WidowPC Laptop Lemon?

I realize this my first post and it's probably a bit odd so I apologize in advance. But thank you to those who do read this.

On a side-note, I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this either but since the laptop I own is based off a Clevo D900T chassis, I'm guessing this is okay?

=*~*=

Excerpt of e-mail sent to WatchDog @ MaximumPC, CC'ed to WidowPC's only public e-mail (sales department) and [H]ardOCP - I have only left out the RMA notes attachment:

I'm at the end of my rope and it doesn't seem like I can do much on my own, especially when I don't live in the US. It seems I am also unable to gather any information in regards to contacting Mr. Joshua McClure (President of WidowPC) so this e-mail has been CC'ed to the only public e-mail I could find for them (their Sales department). Their phone number (1-800-851-7502) connects to a switchboard and when I finally reach a Customer Service Representative, the CSR didn't even know Mr. McClure's contact information!

All I've been offered is empty words, wasted time, and a loss in funds. The supposed replacement that Brandon was 'pushing' for me ended up being nothing more than air as far as I can tell, it's been nearly eight months and four RMAs since the first problem occurred, and I've spent over $1700 for squat so far. If you were in my position, what would you expect to be done when your trust is continually abused? I've been told by friends, forum-goers, and people I've discussed this with that I should expect and even demand a suitable replacement be given me (as agreed with by the WidowPC TSR Brandon, nonetheless).

Even if I'm the one out of a thousand people that has been treated like this, the fact that this company would do so to a single person like this is grounds for being barked at. And if you check ResellerRatings other reviews, you'll see I'm not the only one. Also, if you Google for a username called "frogpond1", he also has a story to tell. Or even check out [H]ardOCP's evaluation of their company here.

I have most, if not all, the documentation thus far including video proof of a non-functioning system for this fourth failure. I am incredibly upset and am barely holding on to continuing to stay civil with them.

=*~*=

I used to be very positive about WidowPC but it is no longer the same as it was. Recent communications with WidowPC have lead me to believe they are now affiliated with Pro-Star. Normally, I would refrain from stating another company's name but Pro-Star does not have a particularly great reputation among consumers as far as computer boutique sellers go (to my knowledge). WidowPC was bounds above ProStar but not anymore. In fact, I would go as far as to say that my experiences in the past several months are almost akin to the horror stories you hear of in regards to Alienware (which WidowPC themselves have touted as being a poor company in the past).

WidowPC is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Pro-Star is located in City of Industry, California.

My laptop is a high-end Sting 917 (November/December 2005) - Clevo D900T chassis.

[Note: The laptop VGA card was originally a GO 7800GTX 256MB and the original HDD was a 100GB (93.1GB effective) SATA 7200RPM. These I replaced at my own cost. The Creative Audigy 2 ZS Notebook I added on my own.]

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional (5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600)
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 670 3.8GHz (64-bit, 2MB L2 Cache)
Motherboard: D900T Intel i915P
RAM: 2GB (2 x 1024MB) Apacer 533MHz PC4200 DDR2
HDD: Hitachi Travelstar 7K200 (190.7GB SATA)
Screen: 17" WUXGA+ LCD (1900 x 1200 Native Resolution)
Video: nVidia GeForce Go 7950GTX 512MB DDR3 PCI-E
Sound: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Notebook and Realtek High Definition Audio
TV Tuner: AverMedia M102 Mini-PCI with Remote
Optical Drive: Toshiba SD-R6572M (Dual-layer DVD Burner Combo with lightScribe)

I will also state that I never received a printed warranty paper with this system when I received it.

[Note: All costs listed are in Canadian Dollars and approximated.]

RD70911995: On September 8, 2007, my laptop failed due to a burnt-out video card (GO 7800GTX 256MB). Since I am in Canada, WidowPC did not cover my RMA shipping costs. For shipping alone, the cost for me was approximately $425 with insurance. Since it was already there, I decided I might as well upgrade the video card to a GO 7950GTX 512MB to give a boost to the aging system (another $650 from eBay + $200 for shipping here and then to WidowPC). I realize I paid above average price for the VGA card but since it had been discontinued, it was probably my last chance. As a result, there was a delay due to them waiting on my video card (as it would void my warranty if I installed it myself although it is a very, very simple procedure). During this wait period, I was also told that the HDD currently inside the system was failing.

When I received the laptop back on October 26, 2007, I decided to test the HDD with diagnostic tools such as HDTune and SpinRite. I could find nothing wrong, let alone anything that could result in HDD failure. Regardless, I purchased another HDD (200GB for $200) just in case and replaced the 'failing' HDD with it. Apparently DIY HDD installation does not result in a voided warranty (go figure, considering the video card is just as easy to install from my knowledge). Everything was good again until....

RD71112298: November 11, 2007, my laptop failed again. According to WidowPC/Pro-Star, the cause this time was motherboard, RAM, and 'original/old' HDD failure (I swapped back in the old HDD before shipping back, my new HDD was perfectly fine). Again, I still doubt the validity of the HDD failure. So, RMA shipping cost me another $250 with insurance (switched shipping companies due to exorbitant costs) this time around. There was a long delay before I ever saw my laptop again. First reason was the parts needed to be ordered and replaced. Second reason (directly from the WidowPC representive's mouth), they forgot about my system for over a month. It was apparently sitting in a corner of their repair facility for all that time. I received the laptop back on February 26, 2008. Three months and the delay was not even a result of my actions this time.

Everything should be fine now, right? Pretty much everything was replaced. Unfortunately, no.

RD80305863: February 26, 2008 (yes, that's right... same day I got it back, 2.5 hours after booting it up), my laptop failed... again. This time it resulted in a Special Circumstances RMA (208344) where they asked me to send it to a specialist in Arizona (another $225 for shipping with insurance but used own packaging this time) to analyze the cause due to 'problems' with their repair facility. The specialist could not determine the problem and the system was sent back to Pro-Star for repairs. In the end, it was determined that the HDD Cable was the cause and replaced/repaired. I should note that the WidowPC representative also nearly forgot that I was still under warranty and almost charged me $60 (one-half of $120 which they would 'help' cover due to my troubles). If I had not mentioned the fact I was still under warranty, I would've paid even more. I finally got my laptop back on April 4, 2008. Yep, another month gone by. >_<

RD80422079: April 4, 2008... could it be? IT FAILED AGAIN LESS THAN 1.5 HOURS AFTER I GOT IT BACK! My assumption now is that the HDD Cable was not the main problem as the failure was identical to RD80305863 in the above paragraph. Essentially, they sent me a lemon back... again. There goes the $225 shipping from last time and a wasted month. I should also note that the touchpad was not functioning when it was returned to me either.

