creann_pieroni

<p>Greg, sorry missed you on the last post ... yes I agree, hp used to be pretty solid, it would seem a change in the heirarchy has had a seriously detremental effect on both quality control and customer service. I have emailed mark hurd and received absolutely no response ... funny old thing!</p>

<p>I just hope that people considering hp products, think very hard about the treatment they will get down the line when something goes wrong, and this is the reason I created this thread ... we as consumers can not afford to be taken advantage of.</p>

<p>Thomas, thanks that is worth a thought and some investigation, any suggestions?<br>

John, the thing we have to remember with tech support, is that they are not technical ... they are given a number of steps that they ask you to follow regardless of the issue, and they seem to have very little expertise at all ... I have heard before of someone who bought something from hp as new only to find that it was in fact refurbished, that in itself is appalling business practice. And the number of people that were charged $50 just to speak to tech support has me almost appoplectic! (sorry nearly put another exclamation mark there, and that just isn't allowed :-D)<br>

Jorge, I am going to apply heat to the gpu today as my final assault on the system, then, if that fails, I will be robbing it of useful parts and taking a hammer to what is left - might make me feel better, perhaps I'll even take it to Palo Alto myself and drop it in their foyer. :-) Glad yours is working, just make sure that you don't boot it too often as that is how the solder eventually fractures ...</p>

<p>I personally have pretty much given up hope that hp will step up to the mark and admit their mistakes in handling this issue, they are already losing too much money. I just hope the people who have taken class actions out against them are successful. </p>

<p>You should be ok with one bought that recently, nVidia have changed their soldering method and it's supposed to use the same solder as ATI. What has annoyed us is that they kept the issue quiet, they knew there was a problem with the gpu in 2007 when most of the systems were still under warranty, however, they chose not to tell anyone to the point that they even shipped systems knowing they would fail. <br>

I am an IT and Computing graduate, and I found (on one boot prior to full failure) that the graphics chip had been seriously underclocked, which helped to prevent it failing within the warranty period. It's not so much the issue itself as the manner in which hp has dealt with it ... they just can't be trusted. If you look at their own forums there's thousands of people there complaining about their lack of customer support ... and many of the posts have been deleted by hp.<br>

I can only say, good luck, I hope yours keeps going. I was a loyal customer of HP and Compaq for almost 10 years, however, this appalling treatment means I will never allow another hp product in my home.<br>

Creann</p>

<p>If you buy anything - DO NOT buy HP ... when their systems fail they refuse to help their customers. I'm looking at one of the higher end Sony VAIO systems with external hard-drives (the ones robbed from my failed hp!). In this day and age, customer support is as important as the system itself.<br>

All the best,<br>

Creann</p>

<p>For all of those of you who aren't aware of this issue, there has been a major manufacturing defect in nVidia graphics chips for both notebooks and desktops. The solder between the gpu and the ball grid array fractures and you are left with no graphics ... and eventually due to extreme heat it kills the motherboard too.<br>

Whilst companies such as Dell and Apple have addressed the issue in a satisfactory manner, HP refuse to admit there is even a problem. Thousands of people have been left with useless pieces of equipment and no means of rectifying the problem without paying hp hundreds of dollars (or whatever currency, as this is a worldwide issue) for what is essentially a manufacturing defect.<br>

I for one am totally disgusted with the treatment I have received from hp ... I rely on my laptop for my photo editing (regardless of how good or bad that might be!) and to be left without has left me bereft ... how many people can afford to shell out another $1000 or so to replace a system that is only 2 years old and has been babied from the word go?<br>

Anyway, I just wanted to warn everyone out there that hp cannot be trusted to support it's customers (even those with extended warranties have been refused service for one reason or another ... many of which are fabricated) so I feel it would be unwise for anyone to purchase anything related to hp, especially in this current climate. For anyone wishing further information or indeed proof of the extent of this problem please visit hplies.com, with over 1,000 members (growing daily) all with the same issue.<br>

Creann Pieroni</p>