A Word About H-P.
The title promised you one word about H-P, so here it is:
SATAN
Truth is, I have more than one word to say about H-P, and that is Do Not Buy an H-P Computer!
I first told you here about my problem with my out-of-warranty (by about a month***), very expensive computer.. Stripped of detail, the story is that the computer would not start Windows. I updated the sad tale, here and here, which culminated in my sending the computer back to H-P for a $300+ repair.
A short bit of back-story. When I [Mike, my computer maven buddy], was talking online with the disembodied computer geek at H-P, he advised him that he [I] would be sending the computer minus the hard drive, the disembodied computer geek said, “No, you must send the hard drive.â€
I [Mike] responded, “OK, but do not fool with the hard drive.â€
The disembodied computer geek said, “I will mark the repair ticket ‘Do not reconfigure hard drive.’â€
Fast forward.
The computer was returned, and apparently, it now starts Windows, but guess what.
Yes, the hard drive was “re-imaged.†In non-Geekspeak, that means, “We don’t give a fat rat’s ass what we told you, we will wipe your hard drive clean, because we CAN.â€
Initially I figured, “No problem, I have an external drive tee’d up to back everyfarookin’ thing up.â€
I have since learned that the external drive did not do what it’s supposed to do, and I’ve lost every file that was placed in the computer for the last year or so. It apparently saved the stuff from my old computer, but the daily backups, even thought they showed up on my screen, didn’t happen.
Now, once I fire up the Raptor (I’m still using a borrowed machine), I will have to place myself in a “Wayback†Machine in order to reconstruct my files.
If you are inclined to tell me what I should have done, please spare me. I relied on the expertise of the goddamned computer manufacturer and its promise not to screw around with the hard drive, and I was HOSED. (Mike was adamant about shipping the unit sans hard drive).
So, a few things:
If you don’t hear from me, it may well be that I no longer have your e-mail, your phone number, or your snail mail address.
If I blog a bit less, it is because I’m taxing my memory to update lost goddamned files.
If you’ve stayed with me this long, I want to impress upon you one thing. DO NOT BUY AN H-P COMPUTER. If you feel the urge to buy one, have a cocktail and buy something else.
Oh, and if anyone from H-P happens to be reading this, how’s about you kiss my ample New Jersey ass!
That is all.
*** Actually, the computer was running less than the warranty period, as the components sat in my house for damned near a month in the boxes owing to a family health problem unfolding at that time. We mentioned this to H-P, but it did not matter. I understand. Rules are rules. But, damn!
Jimbo……..
So sorry for your computer troubles…….I have a Dell the POS version “Piece Of Shit” here in my home office running on Verizon online & a H-P at the Shop running on Hughes Satellite.net. The H-P is a dream though Hughes Satellite.net has periodic problems. The POS DELL is a cranky no-good pile of junk but Verizon online is great.
I am going to replace the Dell with another H-P but I gotta live with Hughes for a couple of more years until Verizon adds the area where my shop is to their coverage zone.
We all got computer issues my Friend!
Comment by dudley1 — September 8, 2008 @ 8:57 pm
I totally know wherefrom you speak. The computer my new machine (gorgeous perfection in and of itself)replaced was an HP. Luckily I never had to send it to or deal with any HP people, having some local peeps to fix it the several times it collapsed. But I went through that crap with Gateway a long time back and had experiences similar to yours with HP. It cured me of ever trusting send-away computer repairs. I have a deep distrust of any kind of warranty anyway… but that might be just typical inbred paranoia. 🙂
Comment by LeeAnn — September 8, 2008 @ 8:59 pm
Dude…that totally fucking sucks. As someone who went through her own suckass miserable irredeemable bullshit mid-August (I don’t think I could bear to listen to Neil Diamond ever again), and has also had a hard drive full of thousands of photos and Word files f**king DIE, unexpectedly, with no backup, and lost her cell phone on a roller coaster, the contents of a recently-renewed $35 MetroCard in an MRI room, and countless other non-tragedies sprinkled throughout my life, I can honestly attest that I feel your pain. If there were such a thing as toilet paper with pictures of an HP computer on it, I would gladly wipe my tucches with it, in a seated stand of solidarity with you. I mean it. Because that’s what friends do[o].
