Laptop repairment

[tuekr]

Hello guys, I just wanna share some bad notebook repairing experience with your guys, and I have a few questions.

I have an Acer TravelMate 4000 that had trouble turning itself on. It's one year warranty is out. So I had to take it to a local electronic store for a repairment. So after the guy checked my computer (it took about 4 days) he said the south bridge's connection to the motherboard is broken, thus a replacement is required. Everything is fine here up until this point...

So he make the deal for $180 CAD, and he said it'll take about 10 days. However, it took him more then 20 days to finally get it done. When he give it back to me, the computer was turned on and things seems to be working fine. I spend a few minutes browsing thru data drive and nothing is missing. I turned off the computer, I paid and I went home.

First thing when I notice when I turn on my note book is it said "Intel CeleronM". What the heck? That was a Centrino notebook, I had a Pentium M!!! So I called the guy and he said the $180 is only for a 2nd hand board, and since Celeron and Pentium has different socket, it won't fit in the current board I have in my computer. Angry and frustrated, I went back to the store to argue with the store owner.....and after about an hour of swearing and yelling he agreed to rufund $50 back.

At this point I'd stab myself for my stupidity, since I didn't sign any agreement or any paper work before I left him my computer. I had no way of proofing what had happened. Well, there u go.....lesson learned.

I have a few questions regarding notebook repairments...what is the best place to go? I 've tried to see if acer would do it for me...but their office is in Toronto ( I'm in Vancouver). Is there any safe and secure methods?

Thank you for any answers!!

[glc]

You got what you paid for. 180 bucks installed is dirt cheap for a laptop motherboard.

[tuekr]

How much money I've paid is not the point though, because I feel that I have been cheated. I believe I should have the right to know exactly what is changed inside my computer. He should have told me that he'll downgrade my cpu before hand. If I knew that's the case, I could have just spend $599 on a low end core duo. Instead, now I have wasted my time and money on something I didn't want.

[hitchface]

The guy was quite underhanded about it, thats for sure.

Unfortunately, because nothing was signed, there isn't much you can do. You might end up paying too much now to get your normal system back into shape, seeing as it will be considered an upgrade.

I'd ask around. Word of mouth recommendations are more worthwhile in this case than any website info, so get some advice from friends on local stores, get the upgrade priced out, and see if it might be more cost effective to snag a new lappy. Somehow I doubt it will equal the cost of a new machine, but who knows?

[Petef56]

Originally Posted by tuekr At this point I'd stab myself for my stupidity, since I didn't sign any agreement or any paper work before I left him my computer. I had no way of proofing what had happened. Well, there u go.....lesson learned.

From your statemnet above, I assume you mean you can not prove which hardware
you originally had compared to what they gave you. Next time you go for a repair
you can indeed make a record of all your hardware in a very simple way.

Record all your hardware as follows:

1.) START -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Information
(The System information applet will open)

2.) File -> Save
Select a destination folder such as \My Documents
and name the file something like.. SystemInfo_yymmdd
(yy=year, mm=month, dd=day)

Note: This will be a *.nfo file that is readable on any WinXP PC.
It documents all your hardware.

3.) As an extra measure, you can save the same info to a plain text file
by exporting instead of saving as you did above.

Use.. File - Export
Select a destination folder such as \My Documents
and name the file something like.. SystemInfo_yymmdd
(yy=year, mm=month, dd=day)

Note: This will be a *.txt file that is readable with any text editor.
It documents all your hardware.

4.) Copy both files to a flash drive and you now have proof of
your entire hardware configuration before any repairs were made.

The plain text version comes in handy if you need to printout
any sections for proof or evidence. The NFO file format helps
prove that you didn't just type up a bogus text file.

---pete---

[Petef56]

Originally Posted by hitchface The guy was quite underhanded about it, thats for sure. Unfortunately, because nothing was signed, there isn't much you can do.

