HP Rant

[Manatee]

Switched to Apple 9 years ago and haven't looked back. Never had a virus. Hooks to any printer in the area wirelessly, great in every way (except no backspace key).

 

[CindyE]

If it's that easy to learn to build your own, I am interested. I have wanted to do this, but I can picture me ending up with mismatched components, seriously p!ssed off, and ending up paying somebody to make it work. I can do almost anything with GOOD instructions, and I have this natural curiosity that makes me want to do things just because i can.

 

[jedi]

Switched to Apple 9 years ago and haven't looked back. Never had a virus. Hooks to any printer in the area wirelessly, great in every way (except no backspace key).

x1000000

If it's that easy to learn to build your own, I am interested. I have wanted to do this, but I can picture me ending up with mismatched components, seriously p!ssed off, and ending up paying somebody to make it work. I can do almost anything with GOOD instructions, and I have this natural curiosity that makes me want to do things just because i can.

CindyE I have a step-by-step book that you can borrow it's sveral years old but the main concepts DO NOT change just the parts. You are in NWI correct? You can pick it up at my place or we can met somewhere.

 

[CindyE]

x1000000


CindyE I have a step-by-step book that you can borrow it's sveral years old but the main concepts DO NOT change just the parts. You are in NWI correct? You can pick it up at my place or we can met somewhere.

I'm more north/central IN, i may be kinda far from you. But thanks for the kind offer! Is it a book i could maybe buy online or check out at the library? I'm trying to keep my old Dell with XP going for as long as I can, but it's days are probably numbered! I do have a separate backup drive on it.
My laptop is a HP, and I don't care for it much, but part of that is that i just don't use it as much, and am still learning my way around some parts of Windows 7.

 

[TTravis]

I would suggest that you try to boot the system from a Linux Live CD or USB thumb drive. If it works and brings up Linux then you know it is not a hardware problem and it is something that is wrong with your operating system "windows".

If you go to ubuntu.com, you can figure out how to download and make one of these without too much trouble.

 

[TopDog]

HP is no different than other companies. Purchase their low end Walmart models and yes you get crap. Build a decent machine online and it will last as long as any other.

As for HP support. Heck yes they suck. So does support from just about any other American company of any size. I had to deal with Dell support a couple of weeks ago for a client, what a bunch of crap! I don't like dealing with any support but Dell's I will would rather cut my hands off than deal with that stinking company again.

 

[Scutter01]

Just for the record, I just got off the phone with their server support and they're shipping me a replacement motherboard for one of my servers. They wanted to send an HP tech out as well but I told them it was unnecessary. So, not ALL of their support sucks.

 

[jedi]

I'm more north/central IN, i may be kinda far from you. But thanks for the kind offer! Is it a book i could maybe buy online or check out at the library? I'm trying to keep my old Dell with XP going for as long as I can, but it's days are probably numbered! I do have a separate backup drive on it.
My laptop is a HP, and I don't care for it much, but part of that is that i just don't use it as much, and am still learning my way around some parts of Windows 7.

Step-By-Step Guide: How To Build a Gaming PC With AMD's Bulldozer CPU | Maximum PC

It's a start but the article is a bit dated. The box was from that website Maximum PC.

XP is sadly on life support and we only have until MAR/APR of 2014 to stop using it. After that point Microsoft will NOT be updating it so it would be unwise to use it for any type of password protected account stuff (email, banking, etc) since it won't be safe anymore.

So I'll be having a small funeral for my PC of 9 years next year when I finally stop using it on a daily bases. I plan on keeping it for youtube for the little ones but that is about it.

 

[CountryBoy19]

3-4 year old pc? Sucker is already outmoded and it's not designed to last for much longer anyway, I'm afraid. It's like standing behind a car for 50 years after you bought it in many ways.

I've had wonderful experiences with HP: they replaced my motherboard without even asking what caused the damage, and then later replaced my hard drive again with no questions asked and full priority shipping paid by them both ways. All under the warranty, of course, but still excellent service.

While 3-4 years is certainly getting to where it's "old technology" there is no reason it should be dead at that point... I'm currently running an 8 year old Dell laptop that works just fine, although it is a bit slow because the 1 GB of RAM is holding it back... I've considered upgrading the ram but I haven't yet because I know Mr. Murphy will kill the computer within a few days of installing the RAM.

On to HP, I've had the exact same experience as the OP with dealing with HP. In warranty, no problem. Out of warranty, they pretty much hang up on you. My wife's computer screen stopped working but only intermittently. I suspected a loose connection on a board somewhere or loose connector. I called HP just to see if they could tell me if there were any common problems on that model. They refused to answer any questions until I paid a $60 extortion charge. I refused to pay it and refuse to buy another HP product ever again... that policy has treated me well. My newer Dell laptops are good (although Dell's CS has gone down hill a bit all has been resolved with them) and my Brother laser printer is great too... no more HP in this house...

