|
|
Thinking of Compaq??? Think again!Aug 08 '00 Write an essay on this topic.After spending quite a number of years with used computers, and having them getting outdated, and parts frying out. I decided it was time for a brand new computer. Something new, up to date, reliable, and with a shiny warranty that would garauntee problems would be fixed should they come up. I do websites and freelance from time to time, and I needed something reliable to keep up with my websites and online volunteer work. I was so tired of crashes, blue screens, and not having the *oomph* to keep up with new system requirements. In I walked to the computer store, spotted a nice and shiny mini tower, and was in love within minutes. The Compaq I had spotted was gorgeous. It was a 233, with bells and whistles and gadgets... Oh my! I brought it home, got an extended warranty *Just in case* and I was in heaven.... for a few months. My motherboard crashed out on me, and the compaq techs eventually had me send it out to a tech in order to get it fixed. No biggie, I thought. I should have thought again. The computer worked again, and for me that was good enough. A few months later....... the motherboard fried on me again. This time I spent several hours on the phone with tech support, who made me do Quick Restore after Quick restore. When that failed to work, they had me do more Quick Restores. Nothing worked, and this time they sent a tech to my house. The technician who came out, looked at the computer, agreed the Motherboard had blown again, and said she needed to order the part. My next problem was with the technician, who refused to come on a weekend, or after 4pm. She did not seem to understand that I could not take time off of work to stay home all day and wait for her to show up, and she wound up filing a complaint against "ME!" because I could not fit into "HER" schedule. They did, find another technician, and he came out at 4:30pm on a weekday, he had the part we needed and installed it. This time, the computer would not even start when he powered it up. He left, telling me to call the tech support people and tell them what happened. Also telling me there was nothing he could do, especially since he was "quitting" the next day. Nice people eh??? Finally, Tech support agreed to replace the computer with a newer model. This was fine by me, I was totally satisfied with the decision. (Well, wouldnt you be?) But alas... all was not well with the next compaq either. The next model that found itself in my home was faster, more RAM, more harddrive space... a built in ZIP drive. I was more than thrilled. All went well for a while. And then, you geussed it.... I was revisted with the SAME EXACT problems that I had had with the previous model. I went through the exact same hoops with technical support as before. Quick Restore after Quick Restore, and it did not fix the problems. When they were finally faced with a decision about fixing the computer, I was told that they couldnt even speak to me on the phone anymore without a Credit Card number, as they had replaced my first model and all warranties were null and void from that point on. The point? Sure, a Compaq works beautifully for the first month or so. But once you begin to have problems, they are most likely to rear their ugly heads once again. Please, just be careful. Overall, the tech support people were nice and helpful. I never gave them alot of grief, as I knew it wasnt their fault for my computer failures, there were the occasional techs that seemed holier than thou, and condascending, but all in all, I would commend them for their efforts. I have heard that some people have had a wonderful experience using Compaqs, and at first, I was one of those people. There are plenty of great machines out there, just be sure to look around before spending alot of money on something that could very well wind up giving you alot of grief in the future. Just wanted to add some of the errors that I was getting: The dreaded Blue-Screen Death: I received several General Protection Faults and Fatal Exception Errors (insert number and letters here) even after doing a full Quick Restore without any new software installed. This happened on both models and was reliable in the fact that I was unable to work at all on the computers after a time, for the errors were *that* numerous. Restarting: The machines often restarted themselves for no reason at all. Sound Card Problems: Several times, wavs would replay themselves over and over again in a *stuttering* type of fashion. Modem: My 56k modem would never give me a connection over 24,000 bps. My older computer, and the one I own now (Hewlett Packard) get a much better connection. (Cant blame line noise for that anymore)  |
| Write the first comment on this review! |
|
Ads by Google
|
