I will never buy HP again
Written: May 21 '03
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Pros: Looks cool. Modem and Ethernet work.
Cons: BUS problems, awful DVD drive, sound stinks.
The Bottom Line: Everything broke except the modem and the ethernet card.
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| porkboy's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Pavilion zt1175 (F3394HR) PC Noteb... |
Hey, this might have been a lemon in a product line that is otherwise fine, but I have to vent my frustration after wasting $1400 on what is now just an internet surfing machine.
I bought this as a multimedia powerhouse. 512 MB RAM, pIV, DVD and CDRW. I was going to do several projects with it. I was going to digitize my cassettes and burn them onto CD. I was going to listen to my favorite web cast radio station with a wireless card. I was going to watch DVDs in bed with the laptop. We were going to be so happy together.
Here's what happened:
1- the wireless LAN card will not install for reasons HP or D-link (the PCMCIA card manufacturer) cannot explain. The same wireless card installs on my girlfriend's Toshiba laptop in 3 seconds. Chalk it up to PCMCIA slot malfunction.
2- the DVD drive wouldn't recognize half the disks I put in and even then sound and playback were choppy. Again, the lady friend's Toshiba WITH HALF THE RAM of this notebook plays the same DVDs TWICE AS WELL. Using Windows Media Player instead of the installed Intervideo DVD software helped with playback most of the time. So let's call this cheap software package.
3- the sound playback, either with speakers or with headphones is AWFUL. Like the entire midrange is gone. Just tinny high end and scratchy bass. When I could get a DVD to play I couldn't make out the dialog. Bad sound card.
4- trying to record .WAV files from analog was the world's most frustrating experience. After trying 2 different input cords, both USB and regular mic in, 3 different software packages such as Musicmatch Jukebox and rebooting at least 5000 times I was never able to get this piece of crap to record for more than 10 seconds without a system freeze. Some tech guy said it was likely a BUS issue considering I had the same experience using USB or mic in.
5- the latch that disengages the DVD/CDRW drive kept coming open disconnecting the drive. A little pressure would make it snap back into place. One day, as would be my luck, while carrying the laptop from the living roon to the bedroom I had to bend over to pick up a magazine. The DVD drive fell out of the slot and hit the hard wood floor. Now it doesn't play at all.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 1400
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 601-700
Screen Size: 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30
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porkboy
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Reviews written: 2
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