 

[CindyE]

Step-By-Step Guide: How To Build a Gaming PC With AMD's Bulldozer CPU | Maximum PC

It's a start but the article is a bit dated. The box was from that website Maximum PC.

XP is sadly on life support and we only have until MAR/APR of 2014 to stop using it. After that point Microsoft will NOT be updating it so it would be unwise to use it for any type of password protected account stuff (email, banking, etc) since it won't be safe anymore.

So I'll be having a small funeral for my PC of 9 years next year when I finally stop using it on a daily bases. I plan on keeping it for youtube for the little ones but that is about it.

Good point about XP! I'd better do something by next Spring then. Crap.

 

[CindyE]

While 3-4 years is certainly getting to where it's "old technology" there is no reason it should be dead at that point... I'm currently running an 8 year old Dell laptop that works just fine, although it is a bit slow because the 1 GB of RAM is holding it back... I've considered upgrading the ram but I haven't yet because I know Mr. Murphy will kill the computer within a few days of installing the RAM.

On to HP, I've had the exact same experience as the OP with dealing with HP. In warranty, no problem. Out of warranty, they pretty much hang up on you. My wife's computer screen stopped working but only intermittently. I suspected a loose connection on a board somewhere or loose connector. I called HP just to see if they could tell me if there were any common problems on that model. They refused to answer any questions until I paid a $60 extortion charge. I refused to pay it and refuse to buy another HP product ever again... that policy has treated me well. My newer Dell laptops are good (although Dell's CS has gone down hill a bit all has been resolved with them) and my Brother laser printer is great too... no more HP in this house...

I ordered RAM from Crucial over a year ago for my old PC, I've been pleased. It is starting to slow a little now, but for around $60, it really helped, and I was able to procrastinate moving to another PC awhile longer...

 

[Leo]

I have a 3 year old Gateway (windows 7 machine) that actually runs pretty stable. when it was just over a year old, it quit entirely and gateway refused to even look at it even if I paid them. I spent several days calling and emailing. Best Buy (where I bought it) said they would send in it but it would not be worth it since the minimum charge would be $249. I did not believe the big transvestite at the counter so I made an appointment to meet with the store mangaer who said the same thing and made it clear he could care less if I ever spent money there again. I figured out it was a logic switch on the little board under the power push button. I am still starting the computer by jamming a coin across the appropriate places on the circuit board.

The Gateway I bought for my wife has had lots of software problems since new. Since it was new, Bestbuy sent it in for warranty. A couple months later we got it back with no improvement. That is 2 for 2 failures for the gateway product. I reformated her machine and installed windows XP, and it has been at least usable since then.

Since I hate windows 8, I just bought a left over HP windows 7 laptop from tiger direct. It has been dependable so far. I have come to conclude that laptops are throw aways, no matter what the marketing or sales papers say. If it runs 6 weeks or 6 years, no one in the industry really cares.

I wish I had every minute of my life back that I have wasted screwing with computers that do not run.

 

[SOCOM242]

Hit the F8 key while the computer is booting (you'll have to hit it over and over until the menu appears) and choose the "Safe Mode" boot option. There's a good chance this will get you into the system. Once there, uninstall anything that was installed just prior to the BSOD. Reboot and try again. Use the F8 menu several times if necessary.

And just an FYI, but HP servers are regarded as some of the best SMB server systems available.

 

[88GT]

You could probably have learned in the time it took you to post that response. Dead serious.

I'm pretty sure I couldn't. But it's uncanny how you think that your own experiences are magical indicators of mine.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I ordered RAM from Crucial over a year ago for my old PC, I've been pleased. It is starting to slow a little now, but for around $60, it really helped, and I was able to procrastinate moving to another PC awhile longer...

I'm not worried about the RAM, I'm worried about the rest of my old dinosaur... I know as soon as I dump $60 into new RAM Murphy's Law will kill some other component that will cost $120 to replace and it'll all go down hill from there. It's working good right now, just lags really bad... and the best my motherboard will handle is 2 GB of RAM (2 sticks of 1GB) so the improvement from my current 1GB isn't going to be record breaking...

 

[Lammchop93]

Hit the F8 key while the computer is booting (you'll have to hit it over and over until the menu appears) and choose the "Safe Mode" boot option. There's a good chance this will get you into the system. Once there, uninstall anything that was installed just prior to the BSOD. Reboot and try again. Use the F8 menu several times if necessary.

And just an FYI, but HP servers are regarded as some of the best SMB server systems available.

This results in the BSOD as well I dropped the PC off at a repair store I've heard good things about. I'm sick of dealing with this PC, so it's time to let someone else deal with it.

 

[Manatee]

x1000000

Considering where you live, I'll bet you do that alot.

Might be sewer gas. Might be brain rot. Get it checked out.