Hewlett Packard - HP Sells Laptop With Known Problem. Fixes With Known Bad Components Palo Alto California

The issue isn't related to a motherboard, despite Hewlett-Packard's claims.  The issue is regarding defective NVIDIA graphics processing units which are not subject to a single motherboard configuartion.  Hewlett-Packard attempted to claim that it only affected AMD motherboards when it's been shown that Intel motherboards are also affected.  This has led to several issues with claims of preferential treatment being given to AMD motherboards based on faulty logic.  Furthermore, Apple released it's own extension to warranties after NVIDIA came out and told them which GPUs were affected.  They decided to lead their own investigation and found that the 84/86 series are also just as defective.

To the poster:

I would recommend going through the BIOS updates for your specific model.  You will find that Hewlett-Packard shoved an update to the BIOS down the throats of those located under the extended warranty program that left the fans running longer and harder than normal.  This has since come out for your computer (assuming it's a dv9000 CTO) on that same date.  In fact, many of the computer models not listed have had the same BIOS update.  For mine (a dv9460us), it came out 25 March 2008.

If you are interested in more information on the issue, as well as Hewlett-Packard's cover-up of the issue, search for "HPLies".  The forums we provide list the issue in great detail, as well as what people are doing about the problem.  Most people have resorted to filing small claims lawsuits.  I am one of them.

I had a HP once upon a time.. was the first 1ghz PC on the market, but after numerous problems like faulty restore disks, power supply going out and frying the motherboard all with no support from HP (happened about 11 months after purchase) I decided to never buy a name brand pc again.

Since then myself (and many others) have gotten away from the name brand pc's and have found we can build our own computers with better components for a LOT less than any name brand could hope to match. We might not get warranty on the entire system, but we get warranty on the individual components ( a good few of which offer lifetime warranty's)

So I guess what I'm saying is next time you need a PC build your own or get a friend who can to do it. You will save money, gain perfomance, have more stability, and probably land a better warranty on the individual components than you would with a name brand company.

I just wanted to follow up on this with the actual information about what happened and why.

First, the fact that you purchased a dv9000 does not automatically guarantee that you will be covered by the Limited Warranty Service Enhancement. Saying that it's a "dv9000" is like saying it's a "Ford". There are hundreds of models under the category of dv9000, and only a small portion of those had the affected motherboard.

The actual issue you are referring to is due to a faulty GPU and chipset manufactured by NVIDIA, as you can see here:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/io_1215037160521.html

This problem is not limited to HP. All major notebook manufacturers are affected, including Dell, Apple, Lenovo, etc. HP was not required to extend a Service Enhancement, but decided that it was a good business practice.

And, this does NOT extend the warranty on affected notebooks, especially not for an additional two years. If you have an affected notebook, HP will fix it for free for two years from the date you purchased. So, it effectively HP will cover this specific issue for ONE additional year from the end of your factory warranty.

The reason you were told by tech support to send your notebook back to the service center was because that's HP's policy. A case manager will not replace a notebook unless it has been sent to a service center three times. Yeah, it sucks, but that's how it is.

No, they did not replace your motherboard with the exact same board. The affected boards had problems due to the type of solder used on the GPU. The replacement boards are not even manufactured by the same company.

As for your wife losing money because she uses the notebook for her business... well, how exactly is that HP's fault? If she had purchased a business model, then there would have been warranty options that include loaner notebooks during service, replacement, or even onsite service. It's not HP's fault that you didn't make an educated purchase.

Now, as for your BBB request:
"Replace the laptop with a working device (same specs or higher) with a non-defective motherboard and have us send the old laptop back at the time we receive the working device so there will be no lost wages from my wife's engagements. Or Offer a local service call to fix the issue by replacing the motherboard and wireless card with non-defective offerings."

One, a case manager sending you a replacement notebook takes 6-8 weeks. Your wife would lose more money getting a replacement than she would getting a third repair done.

Second, the problem is ONLY the motherboard, not the wireless card. Repeat, there is nothing wrong with the wireless card. As I said earlier, the NVIDIA chipset that controls the PCI Express slot that the wireless card plugs in to is the problem. You could replace the card all you want, it still won't work.