In all this time, my main contacts were Charlie and Brandon. Charlie left WidowPC shortly after my second RMA process began. Unfortunately, neither of them seemed to be able to do much for me since they had to answer to the 'higher-ups'. They were polite and well meaning as far as I could tell though.

I've put around $1750 or so into this system now, including shipping/customs charges, possibly more (I'd have to re-review my records and papers). That's not even counting the original value of the system (over $4000 including customs). Any decent computer technician could tell you that $1750 now could build a great gaming system. Six months ago or so, $1750 would give you a system of comparable performance to my laptop. This is not fair in my opinion. If I had not bothered putting any money into this system at all, I could've built a much, much better system on my own with $1750 now. Yet, I'm $1750 out now and stuck with a lemon. I am very, very dissatisfied at this point. I had put much faith in WidowPC in the past and it seems it has come back to bite me in the ass.

Update April 7, 2008: I was promised on Friday, April 4, 2008, that they would call me today but nothing, in fact I had to take the initiative and call them myself. Despite calling nearly non-stop for hours, I did not manage to reach a single person.

It's a joke (quoted directly from their website): "WidowPC: one of the only gaming computer companies to feature American, 24-7, toll-free tech support for as long as you own the computer, standard with every system purchase"

In fact, they now only operating from 11am EST to 8pm EST (they used to close earlier, if I recall correctly), excluding weekends, holidays, and whenever the person handling your case takes days off.

They seemed to be so busy that I called from 3pm EST all the way to their closing time (8pm EST), for a total of five hours, and never got a single person to talk to. In fact, my cordless phone ran out of power and I had to resort to using my cell phone to call (unfortunately I don't have instant logging for the cell phone as it shows up at the end of the month on bill). So here is the partial call log I had available at this time.

07/04/2008 18:57 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 18:48 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 18:39 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 18:31 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 18:23 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 18:14 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 18:06 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:57 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:49 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:40 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:34 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:34 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:25 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:17 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:09 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:00 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:52 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:43 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:35 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:26 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:18 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:10 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:01 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:53 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:44 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:36 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:27 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:19 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:10 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:02 Outgoing 8008517502

Update April 9, 2008: I still don't know what they would give me as a replacement yet. I just got a call earlier today telling me they would issue me a shipping label (as they upgraded their UPS shipping services to worldwide) to return the laptop to them again for verification/analysis(?) and then proceed from there.

Brandon did tell me that if replacement is confirmed then it will be a 'current' model and they'd discuss the details with me. That pretty much rules out getting the same D900T/K system as both are discontinued entirely now. Since that is the case, the VGA card would not be salvageable to be used in a new system due to incompatibility.

If I did get a new system, I'd probably have to tell them to ship the 7950GTX back to me as that was a purchase on my own and ship back the original 7800GTX to them. Then I'd have to find a buyer for the 7950GTX to recoup some costs. Heh, the 7950GTX has seen less than two weeks of light use and the 'refurbished' (from the first RMA) 7800GTX has seen no use at all.

Update April 18, 2008: The laptop and 7950GTX card were both sent back and arrived at their repair facility Pro-Star in California this morning. Called in and spoke to Brandon to see what they intended to do. Was given a vague answer and was asked to call back Wednesday. My feeling at this time is that they have no intention to give me a replacement system considering I was told that they would be willing to send my laptop to their specialist afterwards to verify that the laptop would be in working order. However, at this time, they have not confirmed whether they would repair/replace/etc. anything. Still waiting to see what their final answer/resolution will be. *not happy*

I should note that I did take pictures of the serial numbers and took a video of me trying to boot up the failed system before I shipped a week and a bit ago.

Update April 21, 2008: Although I have not received any word from WidowPC as of yet, I have been conducting research as to what I should do ever since the laptop failed again for the fourth time in seven months. Unfortunately, it seems I do not have any legal recourse available to me as I am in Canada and not the US? I'm not sure but I can't seem to find any information as to what I'm able to do from here if WidowPC does not provide a satisfactory resolution.

To state the least, I do not trust them to fix my system. Again, I will note that the laptop itself ran fine from when I first received it back in December 2005 until the first week of September 2007. Only since the laptop has been to their repair facility have I had a slew of on-going problems with this system resulting it it being in their hands or in shipping much longer than it has been in mine for the last seven months. Costs and time all add up.

Frankly, even if they provide a satisfactory resolution, I'd be very hesitant to recommend them as a OEM at this point. However, given that they do provide a satisfactory resolution, I would say that at least they're trying. But at the moment, I'll say as any other would in this situation: "This is bullsh--."

Update April 22, 2008: I was finally issued a fourth RMA number (RD80422079). Called up to find out what was going on as I was concerned to see the information listed as follows:

"Problem Description: System is going back to Pro* for the 4th time. Seeking fully functional notebook or replacement."

I was under the impression that Brandon (WidowPC representative) was pushing solely for replacement not just a 'fixed' system that can't be proven that it will work well. I think he was slightly irritated with me. ^^; But at least it does seem like he's trying. I just hope I don't get the short-end of the stick here.

It is kinda stressing me out since if I just get the system back 'fixed' instead of a replacement, I'd have no guarantee on when it'll fail again and my warranty is going to end in December. Oddly, the first three times didn't bother me as much as this fourth time. I guess something clicked and I lost all confidence in not getting a lemon back.

Update April 25, 2008: Okay, so I called up this morning and found out that the system hasn't even been through evaluation yet despite the fact that their repair facility received the laptop on April 18, 2008 (as shown by UPS Tracking). It has been a week now and still nothing. Also, they don't work on weekends so I lose another two days by next week.