If he could somehow prove what his original hardware specs were (original sales recipts
and documentation), he could take it to small claims court and say that what he received
back was substantially different from his original computer and accuse the repairman of
stealing his original hardware. Tell it to a judge and it's your word against the repairman's
word as far as what deal was made but the judge is more likely to believe you becasue
no respectable repairshop would make such a dramatic change in hardware without
documenting it in some way or another.

Think of it this way.... You bring your V8 Ford Pickup Truck in for repairs and
they give it back with a V6 engine. They better have stated that on the work
order & final receipt or they'd be in big trouble whe you found out what they
did without telling you.


PS: I'm assuming that the small claims courts in USA vs Canada work in similar ways.

---pete---

[hitchface]

If that be the case the repairman is likely to only get dinged for improper documentation. It could be proven that the parts got switched, but you'd have to do the following:

Show the bill of sale for the original laptop.
Prove that the store that sold you the laptop was an approved distributor and that they didn't tamper with it in the first place.
Hope that the repair guy doesn't try and say he gave you a receipt...because then you have a dead end.

Either way, I hope it isn't worth this much trouble.

[Negeva]

Since when did the mobile Celeron and Pentium M chips use a different socket? Did the guy claim that?

If I re-call correctly the single core were on a socket 478 (or 479) and both the celeron and Pentium fitted it.

[peekaboo]

what's the name of the repair shop/guy?
i'm in vancouver and i never want to use this guy's "services".

[tuekr]

Thank you very much for the tips Petef56, and hitchface. I'll make sure I have the proper documentation of my hardware before I hand my computer to someone else next time. For now, I think I will just use my notebook as it is. It's like what hitchface said, the 3 year old computer is not worth that much trouble.

Originally Posted by Negeva Since when did the mobile Celeron and Pentium M chips use a different socket? Did the guy claim that? If I re-call correctly the single core were on a socket 478 (or 479) and both the celeron and Pentium fitted it.

According to what he had shown me, the pin count on the two cpu are the same; however, the arrangement of the pins are different. So my pentium M would not fit in the Travelmate 2310 board.

Originally Posted by peekaboo what's the name of the repair shop/guy? i'm in vancouver and i never want to use this guy's "services".

The store is "Electronic Centre" located in Pacific Plaza ground floor (Richmond).

Originally Posted by hitchface I'd ask around. Word of mouth recommendations are more worthwhile in this case than any website info, so get some advice from friends on local stores, get the upgrade priced out, and see if it might be more cost effective to snag a new lappy. Somehow I doubt it will equal the cost of a new machine, but who knows?

I did took some advice from a friend. He is a technician working for Futureshop (a Canadain Electronic retailer). He said large retail stores charge a lot for their labor. Now that I think about it, perhaps I am better off with Futureshop? After all, it's better to pay more than to get ripped off while paying less right?

By the way, does anyone have any experience with Acer's customer services? It might be another option next time. Should I decide to buy another Acer notebook.

[glc]

You are almost always better off with factory authorized repair centers when dealing with notebooks, but they can also be the costliest. If you had taken your notebook to Acer, you probably would have paid $500 for a motherboard replacement. They would have used new *overpriced* parts, the guy you took yours to found you a used board that happened to fit, although not an exact replacement.

As I said, you got what you paid for, but the guy should have at least told you up front what was going to happen.

[Negeva]

According to what he had shown me, the pin count on the two cpu are the same; however, the arrangement of the pins are different. So my pentium M would not fit in the Travelmate 2310 board.

Very odd, as the ppl I've spoken to and some research say it's a straight swap - if the socketed (PGA) is used not the soldered (BGA) unit. Only thing that needs to be consider is the thermals. Guess, I'm off to hound them some more as this is gonna bug me.

So basically this guy downgraded you from the TravelMate4000 to the Travelmate 2310; must have spent those extra days looking on ebay.

Anyhow, at least you'll know better for next time - which hopefully will be never