Heres what you need to know. All the details, and 7 must know secrets.Apr 16 '01 (Updated Jun 27 '01) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line NO problem cant be fixed, Get the extended warrenty, buy a refurbished machine. Ask questions to tech support.
I bought a Presario 14xl245, I called in a few times, and got thru most the problems everyone else here is having with no problem. Ive been selling machines for about 7 years now, I have my own business. I know whats going on, and now Im going to tell you.. 1. Where to buy a cheep machine. 2. Recovery Disks & Restore CDs are 2 different things. 3. 2nd Partition, what its for. 4. Secret menus on the restore CD's & How To Use It. 5. How to repartition the special format. 6. How to not void your warrenty. 7. Where to find your drivers. First off If your thinking about purchasing a Compaq Laptop the place to go is http://www.compaqfactoryoutlet.com You will get awesome deals on the laptops because they are refurbished, mine looks as if it was brand new. Second. These machines come with the "Special" disk everyone should have. Life saver.. more on this later. When you recieve your machine, there is a 2nd drive letter.. You may think Ohh I wont need this restore info, I have a cd, dont erase it.. it contains drivers and info to resetup your machine, if you dont have the 2 disc set your doomed, not the 1 CD that says "emergency recovery" the ones you need say "restore CD" numbered 1 and 2 at the bottoms. As far as I know these come with refurbished machines, but not store bought new machines. Compaq will charge you for a set of these discs. (Which they should include) and then dont tell you how to use. Third The info on the 2nd partition can only be used to correct problems while your operating system is still working, it can be used to reinstall some applications and most drivers. However it is useless once your computer has been formatted or the operating system has been changed. Fourth Heres the steps to using their restore CD's. 1. Boot the machine with the QRCD in the CD drive.. 2. Set CAPS LOCK and NUM LOCK on (This is easiest if done during boot, but can be done during the blinking Compaq QuickRestore screen, this procedure is called Reset Drive). 3. When Compaq QuickRestore stops blinking, set NUM LOCK off (this procedure is called Arm Drive). 4. Depending on your version you may get prompted for other things, language, computer model, version ect.. 5. At the Welcome Screen, hit CTRL-Q and you will see a (Q) in the Title Bar. This is very important! Watch carefully for the Q, as it will only be on screen for a short while. If you do not see the Q, then shut off the computer and start at step 1 again. 6. If the drive needs to be partitioned the computer will reboot at this point. You DO NOT need to Reset or Arm the drive again and restore will continue by itself. Amazing huh? even the discs they charge for require a call into tech support because they have keys and combinations they dont tell you about. Fifth Once you figure out the special menu's and how to get the cd to boot up your machine, the repartitioning of the drive is no problem. At first I thought I could manually repartition them. I learnt that unless it is an exact match to the factory setup the restore cd still wont work. This is why all the above steps are needed. Sixth Ok now onto more secrets, beware that if you change your operating system they can no longer support you. The tech support people are trained to follow a 1 2 3 guide written specially for your machine. When you change Operating systems this "voids your warrenty" kinda surprised me when they told me this. However I used common sense and asked. "what happens if I have a problem and decide to reinstall using those backup cd's?" they replied "your warrenty is good again" wow.. now isnt that something.. Ok Weve covered warrenty, specially menus, restore discs, and where to buy cheep machines. ahh yes.. almost forgot.. Seventh The 2nd partition, if your upgrading OS's I suggest leaving it, or burning the 2nd parition to a cd before removing it.. The reason for this, is that Windows ME and Windows 2000 do not have drivers for the touchpad, modem, network, sound, video, screen, usb diskette, mp3 buttons, easytouch keys. The secret is that all those numbered directories on the second parition are installs for all your hardware.. click thru them all 1 at a time, and you will find the installs you need to get your machine up and running perfectly on another operating system. Write down the numbers so you know which one does what, back them up on a cd and then you can erase them. I asked compaq for drivers they told me they werent available. Id have to upgrade my OS, but not install it from a clean hard drive. Now you know the secret to installing another operating system, and where to get all your drivers. Conclusion That just about covers all the secrets Ive found so far.. Hope these help some of you With machines, and the people reading who want to buy one.  |
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