It's amusing to note (in a highly-cynical sarcastically amusing sort of way) that in a little over a week, it will officially be eight months since my first problem occurred on September 8, 2007. It has been in working condition for seventeen days total in my possession in all that time (October 26, 2007 to November 11, 2007 and approximately five hours after that). I don't think I need to remind people of the large costs I've spent so far for parts, customs, shipping, packaging, and insurance.

And again, I must voice my concern over their fairly non-chalant attitude because honestly, it's driving me up the wall. Ever feel completely helpless because there's pretty much nothing you can say or do to get a good outcome? I'd say eight months is showing plenty of patience from my end. What have I got to show for it? Nothing at this time besides a lighter wallet and watching the seasons change.

I don't know, maybe I'm too nice. I continue to wonder exactly what resolution this company will provide to me.

Update April 25, 2008, Part 2: I just received an e-mail as follows:

The heck? The system just powered up and restarted ten times with no repair notices or anything? I have video proof that the system was NOT functioning at all. It would not power-up, let alone POST. Also, my system is not a desktop. It is a laptop. Very odd, no?

And as I suspected, the replacement that was supposedly being 'pushed' for me was a lie (as implied by the above e-mail Brandon sent me). They had no intention to do so as I thought. I am sending all this information to WatchDog @ MaxiumPC now along with CC'ing it to WidowPC and [H]ardOCP. It seems nothing I do on my own can influence this company at all.

Update April 28, 2008: Took me a little under an hour this time to get into contact with Brandon again to try to see what's going on. Just happened to call in when their database was down due to a 'switch failure'. Said he would send me an e-mail later today when it's running again. I'm not expecting anything to be honest.

Also, I've received no reply from MaximumPC or [H]ardOCP either yet. Dunno if they care or not but figured it was worth a shot. Maybe they knew whom to contact at least. *hopeful*

In the meanwhile, my HDD for this laptop I'm using right now failed on the weekend suddenly. Thankfully I had money saved to replace the HDD, otherwise, I'd literally be without a system from now until whenever and whatever WidowPC decides to do for me. So yeah, my fuse is pretty much gone. I'm trying very, very hard to be patient until I at least get an official answer from them.

Update April 28, 2008, Part 2: WTF? I just got an e-mail about 6:20pm EST saying they've shipped it?! I HAVE GOTTEN ZERO UPDATES AND THEN IT SHIPS?!

Here's the funny part... no, really. It shipped... Friday, April 25, 2008. So, guess what? They didn't even test this system at all. I am so pissed right now, it's not funny.

Update April 29, 2008: Took me an hour and a half of calling in until I finally got a hold of Brandon. Brandon has pretty much given up the goose and finally transferred me to his supervisor (Lisa Cook) for the first time.

During this conversation, there seemed to be several contradictions (is it just me or do they not know what's going on with their laptop repair facility?). Apparently, booting up the system and powering it down ten times constitutes a stress test. I was also told that the system was working when it got there. Uh... no it wasn't. There's no way it should have been working when it got there. I recorded the bloody thing not working and besides, why would I send it back... if it's working? The logic here escapes me. Obviously there was something wrong with it.

Also, if they required my Windows XP SP2 OEM key to do the stress test (they got that information Friday, April 25, 2008) and if they were planning to do a stress test over the weekend... how is shipping on Friday considered a "stress test on the system over the weekend"?

On a side-note, I've learned that WidowPC was bought out by Silicon Mountain Holdings (based in Colorado) about a year ago and Mr. Joshua McClure is no longer even with the company.

And yet, at the end of this conversation with Lisa Cook, I find that I still have to keep waiting. Can they do nothing? Or are they intentionally doing nothing?

Update April 30, 2008: So I called up UPS today in regards to the shipment (as I pretty much always have to pay for their handling fees for packages coming from across the border) and was told the shipment marked at a value of USD$1500 was also marked as a sale. Also, I noted that they did not list the VGA card I sent in as part of the shipment invoice. No idea if they shipped that or not. The other question is why is the package marked for a value of USD$1500? Previous RMA returns back to me were all marked for USD$2000. Anyway, the major problem is that since the package is marked as a sale, I would have to pay a total of ~$265 based on UPS estimates to accept the package!

Since I was given a direct phone number, rather an extension, to Lisa Cook (1-888-745-6866, #139) their head TSR at Silicon Mountain Holdings, I called her up. To say the least, she sounded irritated with me - especially near the end of the conversation. I explained the situation with UPS along with bringing up questions again as to what she has checked since yesterday afternoon's call (where they had a good several hours to contact someone at their repair facility). Nothing as I suspected. It also seems that as far as the shipping goes, they want me to accept the package so I can 'check' it myself.

I can tell she's reluctant to have any higher-up contact me and pretty much tries to avoid my questions in regards to their company. All she would tell me is she'll 'check' and call me back.

Last night, I also checked my records, a rough estimate shows that I've spent closer to $2000 (or over) as opposed to just over $1700. Questions, questions, questions. Hm.... >_<

Update April 30, 2008, Part 2: Received a phone call at about 2:30pm EST from Lisa telling me that they have contacted the repair facility in regards to my laptop. Shipping information is set to be updated by today and apparently the stress test was run for 24 hours before they even required my key. She confirmed that they have not changed anything in the system (i.e. no repairs, no parts, etc.) and basically am waiting to see what my experiences with the system is.

Considering nothing has been changed, supposedly, I'm assuming the problem to still exist on this system in some form. We'll see what happens. I'm expecting it to die again to be honest. It's a question of when, not if. I was told that if it failed again, I'd have to ship it to their actual headquarters in Colorado instead of the repair facility. Confirms that they have never seen my laptop themselves at all which means that their repair facility could lie to them and they'd never know.

I'm also not entirely sure why, but I get this odd feeling that they shipped the wrong laptop too. First there was the value which was always written as USD$2000 but is now USD$1500. Then there was the fact it was listed as a sale when they've never made this error before? I'll find out on Friday, assuming UPS delivers by then.

Update April 30, 2008, Part3: Got an e-mail from Lisa at about 6:20pm EST:

I have no idea what to say.

Update May 1, 2008: I've recently been informed of the following:

In light of more RMA notes, I've put a link to all the current RMA notes I have gathered from their online tracking systems thus far.