Third, as I said earlier, HP consumer notebooks have a Limited Repair Warranty that requires you to send the notebook to a service center. If you took it somewhere local, they would just be a middle man and they would send it to the service center, adding additional wait time.

You're obviously not the only one facing this problem, but HP has gone above what is required of them, and has been more responsive than other manufacturers to get notebooks repaired.

Your case manager laid out what steps need to be taken, and you refused and threatened legal action. At that point, you limited your own options.

I just wanted to follow up on this with the actual information about what happened and why.

First, the fact that you purchased a dv9000 does not automatically guarantee that you will be covered by the Limited Warranty Service Enhancement. Saying that it's a "dv9000" is like saying it's a "Ford". There are hundreds of models under the category of dv9000, and only a small portion of those had the affected motherboard.

The actual issue you are referring to is due to a faulty GPU and chipset manufactured by NVIDIA, as you can see here:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/io_1215037160521.html

This problem is not limited to HP. All major notebook manufacturers are affected, including Dell, Apple, Lenovo, etc. HP was not required to extend a Service Enhancement, but decided that it was a good business practice.

And, this does NOT extend the warranty on affected notebooks, especially not for an additional two years. If you have an affected notebook, HP will fix it for free for two years from the date you purchased. So, it effectively HP will cover this specific issue for ONE additional year from the end of your factory warranty.

The reason you were told by tech support to send your notebook back to the service center was because that's HP's policy. A case manager will not replace a notebook unless it has been sent to a service center three times. Yeah, it sucks, but that's how it is.

No, they did not replace your motherboard with the exact same board. The affected boards had problems due to the type of solder used on the GPU. The replacement boards are not even manufactured by the same company.

As for your wife losing money because she uses the notebook for her business... well, how exactly is that HP's fault? If she had purchased a business model, then there would have been warranty options that include loaner notebooks during service, replacement, or even onsite service. It's not HP's fault that you didn't make an educated purchase.

Now, as for your BBB request:
"Replace the laptop with a working device (same specs or higher) with a non-defective motherboard and have us send the old laptop back at the time we receive the working device so there will be no lost wages from my wife's engagements. Or Offer a local service call to fix the issue by replacing the motherboard and wireless card with non-defective offerings."

One, a case manager sending you a replacement notebook takes 6-8 weeks. Your wife would lose more money getting a replacement than she would getting a third repair done.

Second, the problem is ONLY the motherboard, not the wireless card. Repeat, there is nothing wrong with the wireless card. As I said earlier, the NVIDIA chipset that controls the PCI Express slot that the wireless card plugs in to is the problem. You could replace the card all you want, it still won't work.

Third, as I said earlier, HP consumer notebooks have a Limited Repair Warranty that requires you to send the notebook to a service center. If you took it somewhere local, they would just be a middle man and they would send it to the service center, adding additional wait time.

You're obviously not the only one facing this problem, but HP has gone above what is required of them, and has been more responsive than other manufacturers to get notebooks repaired.

Your case manager laid out what steps need to be taken, and you refused and threatened legal action. At that point, you limited your own options.

I just wanted to follow up on this with the actual information about what happened and why.

First, the fact that you purchased a dv9000 does not automatically guarantee that you will be covered by the Limited Warranty Service Enhancement. Saying that it's a "dv9000" is like saying it's a "Ford". There are hundreds of models under the category of dv9000, and only a small portion of those had the affected motherboard.

The actual issue you are referring to is due to a faulty GPU and chipset manufactured by NVIDIA, as you can see here:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/io_1215037160521.html

This problem is not limited to HP. All major notebook manufacturers are affected, including Dell, Apple, Lenovo, etc. HP was not required to extend a Service Enhancement, but decided that it was a good business practice.

And, this does NOT extend the warranty on affected notebooks, especially not for an additional two years. If you have an affected notebook, HP will fix it for free for two years from the date you purchased. So, it effectively HP will cover this specific issue for ONE additional year from the end of your factory warranty.

The reason you were told by tech support to send your notebook back to the service center was because that's HP's policy. A case manager will not replace a notebook unless it has been sent to a service center three times. Yeah, it sucks, but that's how it is.

