COMPAQ Bad hard drive one month over warranty ripoff

I, too, have had the unfortunate opportunity to deal with Compaq. I purchased a "refurbished" Presario 7596 in December, 2000. Now, granted, this was a refurbished computer. But their explanation of refurbished made it sound like these computers would be in better mechanical condition than they were when they were new. Well let me tell you that within a year (the first problem being 2-1/2 months after purchase) I had to replace the CD drive; I had to replace the hard drive and was told by the manufacturer of the drive that is was out of warranty; I did a bios upgrade and it screwed the entire system up...after that it wouldn't recognize the video card that I had installed in it the day I received it (it had used that card for approximately 6 months); I decided that the only way around this problem was to replace the motherboard since you can't undo a bios update. I looked for an exact replacement of the motherboard and was told by a third party vendor that handles Compaq replacement parts, that that motherboard was obsolete. So I have now totally stripped that computer and all I have left is the shell. I am going to send that back to Compaq and tell them what they can do with it. So you see, you need to cut your losses and see if you can unload the monster and replace it with a good computer. Of course, not Compaq!!!

Judy:

I am a computer support tech for a national computer manufacturer. I have also worked for an independent computer shop. I have eight years experience.

A year old hard drive failing is not that unusual. In fact, the warranties on most drives today are one year. They used to be three years. Compaq does not make hard disk drives. They buy them from a manufacturer, such as Seagate, Maxtor or Western Digital. Samsung, Fujitsu and IBM also make drives.

When you bought your computer, Compaq agreed to fix any hardware problem for one year. They did so. You should not expect them to do anymore than they agreed to. They held their end of the bargin. If you wanted longer coverage, they would have sold you an extended warranty. Computers are very low profit items.

The $205 cost of replacing the drive is not unreasonable. At the independent store I worked for, we would have charged you $65.00 in labor, plus the cost of the drive, which I would guess is around $100 depending on the size, for a total cost of $165.00. Their charge is not out of line. And you will get your system back loaded just like it was when you got it.

Please rememver that drives can and do fail. Its not a question of if, but when. They are mechanical and run all the time. They take a lot of wear. I have seen drives die after a month, a week, and bad out of the box. I have also seen drives still working after six years. Just remember, its your data, so back it up if its important to you.

Compaq sucks. I purchased a new computer system and within 4 months the mother board and modem failed. It had to go back to the shop twice within 6 months.

The screen is constantly freezing, it has to be unplugged to get it back to the main screen.

Also, the Compaq printer sucks, the IJ300. The first one that I bought at the time of the new computer had a defect, where it would feed in one side of the paper at a much higher rate than the other side, causing constant jams. Well, guess what? The second printer does the same thing, only not quite as consistantly as the first printer. It is some sort of design flaw in the feeding mechanism.

I'll never buy another Compaq.

Why pay them that for labor and a markup for a simple job when you can do it yourself? It's very easy to do. Do you have the system restore disk that (should have) came with your computer? If you do, then all you have to do is: 1. Buy a hard drive. 2. Make sure the power is off. Open your computer's case. 3. Disconnect your old hard drive, take out the screws holding it in. 4. Put the new hard drive in. Secure it with the screws. Connect the cable and power. 5. Close the case up, turn on the power, insert your system restore cd. 6. Take a break while you wait for the system restore to load up on your computer.

I got a Compaq computer and a non-Compaq monitor at Best Buy and bought into their 3-year extended warranty. This means in case of any problem during 3 years from date of purchase I can get simple exchange at any Best Buy store. After two months it seemed like the video board was flaking out with an intermittent problem.

To make a long story short, Best Buy did on the spot exchanges, twice for a new computer and later once for the monitor - where the problem actually lay. No being put on hold, no excuses, no hassle, no lost time, no headache, and nothing out of my pocket.

If I had factory warranties instead, I would have had a terrible nightmare. Parts can go bad anytime from the day you first plug it in. From this and other experiences with computers, I will only buy a computer with an on-the-spot (for any reason) exchange warranty, or avoid the disadvanges built into ready-made systems by building my own computer system from components.

I was troubled with the same problem. A little over a year after I purchased my Compaq, it started freezing & eventually failed to turn on. It ended up costing me $682 to fix, all the tech support people could do was give me the number of a repair shop, because my warranty had expired. I will NEVER buy a compaq again.

One of my kid's HD also died a 13 months after warranty expired. I tried to convince the support person that the machine was down for 2 months after purchase because the CD/DVD that came with the machine was bad (which they send the replacement). They did not give a hoot about it. Their year was done and now they wanted lots of more cash to have it replaced. Like I will give them more money to give ma another crappy hard drove that will not last a year. I also noted a comment from a self proclaimed technician that drives do die around year. Yes they do and those are inferior (or crappy) drives. It is not normal and should not be acceptable for dirves to die within a 3 year period unless they are subject to extremely harsh conditions. I have had druves that been running for over a decade (and by running I mean almost non stop) with likely usage time of 75000+ hours. If any of these drives even hinted that they are not working, I would not even blink on replacing them after all I do not expect them to have a lubricant that last 20 years. Now my kid's drive had maybe (on the hi side) 1500 hours of operation (which I doubt it was that much). The components that Compaq buys must be 2nd grade as this is the 2nd time I experience this (and the last as I do not intend to purchase, lease or use any Compaq product ever again).

My suggestion is to replace the dirve your self or go to a shop that will do it for you and DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM COMPAQ. Buy a drive with a 3 or 5 year warranty (Seagate, Western Digital, Fujitsu, Toshiba so sell some drives with such warranty). Be aware that OEM drive normally are cheaper but may carry a shorter warrant (as low as 30 days) so make sure to check the warranty. And I hope your learn your lesson about Compaq.