Update May 13, 2008: Called Lisa to determine status of laptop shipment. Lisa told me that Pro-Star will be shipping to WidowPC/Silicon Mountain Holdings themselves for testing. This could potentially be a good thing, especially if it fails in their own hands. I have also sent Lisa the video I took of the system not POST-ing/powering on via e-mail.

At the moment, can still only wait but at least the disconnect between repair facility (Pro-Star), WidowPC/Silicon Mountain Holdings, and myself is growing smaller. WidowPC/Silicon Mountain Holdings will no longer be just the 'middle-man'. Only time will tell how it turns out though. I have also provided WidowPC/Silicon Mountain Holdings a small portion of my notes thus far, along with my thoughts on their repair facility.

Update May 21, 2008: Received a phone call this morning from Lisa telling me they received the laptop from the repair facility. She noted that it was odd that they did not receive a tracking number from the repair facility prior to receiving the laptop. They're planning to run the laptop through its paces. If it appears to be fully functional, they'll be sending it back to me directly. I'm hoping they manage to catch whatever is wrong with it. Don't want it to fail when it gets back to me again. On a side-note, I've also linked to the video I took a while back. It's not the greatest, but it shows that it does not POST/power-on at all. ^^;

Update May 22, 2008: Brandon called me to walk me through with what I wanted tested on the system as I was on the phone with him. I had asked to have everything tested, from ports to components, etc. Everything appeared to be working and then he encountered the exact same failure I got. Hard shutdown then would not POST/Power-On. In a sense I'm rather relieved since they now have proof with their own eyes that I was not jerking their chain. However, now I have to wait again as they discuss what to do on their end before getting in contact with me. I wonder if they'll finally make the decision that I should be getting a replacement system at this point. We'll see....

Update May 23, 2008: Brandon called again to notify me that they will be sending the laptop to Sager's repair facility for them to look at it with no estimated timeline. It seems I am not getting a replacement at all despite all mentions of it in the past. While discussing with Brandon, he agrees that a replacement would be the suitable solution but it is unfortunately not his decision to make. He had Lisa call me back shortly thereafter to talk about this further.

During my conversation with Lisa, I explained that I wanted a replacement system and the reasons why only a repair was not really satisfactory at this point. Instead, she uses their warranty policy as a defence for only providing me with parts & labour services (i.e. repairs only). I made it quite clear that it has been nearly nine months, with the system only working in my hands for seventeen days, including the fact that I had to pay for quite a bit of things (around CAD$2000 - based on a rough estimate). However, all I would get in response is: "Your warranty policy only covers... ... after the first year.". She would avoid my questions when I asked things like: "If you were in my position and you didn't work for this company, would you find this satisfactory?" She replies with comments like: "Well, if the company was doing all they could under the warranty policy...." You can guess how she finished that comment. Apparently, they fail to realize that the only reason I have an extended warranty is because I paid for it in the first place. It's not like they gave me a free service. >_<

Anyway, now all I can do is wait some more... again. If Sager doesn't find the source of the problem, I really don't know what will happen then. I've again been given non-committal answers besides that it's going to Sager for evaluation/repairs. With no timeline either, I'm just grasping at air now. I find it completely absurd that they would mention replacements in the first place if they never had intentions to. Equally absurd is having proof that I wasn't BS'ing them and still refusing to provide a satisfactory resolution given the special circumstances. Heck, as far as I can tell, they no longer use Pro-Star because I've managed to show their incompetence.

This pisses me off to no end. The company needs to get their act together and stop jerking me around. All I am to them is another customer, a client, a chump. In all this time, while Brandon can't do anything under company limitations, the only person I find to be the slightest bit sensible is him. Charlie was good too back then but is no longer with this company. Everyone else that I've dealt with as far as WidowPC/Silicon Mountain Holdings goes at the moment just doesn't seem to have a clue. I actually feel sorry for Brandon.

Now I'm clueless as to what else I can say or do at this point.

Update June 4, 2008: Finally got a status update on the laptop. Apparently Sager has discovered the probable cause of the failure (it is not 100% certain though but could not find any other problem) and has repaired it. The exact information I received was that "[t]he issue with one of the screw posts on the mainboard, which has a cold solder joint, created a faulty ground and the grounding issue has been repaired. This could explain the problems getting the system to post and other erratic behaviors experienced with the system."

If there are no other issues, they are going to ship it back to me tomorrow or Friday and I should hopefully have a working system back soon. We'll see what happens then. I have gotten nothing but just above the bare minimum done for me for the last nine months. *sigh*

[Ignore this part, adding this for search engine queries (will add more as I think should be included): WidowPC, Silicon Mountain Holdings, Pro-Star, Clevo, Sager, review, RMA, problem, unreliable, warranty, sucks, repair, replacement, bad, laptop, technical support, customer service, trust, broken, lie.]

=*~*=

RMA Notes

Laptop Video

=*~*=

Reseller Rating Update Review (April 4, 2008)
MaximumPC Dog Pound Forum

 

Does canada have the equivalent of the better business bureau like we have here in the states? They can do the complaining on your behalf and get results much faster than as an average consumer. You might even be able to get the BBB to help you since widow is an american company correct? Make sure you have saved all reciepts, and copies of any e-mails you sent. Also include pictures of the laptop and the insides and highlight what was replaced (mostly for reference, I doubt they know too much about computer internals).

EDIT: http://www.ccbbb.ca/ the BBB has branches in canada

 

I would certainly put in a claim for the vast majority of your expenses, since each time it was returned they have failed to repair the system. In fact sending it back where it fails within a couple of hours, shows a lack of testing.

one thing you could let us know is exactly how the machine is failing, the symptoms, do you just get a black screen or do you get errors when booting.

for example with xp if the motherboard is replace, Sometimes, you get a problem booting an existing xp installation. Its not as easy as it was with win98 where you just had to load / reload drivers.

 

As far as filing a claim goes, I'm not entirely sure how I should go about doing that. I'm waiting on more information from some friends at the moment and seeing how WidowPC will treat me when they return my call this Monday. I am aware of the BBB but am reluctant at the moment to pursue that course of action before hearing from WidowPC.

As for the failures:

1st time: VGA card burnt-out.
2nd time: SATA controller flaked out and failed, would not detect HDD but would POST. Motherboard, RAM, original HDD were replaced.
3rd time: System did a random hard shutdown and would not POST afterwards. Only HDD Cable was replaced.
4th time: Exact same problem as 3rd time.

