen because the operating system isn't coming on. I have a 64bit running Vista Ultimate 64. I don't exactly know what to do. I just renewed my virus program and have scanned the whole system twice and nothing came up as far as virus, malaware etc. I am using ESET Smart Security 4. Also, I'm not a computer expert, gamer, etc. Just a mom who has run this thing 24/7

 

Yeah sending it back to them is not something I'd recommend, but if you have to, just send it along with a threatening letter from your Lawyer and get Gophn here on the forums to call them several times a day till they send it back, in 3 months or so.


sorry bad joke.

 

hey just buy the part that you need from some other retailer and forget about this and all will be good for you
i will never send my notebook for repair even in most trusted seller better option is to buy the part that you
need and to repair it yourself if the problem is very big then in this case better call sager or other retailer and
pay them to fix it

 

No, I'm not sending it back to them. I am going to give it to my step-son's technical college to see if he or instructor can recover the data from it and they will clean it etc. That's going to be my first step, maybe they can tell me what's wrong with it. If I can recover my data, I will probably buy another comp and deal with pcmw separately. Thanks guys for your comments.

 

That sounds suspiciously like a hdd that is getting ready to die on you - I've had three (and counting ) hdds die on me that way, with files getting corrupted as more and more bad sectors crop up, until it refuses to boot any more. Were I you, I'd pull the hdd, put it in an external enclosure, and hook it up to another computer to run some diagnostics on it, and if necessary, copy all of your important data/files off of it.

 

Thanks Shyster1. I'm assuming that hdd means hard drive. Is this something I could fix myself once I know what the problem is? Oh yes! and thank you for all your research on pcmw. They are definietly not returning my calls so basically I am ........

 

No no, you'll just need a new hard drive. They're dirt cheap on Newegg.

 

Yup, "hdd" refers to the hard drive. Replacing it should be something you can do by yourself with a minimum of technical know-how, so long as you have a guide to follow (the user manual should have a guide to replacing the hard drive; if not, the service manual certainly will), a few screwdrivers, and an anti-static wristband (that last is the most important of all!). Once the drive is swapped, you can do a clean reinstallation of the OS onto the new drive, and then put the old drive in an external enclosure and see how much of your data you can recover from it.

 

It looks like my comp is dead. They think it's the motherboard or would that be chipset. I don't know that much about computer's on the inside so I guess I basically worked it to death. But a $4000.00 dollar computer should have lasted me longer than two years. And I know PW isn't going to honor the year I have left on my warranty. I don't know if my step son's technical college is equipped to work on that type of problem, but this comp was built to be able to upgrade. I wouldn't even begin to know where to have it fixed. The good news is I still might be able to recover my HD. So, pretty much end of story guys. Thanks for all your input.

 

All computers have problems . Sometimes, they just dont work. No matter how much you spend or from where you buy it. The thing is that a company would integrity would have service to convince the customer to surpass these fears, but PCMW is failing here.

 

I you have a year left, go after it and claim your right to service.

 

I agree completely with Kevin_Jack2.0 - you may not succeed in the end, but you have a right to service that you should claim now; to do otherwise is to waive your rights without even making a squeak.

 

But the question is how? If customers like me and others are not able to reach this company. In my case I have two hardware defects that should be covered under a 3 year warranty en 3 other non system related issues unresolved. (for privacy reasons not disclosed here, but I will clean out the closet when the time is right) For now I'm investigating what legal steps I can take to get everything resolved.

 

So I have a XR5 Blackhawk I bought back in 2008 and its been broken since 11/10/2008.... I have had 5 Disputclaims open with my CC (AMEX) all ruled in favor of the Merchant... I bought the laptop through googlepurchases*PCMICROWORKS I don't know if that plays a factor.

I'm going to deploy shortly to Afg, and now need a working!!!! laptop instead of this 4,750$ paper weight...

I have the 3 year platinum plus warranty... I sent the laptop back for over 60 days they held it, and only after a BBB complaint they sent it back with a new logo on the lid and still broken Vid card and failed Raid 0 drives...