No, they did not replace your motherboard with the exact same board. The affected boards had problems due to the type of solder used on the GPU. The replacement boards are not even manufactured by the same company.

As for your wife losing money because she uses the notebook for her business... well, how exactly is that HP's fault? If she had purchased a business model, then there would have been warranty options that include loaner notebooks during service, replacement, or even onsite service. It's not HP's fault that you didn't make an educated purchase.

Now, as for your BBB request:
"Replace the laptop with a working device (same specs or higher) with a non-defective motherboard and have us send the old laptop back at the time we receive the working device so there will be no lost wages from my wife's engagements. Or Offer a local service call to fix the issue by replacing the motherboard and wireless card with non-defective offerings."

One, a case manager sending you a replacement notebook takes 6-8 weeks. Your wife would lose more money getting a replacement than she would getting a third repair done.

Second, the problem is ONLY the motherboard, not the wireless card. Repeat, there is nothing wrong with the wireless card. As I said earlier, the NVIDIA chipset that controls the PCI Express slot that the wireless card plugs in to is the problem. You could replace the card all you want, it still won't work.

Third, as I said earlier, HP consumer notebooks have a Limited Repair Warranty that requires you to send the notebook to a service center. If you took it somewhere local, they would just be a middle man and they would send it to the service center, adding additional wait time.

You're obviously not the only one facing this problem, but HP has gone above what is required of them, and has been more responsive than other manufacturers to get notebooks repaired.

Your case manager laid out what steps need to be taken, and you refused and threatened legal action. At that point, you limited your own options.

I just wanted to follow up on this with the actual information about what happened and why.

First, the fact that you purchased a dv9000 does not automatically guarantee that you will be covered by the Limited Warranty Service Enhancement. Saying that it's a "dv9000" is like saying it's a "Ford". There are hundreds of models under the category of dv9000, and only a small portion of those had the affected motherboard.

The actual issue you are referring to is due to a faulty GPU and chipset manufactured by NVIDIA, as you can see here:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/io_1215037160521.html

This problem is not limited to HP. All major notebook manufacturers are affected, including Dell, Apple, Lenovo, etc. HP was not required to extend a Service Enhancement, but decided that it was a good business practice.

And, this does NOT extend the warranty on affected notebooks, especially not for an additional two years. If you have an affected notebook, HP will fix it for free for two years from the date you purchased. So, it effectively HP will cover this specific issue for ONE additional year from the end of your factory warranty.

The reason you were told by tech support to send your notebook back to the service center was because that's HP's policy. A case manager will not replace a notebook unless it has been sent to a service center three times. Yeah, it sucks, but that's how it is.

No, they did not replace your motherboard with the exact same board. The affected boards had problems due to the type of solder used on the GPU. The replacement boards are not even manufactured by the same company.

As for your wife losing money because she uses the notebook for her business... well, how exactly is that HP's fault? If she had purchased a business model, then there would have been warranty options that include loaner notebooks during service, replacement, or even onsite service. It's not HP's fault that you didn't make an educated purchase.

Now, as for your BBB request:
"Replace the laptop with a working device (same specs or higher) with a non-defective motherboard and have us send the old laptop back at the time we receive the working device so there will be no lost wages from my wife's engagements. Or Offer a local service call to fix the issue by replacing the motherboard and wireless card with non-defective offerings."

One, a case manager sending you a replacement notebook takes 6-8 weeks. Your wife would lose more money getting a replacement than she would getting a third repair done.

Second, the problem is ONLY the motherboard, not the wireless card. Repeat, there is nothing wrong with the wireless card. As I said earlier, the NVIDIA chipset that controls the PCI Express slot that the wireless card plugs in to is the problem. You could replace the card all you want, it still won't work.

Third, as I said earlier, HP consumer notebooks have a Limited Repair Warranty that requires you to send the notebook to a service center. If you took it somewhere local, they would just be a middle man and they would send it to the service center, adding additional wait time.

You're obviously not the only one facing this problem, but HP has gone above what is required of them, and has been more responsive than other manufacturers to get notebooks repaired.

Your case manager laid out what steps need to be taken, and you refused and threatened legal action. At that point, you limited your own options.