As far as I'm concerned, it was hardware failure and given the nature of the 3rd and 4th time, I suspect that the actual issue was never resolved. To clarify not POST-ing, it would not even power up. All I would get is the LED to flash for a second like it is powering up then blank out.

Notice that these problems only occurred after I sent back the laptop to repair/replace the VGA card in the first place?

 

so they replaced the motherboard AND the ram? interesting

the random hard shutdown and no post almost sounds like the processor is frying, like when a heatsink drops off

or any component on the motherboard for that matter.

so there was no indication of anything about to happen, such as memory read errors? or blue screens?

also (memory kicking in here) they were saying the HDD was failing....well bad writes to the hard drive causing disk errors, are also caused by failed or failing ram, which only happens when the corrupt memory addresses are accessed, so sometimes its not noticed just when windows is installed, if its in the higher memory areas.

I had some desktops that did that on a faulty batch of ram, a few years back
so that may be why they replaced the ram...or just one of the sticks (wrong one eh?)

anyway I am rambling, if I were anywhere near canada, I would take a look at it to help you gather evidence, but it seems to me that they admitted they had problems with their repair centre, so thats your leverage right there.

if they dont come up with anything satisfactory, then go down the legal route, you have spent far too much to have a decent working machine, which makes a mockery of their extended warranty.

 

Ouch. What can I say!!

Write a registered complaining and presenting the proofs of negligence. I believe that is all that its needed to wake them up.

Looks like a con of a repair service.

Trance

 

Nope, no warning whatsoever. It appears to work normally then *poof*.

 

man that makes me think there might be internal power issues, shortouts even.
maybe the new graphics card doesnt quite fit properly, or has been incorrectly mounted.

 

I'd think that's unlikely as the system was running fine with the new video card for about a couple weeks when I got it back after replacing the burnt-out card in the first RMA process.

Pretty much the only thing I've done was swap the HDD. I also find it highly unlikely that a HDD could cause massive system failure.

It's also possible it's a power issue but I have no way to test that without voiding my so called 'warranty service'. However, if that was the case, then the question is: Why didn't their specialist detect it?

 

i'm sorry to say but the notebook you got was a big flake.

I personally know a few people with them and all of them have had minimum 2 mobo swaps under warranty.

if you search and scour the net you will see that they broke down over and over and over again.

alienware stopped selling CLEVO because of the problems they had.

m7700/d900t

 

I thought alienware stopped selling clevo because alienware couldn't mark them up as high since there were other resellers of them. And I've actually heard many great things about clevo based notebooks and heard nothing about widowpc but to be honest they don't seem like that great of a boutique brand. Never have I heard someone say "you HAVE to get one from widow, they do the best job." As much as I dislike AW, at least they have a fan base which says loads for their company. Sager, hypersonic, even rock, all are brands with a decent following so you know there must be some level of quality/commitment to product. Since widow uses clevo boards, I strongly recommend finding a different reseller for future purchases. Free market ftw!

 

all I know is alienware came out with the m7700 which had so many overheating mobo dying problems and most people on avg had to send back for a minimum of 2 mobos repairs.

then they stopped selling clevo

 

Well I do congratulate them for actually sitting down and making the m15x fro scratch themselves. Or at least if they didn't, taking responsibility for the problems and fixing it themselves. When you have brands like widow who rebrand another product they rarely if ever try to fix any engineering problems with the product they are rebranding. Asus has its own problems but as the makers of their own products they are more than willing to take responsibility and fix it themselves.

 

WidowPC was famous back in 2005/2006 for the customer service but they seem to have management issues or something now. Things change I guess.

Also dexgo, my laptop didn't die due to overheating except the first time with the video card.

*sigh* I'm not looking forward to talking to them in the morning. ^^;

 

Depending on how you paid for the laptop, you might actually be able to force a refund. Credit card companies might actually try to do this for you, as might a bank or other electronic form of payment. Worth a shot, though it won't get you your shipping money back.

Also, if the exact terms of the warranty do not explicitly state that you pay shipping...you might be able to take them to small claims about that one. IF they are based in the US, then you might even be able to call in the lemon law as they abide by US law (if their HQ is there).

Just a few options for you to consider.

 

This system was purchased on my mother's credit card but she is currently unavailable and the purchase was over two years ago. I'm not sure if this can be done but even if it could, I'd still be left without a working system.

According to the Texas BBB, they are based in Austin, Texas. Their warranty has been changed several times as far as I'm aware (subtle changes).

In hindsight, I should've documented their warranty information back when I first got the computer in 2005. They never provided me with warranty documentation when they first sent me the laptop in the first place as they just pointed to me to their website. At the time, the warranty written out was much more vague than it is now. Now, the warranty portion is still fairly vague but cluttered with 'save my ass' clauses. However, even now, their warranty page does not explicitly state that I must pay for shipping for repairs/replacement.

I am aware of the 'lemon laws' but I don't know the details. Also, the other issue is that I'm a Canadian, I have no idea if I can even do that from here, let alone knowing how to go about getting it done. Searching around the internet yields fairly little information regarding the specifics of 'lemon laws' when it comes to computers.

I appreciate the advice so far, I just hope I don't completely snap if WidowPC remembers to call me back today as promised last Friday. I'm usually fairly non-confrontational and it's probably because of that I get pushed around but enough's enough. I'm not sure what I'm even entitled to at this point either. ^^;

I'll update more as the situation unfolds.

 

Proabbly the complain should be done to consumer potection offfice where the company is located.

 

sorry Themanwithsauce, but alienware didnt make that chassis, they got another company Quanta

they are a system assember just like me with desktops

anyway back to the topic, did you get a response?

 

Which makes you an OEM.

 

Nope. No response or initiative from their end and they've started business hours for several hours already today.

I've been calling in repeatedly for the last 40mins (as of 3pm EST) and basically being placed on hold by their automated switchboard system. The system cuts you off and forces you on to voicemail (which will result in a not so prompt reply in my experience) after approximately 8mins.

 

The D900T/K, if im not mistaken had many problems, which were fixed with the D901c.

