I’ve been procrastinating reporting my video problem in my HP Paviliion notebook because I was pretty sure it was a video card thing, and I was also pretty sure that HP would tell me to send the notebook to their service center. Which is tough, because it’s what I use to do my contracting job. Until they make me a full-time employee, I can’t have a company laptop. But the one vertical line is now six, and the screen keeps degrading, so I finally called, told them my problem, and was told that I’d have to send it in.
Okay, I said, and asked about this and that, discussed backing up my data, and then the rep put me on hold, and came back and told me that they were going to reformat my hard drive.
I blew three gaskets. I told them that was absolutely unacceptable. This is a video card issue. This is hardware, not software, and there is no reason on earth they should have to reformat my hard drive. I told them there was no way I was allowing them to reformat my hard drive. I was polite, but I was clearly angry. The tech put me back on hold, and when he returned, he said, “You can take the hard drive out and send the laptop to us without it.”
That is acceptable and, in fact, also solves any privacy/security issue with my current employer. But if I had been someone with no technical knowledge whatsoever, I’d have gotten back a machine that was restored to the way it was the day I bought it: Two and a half years ago. They’d have wiped clean not only two and a half years of information, but also the accumulated files from my previous laptop (which are currently unaccessable due to the damned Windows shutdown bug in my old Sony Vaio laptop).
I am still steaming.
HP has lost a lot of the goodwill they’ve built up from my past experiences with their support. It is absolutely absurd to pretend that reformatting a hard drive can fix a hardware problem when in actuality it has nothing to do with it. Unless someone out there can tell me that the vertical lines in my display are being caused by a software problem, and I got upset for all the wrong reasons. In which case, HP will be wasting their effort by replacing my video card.
But I don’t think I’m wrong about this.
Most laptops don’t have “video cards.” They have video built into the motherboard. Which means that they will replace your motherboard – and probably with a new updated one, not with the 2 year old model you have. Therefore, Windows will not boot anymore, and it will require a fresh install. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that when it’s returned, and you re-insert your hard drive, it might not boot, due to changes made. If it does, Windows will probably need to be “re-activated” because of the new hardware. There’s also a chance they won’t even try to fix it, they’ll toss it out and give you a “rebuilt” replacement, which of course, will have a new hard drive with Windows installed. Yeah, I know…
Robert
You are right that they shouldn’t touch your hard drive as a part of the expected repair procedure.
But they are right in telling you to back up all your data. They may discover, during their analysis of the computer, that there is a software problem. Or someone might just accidentally drop the drive, forcing them to replace it with a new one.
Always make a backup before sending a computer in for repair.
Actually, you should be making periodic backups on your own time, depsite this. No hard drive will last forever, and quite a lot won’t outlast the computer they’re installed in.
These days, when an external USB hard drive (like this one) is cheap and easy to install, there really isn’t much of an excuse. Plug it in once a week (or whatever interval you’re most comfortably) and drag your documents folder to it. This way, when your drive dies (and it will, sooner or later), you can replace the dead drive, reinstall your applications, and restore your documents from that backup drive.
You can make a more comprehensive backup using software dedicated to the task, but even a simple “drag/drop your documents” backup will save what’s most important when disaster eventually strikes.
Robert: It’s been my experience that vertical lines up a display are usually a sign that the LCD panel, or one of its connecting cables are bad, not the video card/chipset.
Odds are that HP won’t have to touch anything on the motherboard, other than the ribbon cable that attaches the display to it. Which is why their canned response of “erase the hard drive” makes no sense, in addition to being aggravating.
Well, now can we answer your previous post with, “Get a Mac”?
Robert, I don’t understand. I’ve got Windows XP, the latest SP updates, all up to date. Why would it not work with a new machine? I read that Dell is now loading XP onto their new computers because customers don’t want Vista.
How can my operating system not work with new hardware when they’re still loading XP onto brand new computers?
As for backups, I’m going to buy one of these next week. I’ve been backing up the irreplaceable data (like my cat pics, though come to think of it, I haven’t backed up my website in a while).
But I still don’t see the point of their wanting to reformat my hard drive.
Windows XP has code in it to prevent you from using it on multiple computers. I have tried changing out motherboards, and XP just refuses to start, you just get to a black screen and it hangs. I don’t trust XP, or Vista for that matter, because of the massive “piracy paranoia” at M$. Their new “Genuine Windows Advantage” updates fail on my computer on a regular basis, even though it really is “legit.” Changing something as simple as a hard drive or a video card can cause you to have to call M$ and “reactivate” Windows XP. Vista has code in it that makes it almost impossible to use unless it’s connected to the internet, for instance, if you want to play a CD or DVD, it has to check the DRM rules to see if the copyright owner will allow you to what you want to do.
Robert
I got lucky. With my new contract with a big pharmaceutical mfg in their marketing division information systems group, a new HP Compaq was FedEx’d to me so I could work over their VPN. Had to get a big wide screen monitor, though, the laptop monitor was killing my eyes…
So Robert, let’s say I get the backup drive I mentioned last week. Let’s say I do a complete backup of this HD, then send the system off to HP. Let’s further say they reformat my HD.
Then let’s say I simply put my stuff back on the HD after I get it back.
Are you telling me it might not work because of that?
Meryl
If I may respond to your last comment…
If HP swaps out the MB with a new one, (it will more than likely be the exact same model) or if they swap out the video controller (many laptops have modular video controllers) with the same model you’ll be fine.
When you install XP, it makes a list of your major components to prevent illegal copying. XP does allow you to swap out one or two at a time – however a major hardware change can cause the OS to demand a new activation.
The scenario that Robert describes is due to massive driver failure caused by a hardware change (ie different model motherboard)
Making a completely restorable backup of XP can be tricky – I recommend an imaging program like Norton Ghost. On the other hand backing up your data and then re-applying the factory image is often a good idea as well (cleans out the old crap) – Your safest approach is to backup the data on your hard drive, and then remove it before sending the LT in for service. This way you’re completely covered.
Jim, by “remove it” you mean remove the HD and keep it, right?
I’m going to go with the program recommended by the guy at the link with the HD. I read his pages and liked a lot of what he said.
yes, remove the HD and store it in a safe place (away from damp, magnetic fields and cats :-)