Computer repair gone bad

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  • Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Nov 7, 2011
    1,229
    38
    I purchased a video survalance camera from Amazon.
    I wanted to watch the anamals in my back yard.
    The camera could swing over 300 deg and 90 tilt and 4 power Zoom.
    I downloaded the programs and installed them on my laptop.
    It worked great. I temporary mounted the camera out a window.
    I got great video.
    As I was watching.
    I turned to pick up something.
    The laptop slipped off my lap and direstly on the Ethernet cable.
    That broke the retaining clip on my laptop.
    I took it in to Computer Pro on Franklyn st Michigan city.
    They repaired the retaining clip.
    Problem they did a lot of changes on my laptop.
    Now it is a total piece of CR-P.
    I gone back to them several more times and paid several hundred $s.
    They took it in and returned it even worse.
    Alex had so many excuses as to why it is not working the same.
    His last excuse is, " I press the touch pad to hard."
    The old laptop is trash and I had to purchase a new one from Amazon.
    I go this one for less than all the repair money.
     

    churchmouse

    I still care....Really
    Emeritus
    Rating - 100%
    187   0   0
    Dec 7, 2011
    191,809
    152
    Speedway area
    My 10 year old laptop is starting to give me a lot of grief. No way I am going to fix it even if it is a simple retainer. Especially if I drop it. These things have an obsolescence curve engineered into them. Basically a fuse. Getting 10 years out of mine has my IT buddy scratching his head. He said it should have died before now. That it stays on my desk is a plus.

    Looking at replacing it. But I am typing on it now and outside of it acting its age I am running it till it dies.

    OP, I get it. Change to new systems sucks.
     

    fullmetaljesus

    Probably smoking a cigar.
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Jan 12, 2012
    5,849
    149
    Indy
    Im kinda curious why you were using Ethernet on a laptop.

    Typically, most people won't notice the difference in speed between wifi and wired (pending wifi environment)

    I wonder what they did to make it run like crap. Typically that repair would have been a motherboard swap, which is pretty straight forward and often doesn't require any software changes.
     

    jkaetz

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Jan 20, 2009
    1,953
    83
    Indianapolis
    Im kinda curious why you were using Ethernet on a laptop.

    Typically, most people won't notice the difference in speed between wifi and wired (pending wifi environment)

    I wonder what they did to make it run like crap. Typically that repair would have been a motherboard swap, which is pretty straight forward and often doesn't require any software changes.
    The OP and computers don't get along well in general. My wife has a similar issue. Things work great, i hand it over to her and nothing works right.

    My guess is that the disassembly and reassembly process could have changed the feel of the touchpad but it's just a guess.

    As a hardware junky i can tell you that computers can last a long time, i have a couple old (5 - 8 years) that are still in daily use. The trIck is to not value engineer a computer purchase. You don't have to spend $2k but don't go buy the least expensive on sale thing you can find thinking your getting a deal. Get a high end CPU (i5 or i7), enough RAM (8 gb+), and most critically an SSD. Unless you plan to do something specialized and intensive that computer will last a decade. My 8 year old system was slowing down until i gave it the SSD, now it's plenty fast for anything i ask if it. Personally i also go for refurbished business class systems from Dell's outlet. Around $1200 for a good laptop and $700 for a desktop.
     

    femurphy77

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    30   0   0
    Mar 5, 2009
    20,268
    113
    S.E. of disorder
    The OP and computers don't get along well in general. My wife has a similar issue. Things work great, i hand it over to her and nothing works right.

    My guess is that the disassembly and reassembly process could have changed the feel of the touchpad but it's just a guess.

    As a hardware junky i can tell you that computers can last a long time, i have a couple old (5 - 8 years) that are still in daily use. The trIck is to not value engineer a computer purchase. You don't have to spend $2k but don't go buy the least expensive on sale thing you can find thinking your getting a deal. Get a high end CPU (i5 or i7), enough RAM (8 gb+), and most critically an SSD. Unless you plan to do something specialized and intensive that computer will last a decade. My 8 year old system was slowing down until i gave it the SSD, now it's plenty fast for anything i ask if it. Personally i also go for refurbished business class systems from Dell's outlet. Around $1200 for a good laptop and $700 for a desktop.

    Truth in these words, we have a toshiba laptop we paid close to 2k on ten years ago and it's still running strong. I had to take it in to get a new keyboard in the middle of the semester one year so I bought a cheap toshiba just in case the other one died on the table. Long story short is that I'm going to take the cheap one out in the backyard soon and perforate it with one of the shotguns because it lasted a little longer than the factory warranty. Buy once, cry once.
     

    Mr Evilwrench

    Quantum Mechanic
    Emeritus
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Aug 18, 2011
    11,560
    63
    Carmel
    It's very bad form for a repair technician to alter your software in any way, especially if all he's fixing is a retainer. If you can demonstrate that the software was broken by the technician, you probably have a basis for a small-claims suit, given the amount of money that's involved here.

    I've kept systems running for at least 10 years numerous times. Desktops more than laptops, but even my laptops phear me. There was one, though, I kept it running, but the only thing original in it was the power supply :laugh:

    I did once buy a new (floor demo) laptop, and the second thing I did to it was break the H keycap. The first thing I did was completely replace the OS and install some software. Ok, so I called HP about getting an H. All they would do was FedEx me a box to send the whole thing in. Part of their protocol was to return the unit to factory condition. I would have been out my laptop for three weeks and have to redo all the redoing I'd already done. They could have slipped an H in an envelope and mailed it to me first class, saved me a lot of time and themselves a lot of money. I said a bad word and used that useless windows keycap in place of the H until I could find the appropriate keyboard. Didn't take me a whole minute to fix the problem. I tell you what, I've had better results with government bureaucrats.
     

    snowdrifter

    Marksman
    Rating - 100%
    20   0   0
    Apr 1, 2011
    191
    18
    Next to Atterbury
    ....go for refurbished business class systems....

    This. I'm a big fan of the IBM (now Lenovo) Thinkpad lines, particularly the X models. About a year ago, I "upgraded" to an X220 (2011 vintage) and it's plenty fast, even with Windows 10. And that was to replace an X61 (2007 vintage) that is still running Windows XP. The older machines are rock solid and relatively easy to disassemble/upgrade/service. The best part is how cheap they can be had on ebay. Good used examples are easy to find < $200. The modern $200 - $300 machines are disposable junk compared to yesterday's high end business class laptops.
     

    Hatin Since 87

    Bacon Hater
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Mar 31, 2018
    11,402
    77
    Mooresville
    Little advice. If you bought one that’s cheaper than the repair costs, it probably isn’t going to last years. The old saying you get what you pay for holds very true to electronics. It’s a catch 22, but a cheap one every couple years, or buy a decent one that’ll last a lot longer.
     

    IndyBeerman

    Was a real life Beerman.....
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Jun 2, 2008
    7,700
    113
    Plainfield
    Problem they did a lot of changes on my laptop.
    Now it is a total piece of CR-P.
    I gone back to them several more times and paid several hundred $s.
    They took it in and returned it even worse.
    Alex had so many excuses as to why it is not working the same.
    His last excuse is, " I press the touch pad to hard."
    The old laptop is trash and I had to purchase a new one from Amazon.
    I go this one for less than all the repair money.

    There should have been NO altering of ANY software on your laptop other than nessary
    window updates required. Any other unauthorized changes or modifications is grounds
    for negligence on their part. This was a hardware issue and there should have been no
    extra exploration on their part other than making sure the port was function properly.


    Personally I would consider taking this to small claims court to recoup at least some of the cost
    of replacing it due to their negligence.
     
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