AW switched due to all hte problems with the ewarlier clevo chassi and due to the fact of all the other resellers.

 

well Shyster1, it was just before the fall of the desktop, I was on the verge of applying for OEM status, and setting up shop, but I saw the writing on the wall , as the company I dealt with for parts ran into trouble (grew too big too fast and didnt spot the popularity of laptops increase)

A lot of my customers came back to me, some for a new system, but more and more were requesting notebooks, I tried and tried to get barebones, to compete with the cheaper options out there , but for most of my customers a cheap non gaming notebook was fine for their requirements.

Most of my gaming customers still get desktops from me, as unlike me they are not completely mad and spending £1500 on a system, they can get as a desktop for £650

again back on topic (I am terrible at wandering off topic even when talking )

I think a serious Email accompanied by a written letter (as a backup for the email) stating how dissatisfied you are with their service and emphasise the costs you have incurred, you should not have had to pay for more than one shipment to them.

Good luck getting it sorted out.

 

Contact update: I was promised on Friday, April 4, 2008, that they would call me today (April 7th) but nothing, in fact I had to take the initiative and call them myself. Despite calling nearly non-stop for hours, I did not manage to reach a single person.

It's a joke (quoted directly from their website): "WidowPC: one of the only gaming computer companies to feature American, 24-7, toll-free tech support for as long as you own the computer, standard with every system purchase"

They seemed to be so busy that I called from 3pm EST all the way to their closing time (8pm EST), for a total of five hours, and never got a single person to talk to. In fact, my cordless phone ran out of power and I had to resort to using my cell phone to call (unfortunately I don't have instant logging for those as it shows up at the end of the month on bill).

07/04/2008 18:57 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 18:48 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 18:39 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 18:31 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 18:23 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 18:14 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 18:06 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:57 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:49 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:40 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:34 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:34 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:25 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:17 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:09 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 17:00 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:52 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:43 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:35 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:26 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:18 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:10 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 16:01 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:53 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:44 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:36 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:27 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:19 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:10 Outgoing 8008517502
07/04/2008 15:02 Outgoing 8008517502

No worries about going off-topic. Still learn stuff after all. ^_^

I am wary about using e-mail since they seem to either lose e-mails or ignore them. A written letter and/or phone call will likely be most effective if it ever gets to them. I'm still researching information regarding situations like this in the meanwhile.

 

well good luck getting them sorted out, there is a lot of movement in the industry at the moment however, what with takeovers and all, and with marketshare being grabbed by the likes of xotic who become more and more well known, they might be running into trouble.

customer service is usually one of the first signs that its all going to the wall.

make sure you get all your facts in one place, send a registered letter by post to accompany an email, that way they cannot "lose" it

 

April 8, 2008 Update:

Finally getting somewhere it seems. I managed to get in contact with Brandon from WidowPC this morning. He's going to push his superiors for getting me a replacement system. It will most likely be a newer model but he doesn't have an ETA yet. Asked me to give him a few days to process stuff.

I'm hoping that if they do replace it, they don't replace it with a system worse than my current system specs. As far as I know, the only way they could screw this up would be to offer me a system with something worse than a 8700M as it wouldn't even compare to my original 7800GTX. Considering I own the 7950GTX as well, the only single card that can compare is the 8800M-GTX.

Well, just have to wait and see at this point as to what they're going to do exactly. As far as I can tell, replacement is not 100% guaranteed yet but very likely. *crosses fingers*

 

You could ask them to try and salvage up the 7950 from your unit and see if it would work in a newer model. It's not a bad card by any means and it is superior to an 8700. Or at least ask if they have any 7950s left in a stockroom or something that they could use instead of an 8700 if that is what they are planning on giving you.

 

Wow man what a nightmare, I feel your pain. Consumers need to stand up and post info like this on all forums so others know the kind of quality of the reseller. I suggest powernotebooks, exotic pc, and even discountlaptops, if you ever even decide to buy another notebook again. Hope you come out ahead some way man, goodluck and dont give up.

 

Ah, I still don't know what they would give me as a replacement yet. I just got a call earlier today telling me they would issue me a shipping label (as they upgraded their UPS shipping services to worldwide) to return the laptop to them again for verification/analysis(?) and then proceed from there.

Brandon did tell me that if replacement is confirmed then it will be a 'current' model and they'd discuss the details with me. That pretty much rules out getting the same D900T/K system as both are discontinued entirely now. Since that is the case, the VGA card would not be salvageable to be used in a new system due to incompatability.

If I did get a new system, I'd probably have to tell them to ship the 7950GTX back to me as that was a purchase on my own and ship back the original 7800GTX to them. Then I'd have to find a buyer for the 7950GTX to recoup some costs. Heh, the 7950GTX has seen less than two weeks of light use and the 'refurbished' (from the first RMA) 7800GTX has seen no use at all.

Update April 18, 2008: The laptop and 7950GTX card were both sent back and arrived at their repair facility Pro-Star in California this morning. Called in and spoke to Brandon to see what they intended to do. Was given a vague answer and was asked to call back Wednesday. My feeling at this time is that they have no intention to give me a replacement system considering I was told that they would be willing to send my laptop to their specialist afterwards to verify that the laptop would be in working order. However, at this time, they have not confirmed whether they would repair/replace/etc. anything. Still waiting to see what their final answer/resolution will be. *not happy*

I should note that I did take pictures of the serial numbers and took a video of me trying to boot up the failed system before I shipped a week and a bit ago.

Update April 21, 2008: Although I have not received any word from WidowPC as of yet, I have been conducting research as to what I should do ever since the laptop failed again for the fourth time in seven months. Unfortunately, it seems I do not have any legal recourse available to me as I am in Canada and not the US? I'm not sure but I can't seem to find any information as to what I'm able to do from here if WidowPC does not provide a satisfactory resolution.

To state the least, I do not trust them to fix my system. Again, I will note that the laptop itself ran fine from when I first received it back in December 2005 until the first week of September 2007. Only since the laptop has been to their repair facility have I had a slew of on-going problems with this system resulting it it being in their hands or in shipping much longer than it has been in mine for the last seven months. Costs and time all add up.