Comment by Erica — September 8, 2008 @ 9:03 pm
OMG, I dropped the F-bomb in your comments. Didn’t mean to — sorry. Should you feel so inclined, feel free to throw a couple of asterisks in there, unless it doesn’t bother you, in which case it doesn’t bother me [much].
Comment by Erica — September 8, 2008 @ 9:06 pm
Jimbo, I think I’d check the serial number of the HP POS you got back against the s/n of the one you sent. There would exist a distinct possibility that they simply shipped you a refurbished unit. As a hardware geek, I promise you that short of major, major problems, there should have been no need to trash your hard drive.
Comment by DMerriman — September 8, 2008 @ 9:43 pm
I’ve had a Gateway of some sort since 1996..no real problems with the computer although the old Windows 98 that I had did have a lot of security problems. I have a three year old GT5012 which I like but of course is outdated and a year old laptop which is ok..I am not crazy about the Vista..may upgrade this fall to another PC..I may see if I am smart enough for MAC
Comment by GUYK — September 8, 2008 @ 11:02 pm
*sigh* I’m so sorry Jimbo. There are not even words for how badly that sucks. We are looking to replace my husband’s computer and are leaning strongly toward a Mac for him.
I’ve been doing online backups and haven’t yet done the one thing you’re supposed to do… try to restore backed up files to see if it works. I think I shall do this very very soon like within the next day or so.
In the meantime, can I send you a case of chocolate vodka or other such thing? And do listen to DMerriman – check to ensure they sent you back the correct computer and not a completely different one. ARG!
Comment by Teresa — September 8, 2008 @ 11:54 pm
M-A-C…
Comment by gregor — September 9, 2008 @ 7:36 am
What a colossal bummer.
Comment by dogette — September 9, 2008 @ 8:51 am
I’d be pretty damn pissed, too.
Comment by Da Goddess — September 9, 2008 @ 9:15 am
Dude, seriously, consider a Mac. I actually search my PC with my Mac over my network. So much faster with cleaner results.
If you have both machines on a network, over time, you’ll do everything on the Mac and will never fire up windows on your Mac (but you CAN but you won’t want to.)
However, I do use my PC to play spider solitaire.
Comment by Woods Walker — September 9, 2008 @ 9:31 am
Jimbo,
I just had my motherboard smoke on my HP. (Diagnosed by the Guru we use for the company machines). Did the ship in their box routine. I’ll see your wiped hard drive (BASTICHES!)and raise you a cute little problem.
WORKS for 48 hrs. DOESN’T WORK for the next 48 hrs.
WORKS for 48 hrs. DOESN’T WORK now (36 hrs in – I’m curious).
Comment by Mark Reardon — September 9, 2008 @ 10:21 am
I’m telling you brother…An iMac will fuck on the first date…trust me on this…
Comment by Yabu — September 9, 2008 @ 11:42 am
Yabu..you just sold me on a iMac
Comment by GUYK — September 9, 2008 @ 1:11 pm
Everytime a harddrive goes to a repair facility they wipe it whether they need to or not…that is right after they check it for boobie pitures.
Comment by hammer — September 9, 2008 @ 2:40 pm
Forgot to mention..I have an HP scanner/printer that was inexpensive and so far has given me no problems. But that may be because I have all the HP updates for it blocked…I just don’t believe in fixin’ if it ain’t broke.
Comment by GUYK — September 9, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
It’s really quite strange… HP pays alot more attention to their corporate customers. We get EXCELLENT service and quality for their commercial systems — I had hoped the same would extend to their home PCs. This really sucks ass. And why WHY is it at these times that the MAC people choose to come out of the woodwork? Please get back into your Prius and peddle your “Macs are better” stories somewhere else. (Because Apple service can suck too… oops! SHHHH… didn’t mean to make you MAC owners nervous…) I swear to god you MAC worshippers are communists.
Comment by Mike R. — September 10, 2008 @ 1:20 am