Burned Again by HP
Written: Jun 03 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Scanned nicely, when it worked
Cons: Bad product, lousy tech support
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| Bruguru's Full Review: Hewlett Packard ScanJet 3200C Flatbed Scanner |
Hewlett Packard burned me once with a computer. Within 30 days of being out of warranty, my hard drive began having problems, the CD ROM died, and the modem, which never worked completely right, gave up the ghost. I decided to give them a second chance with this scanner, however. My mistake. From the get go, it would occasionally give me problems, the custom scanning software would fail to recognize that there was a scanner connected through my parallel port. I couldn't import scans into Paint Shop Pro. The scans were fast and of decent quality, but when reducing the size of scanned images using photo editing software, the quality would degrade: unpleasant lines would form in the image.
Finally, the scanner decided not to work at all. When I started the software, it would lock up. Every time. Hewlett Packard, being the generous wonders that they are, charges $2 a minute for tech support through a toll free number. Supposedly they will not charge if they deem the call a legitimate problem with the device. Having the thing for two months and experiencing it die, I was not in the mood for 900 numbers. I called HP's general number, and informed them they could either transfer me to the appropriate tech support department or, I would bring it back to Best Buy and stand outside with a sign saying that
A) Best Buy sold me a piece of junk and
B) HP made the piece of junk
They transferred me. Unfortunately, the tech rep was extremely unhelpful. He insisted the problem was with my computer, and that the port settings were set to bi-directional. He told me I would need to go in and change them, but refused to stay on the line while I checked. I rebooted, and fortunately knowing something about computers was able to enter the BIOS and check the settings he had mentioned. He was wrong. That wasn't the problem.
In any event, I bought a Replacement Plan at Best Buy (another headache story). I have to mail the scanner to them and they'll send me a store voucher for the purchase price. In the mean time, I've purchased a Plustek 9636T, and am much happier with it.
Recommended:
No
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