Frankly, even if they provide a satisfactory resolution, I'd be very hesitant to recommend them as a OEM at this point. However, given that they do provide a satisfactory resolution, I would say that at least they're trying. But at the moment, I'll say as any other would in this situation: "This is bullsh--."

Update April 22, 2008: I was finally issued a fourth RMA number (RD80422079). Called up to find out what was going on as I was concerned to see the information listed as follows:

"Problem Description: System is going back to Pro* for the 4th time. Seeking fully functional notebook or replacement."

I was under the impression that Brandom (WidowPC representative) was pushing solely for replacement not just a 'fixed' system that can't be proven that it will work well. I think he was slightly irritated with me. ^^; But at least it does seem like he's trying. I just hope I don't get the short-end of the stick here.

It is kinda stressing me out since if I just get the system back 'fixed' instead of a replacement, I'd have no guarantee on when it'll fail again and my warranty is going to end in December. Oddly, the first three times didn't bother me as much as this fourth time. I guess something clicked and I lost all confidence in not getting a lemon back.

Update April 25, 2008: Okay, so I called up this morning and found out that the system hasn't even been through evaluation yet despite the fact that their repair facility received the laptop on April 18, 2008 (as shown by UPS Tracking). It has been a week now and still nothing. Also, they don't work on weekends so I lose another two days by next week.

It's amusing to note (in a highly-cynical sarcastically amusing sort of way) that in a little over a week, it will officially be eight months since my first problem occurred on September 8, 2007. It has been in working condition for seventeen days total in my possession in all that time (October 26, 2007 to November 11, 2007 and approximately five hours after that). I don't think I need to remind people of the large costs I've spent so far for parts, customs, shipping, packaging, and insurance.

And again, I must voice my concern over their fairly non-chalant attitude because honestly, it's driving me up the wall. Ever feel completely helpless because there's pretty much nothing you can say or do to get a good outcome? I'd say eight months is showing plenty of patience from my end. What have I got to show for it? Nothing at this time besides a lighter wallet and watching the seasons change.

I don't know, maybe I'm too nice. I continue to wonder exactly what resolution this company will provide to me.

Update April 25, 2008, Part 2: I just received an e-mail as follows:

The heck? The system just powered up and restarted ten times with no repair notices or anything? I have video proof that the system was NOT functioning at all. It would not power-up, let alone POST.

And as I suspected, the replacement that was supposedly being 'pushed' for me was a lie. They had no intention to do so as I thought. I am sending all this information to WatchDog @ MaxiumPC now along with forwarding it to WidowPC and [H]ardOCP. It seems nothing I do on my own can influence this company at all.

Update April 28, 2008: Took me a little under an hour this time to get into contact with Brandon again to try to see what's going on. Just happened to call in when their database was down due to a 'switch failure'. Said he would send me an e-mail later today when it's running again. I'm not expecting anything to be honest.

Also, I've received no reply from MaximumPC or [H]ardOCP either yet. Dunno if they care or not but figured it was worth a shot. Maybe they knew whom to contact at least. *hopeful*

In the meanwhile, my HDD for this laptop I'm using right now failed on the weekend suddenly. Thankfully I had money saved to replace the HDD, otherwise, I'd literally be without a system from now until whenever and whatever WidowPC decides to do for me. So yeah, my fuse is pretty much gone. I'm trying very, very hard to be patient until I at least get an official answer from them.

Update April 28, 2008, Part 2: WTF? I just got an e-mail about 6:20pm EST saying they've shipped it?! I HAVE GOTTEN ZERO UPDATES AND THEN IT SHIPS?!

Here's the funny part... no, really. It shipped... Friday, April 25, 2008. So, guess what? They didn't even test this system at all. I am so pissed right now, it's not funny.

 

Consolidated all updates to first post as of April 28, 2008. Also giving a slight bump (if that's okay). ^^;

 

Why dont you want a replacement again?

 

I do want a replacement. They're not giving me one it seems.

 

my god.. simply wow. i actually almost used them before i found xotic since i know someone who formerly did.. but he had no issues.. his system was not however a 900t/k..

good luck with everything trust me i know how it goes with crap like this....

 

Yeah, even if it's a D900T/K, keep in mind that the system was pretty much working fine until the VGA card burnt out. Nearly two years since I got it before that happened.

Then after I get it back from the first RMA, I've just had constant problems. To me, just that in itself is odd. If it wasn't a lemon before it went back... it's definitely a lemon now from whatever the hell they did to it. I don't even know what they did for the most part since they provide so few details to me.

They've actually managed to anger me to the point where I can't sleep.

 

Look, it is way past time to stop acting as a nice Canadian and to start acting more like a real pissed off American. Do not let these fools take advantage of you for one more day.

Get all your information together, neatly typed and spell-checked, and contact your mother's credit card company's customer service and explain to them you want to initiate a charge back on the laptop as you are not getting technical service under the warranty.

I had a desktop system that arrived DOA and the vendor refused to do anything about it. I charged the entire deal back to my credit card, got all my money back, fixed the desktop myself and for the cost of parts got a new system for a really good price.

Dealers like this think they can roll all over customers and treat them how ever they want. Time to stand up and kick them where they will take notice.

 

I have to wait until I receive this latest shipment first it seems. More documentation better I think. Not sure if I can even initiate a charge-back at this point since WidowPC was bought out by Silicon Mountain Holdings. I was never given a printed warranty document when I received the laptop originally either.

The e-mails from when I first purchased the system back in 2005 aren't easily accessible to me at the moment since I don't have a system to put that HDD into and even if I did, I'd have to grab it from MS Outlook 2007 somehow without messing with the HDD data/configuration/installs as it is. Currently, the HDD is sitting in an anti-static bag and surrounded by bubble-wrap. This is part of the reason I refused to let them format/replace my original HDD in the first RMA. I would've lost all that data. Thankfully, it is safe in this HDD though, just can't use it at the moment without serious hassle. I do know I have records of it all though.

 

what type of interface is the original hdd?? ide or sata? why not grab a el cheapo external housing from somewhere like ebay for like 5-10$ stick the drive in it then plug it in when you get the system back (granted it turns on) or see if someoen you know can plug a usb drive in for you and print out the info you need. doing it this way will not require any changes to be made to either their system or your old hdd?? just a thought. you are always welcome to send it to me and i can get off the info you need as i have pretty much every type of system and enclosure here as i do repair and building on the side for people. not sure if i can help being i am in the us so shipping it might cost some $$ but let me know if i can help

 

CWolfCW,

I have nothing constructive to add to this entire discussion, but I've read every post in your thread here and sincerely wish you the absolute best.

When I had my computer store, my NUMBER ONE rule was to treat my employees like they were gods. When you have an employee that wakes up and says, "time to go to work! What can I accomplish today?" as opposed to, "aww hell.... time for work..... damn..." -- customers are really no longer a concern of your's. People (customers) LIKE dealing with happy, enthusiastic sales/techs. And will keep coming back.

Make SURE your employees treat the customers like gods as well.

There were a few times where my store ate the cost of some component or other just to make the customer satisfied. I just don't understand the lack of customer service with the vast majority of companies. There's a local computer shop near me that certainly isn't the least expensive, but are just absolutely fantastic to do business with.

Anyway, I sincerely wish you the best in getting your notebook situation resolved promptly (at least from here on out) and to (or as it should be, "better") your total satisfaction.

 

Far out man, I hope it all works out in the end... I did a whole lot of research before I bought from XoticPC (Consumer Reports, BBB, etc). Trusting a small company with a lot of money is a tough thing for me to do, and after your experience you must be more skeptical than I, but for your sake I hope this is an isolated incident and you can get it resolved and learn to trust again... best wishes

 

I am really sorry to hear about it.You have really spend a lot in shipping and others.For 2000 you can buy a new laptop of your config if not better.

My experience with Sager has been good.I explained,they listened and sent me the shipping label for both ways.

 

Since the notebook is returning to Pro-Star anyway, you may want to request that they go ahead and perform a 24-hour burn-in before shipping it back under the corrected labeling. Something besides turning the computer on and off 10 times.

 

I was told that they did a 24-hour burn-in before they even asked for my key. Apparently they used a 'generic' key to do it.

When and how they did it remains a mystery. The thing that bugs me most about this most recent series of events is that the laptop was magically working when they received it. Previously, the only other incident that left me confused was the HDD in the 1st/2nd RMA. They replaced a supposedly working HDD (as far as I could tell). Given that WidowPC/Silicon Mountain Holdings haven't seen my system themselves, they're pretty much at the mercy of the repair facility, Pro-Star. I'm suspecting that things are not as they seem. I dunno though, just a feeling at this point. ^^;

A few friends I've conferred with think that they fixed the problem secretly, claiming nothing was wrong so as to avoid having to fork up for a replacement. I mean, $2000+ replacement vs ~$500 repair (I'm assuming, if they replaced the motherboard). Again, I re-iterate: Why would I send it back for a fourth time if it was working?

From no power-up, no POST, to perfectly working status? Hm... I'm also fairly certain I've mentioned to them I have video documentation of me trying to boot-up the system to no avail. Although I doubt they paid serious attention to what I've said thus far.

 

yeah man that whole deal is pretty fishy if you ask me something sounds weird about that whole deal..

 

Report it to the BBB

 

One thing that Widow can find out for you is what utilities were used to actually burn in your system. Something like Memtest86 can be run without booting Windows, and Pro-Star should be able to use a factory boot of XP before relocking Windows (but in that case, they shouldn't have been requesting your key to begin with).

At the very least, they should have done an overnight burn-in with Memtest, and I would also recommend a Prime95 burn-in and a 3DMark burn-in to round out the tests and put the system under enough strain to cause a failure if there is a weak link. It's entirely possible that Pro-Star has already done all these things. If so, that's good news...they should be able to just flip it around as soon as they've labeled the system appropriately for shipping. If not, request that they do the test(s) that have not been done so far.

 

Are things better now?

 

wondering the same since i know someone who bought from them i hope all works out for you..

 

Unfortunately, no. At this time, I have not been contacted in regards to the laptop since April 30, 2008, by WidowPC/Silicon Mountain Holdings/Pro-Star. UPS tracking isn't making much sense either. Supposedly, it was due to arrive on May 2, 2008 but from what I could gather from UPS, the shipper still did not change the commercial invoice to reflect that the package being sent to me was for a "Warranty Repair".

I was told a few things by UPS:

1. All it would've taken was for the shipper to fax UPS a new commercial invoice. In other words, they didn't need to have it shipped back to them. Seems very odd that I could gather this information and yet the shipper seems to have no clue how to do things.
2. If I refused the packaged and the shipper refused receiving the package back, the package would be destroyed by UPS.
3. The laptop was confirmed to be valued at USD$1500. Bit odd since previous return shipments to me have the laptop valued at USD$2000.
4. No insurance was placed on the package and it was sent via UPS Standard Ground.
5. The commercial invoice also did not contain any information about the VGA card that I sent in. It was a Go 7800 GTX 256MB Refurbished that was supposed to be swapped back into the system so that I would get back the Go 7950 GTX 512MB I purchased privately. The replacement system (that I was under the impression I was supposed to get) wouldn't be able to use it in newer laptop models (only for D900T/K). In other words, I should be getting two items in that shipment: a laptop and the VGA card.

At this time, I have no idea about the status of the laptop/shipment at all. The last update UPS tracking gave me was on May 1, 2008 for an "Import Scan". So all I'm doing now is waiting. I'm at a point where I feel 'sick' when I even think of having to contact them again (think huge/painful psychological 'groan').

 

Since you waited so long,wait till you get this too and if it's not changed go to BBB.

 

my laptops never failed on me in last 8 years; the worst thing ever happened on was the motherboard replacement on my samsung p-10, yup I dropped it but they replaced it for free under regular warranty, of course I had to paid for the new chassis for.......urrrr....$50
I hope your laptop arrive with fully working condition

 

Yeah, me too. Most recent update anyway is that WidowPC/Silicon Mountain Holdings have requested that Pro-Star ship it to them first. If everything seems okay and stuff then WidowPC/Silicon Mountain Holdings will ship it to me themselves.

Not good news but at least not bad news. And it seems like the 'middle-man' is doing something now which is something at least.

Was honestly expecting a replacement since repeated failures/RMAs don't instill confidence in it not failing again (especially when the warranty is going to run out near the end of this year) but can only wait and see the outcome as it is now.