Livid

The second pc from HP was supposed to have shipped yesterday. I have not received a tracking number. I have made several calls to HP today to no avail. I finally called American Express and opened a dispute case. The AMEX representative was very nice and sounded as though he was very familiar with the way HP treats their customers. He said after a dispute is opened it is usually resolved within a couple of days, but he cautioned me that it could take six to eight weeks to resolve. Either way I will get a computer or get my money back. This is the worst customer service experience I have endured in my entire life, and I have been around for a long time.

 

The order status has shown the computer as being in production for four or five days. The first computer was shown as in production for only one day and the next day the order status showed the FedEx tracking number. I am wondering if the Chinese plant has encountered production problems and the assembly line has been shutdown.

 

On Saturday Dallas had a wind and dust storm. Winds gusted to 50-60 mph. I watched as shingles blew off of my neighbors' houses. I do not think my house lost any shingles, but I want a roofer to check it out. I am worried about the ridge row vent being loosened. That happened to my house in Beaumont before my new roof was put on. Water came in under the ridge row vent and caused sheetrock damage. I was very disgusted when Meagan told me that Pulte does not cover wind damage if the winds exceed 40 mph. She said that is an act of God, but they are going to make a one-time exception. 40 mph is just a gentle breeze compared to the 12+ hour beating my Beaumont house took with winds up to 110 mph during Hurricane Rita. The roof did not lose one shingle. I wish the roof on my new house were half as good.

 

Monday morning I noticed a plumber working on the house across the street. One of my outside faucets has stopped working. I had called Meagan about the faucet. I asked the plumber if I was on his list. He said he was there to replace all the pressure regulators on the street because quite a few failed. I left home. When I got back, the first thing I noticed was the toilet would not stop running. I checked the second bathroom and that toilet also had the same problem. I was able to stop the water flow my lifting up the float arm. I called Meagan and told her. She said that was not an emergency. I told if I had to fish in the toilet tank at 2 AM, it was an emergency. She said an emergency was when the floor was covered with water. Anyway the plumber arrived at my house around noon yesterday. He adjusted the toilets and also reduced the pressure of the water inlet to the house some. He checked the outside faucet and said it would have to be replaced. He did not have one with him. He said he would return on Thursday.

I Am Still Here

I can't believe that it has been a whole week since I have written anything for the blog. I am adapting to life without a pc. The second new pc should arrive a week from today. On Monday I received the second expedited warranty kit. I could hardly believe my eyes on Tuesday when the doorbell rang and the missing box to send the first pc back in for repairs finally arrive 7 days later than it should have according to the terms of the expedited warranty. I was able to catch the UPS driver and tell him I was refusing the delivery and to return the box to the sender. The first pc was delivered back to HP on Monday. I am hoping the second pc will be perfect, and I will never have to call HP for service.

 

Right now I am using a pc in the Frisco Lakes community center computer room. I can walk to the community center. This is the first time I have been able to use a pc here. The first time I tried the room was locked. The second time I tried I found that the pc's required a password and no one was able to tell me what to use. This morning I learned the pw.

 

I am becoming very familiar with the 800 numbers for various financial institutions. I have been able to pay a couple of bills by punching in numbers on the phone. I feel like I have returned to the dark ages.

 

My neighbors have been away for a few days. I have been picking up their mail and newspapers. They told me to read their newspapers. That has helped to fill the news void created by the lack of a pc. I am also working the Sudoku puzzle that is in the newspaper. I usually work the puzzles online.

 

Earlier in the week I joined the Frisco Senior Center. They have a really nice 11,000 sq. ft. facility at Frisco Square. A 6,000 sq. ft. addition to the building has been started. The building is brick and has the same style of architecture as the rest of Frisco Square. I visited the senior center in Beaumont one time. It was a decrepit old building that looked like it was donated World War II barracks. I never went back after one look. The Frisco Senior Center has computers, a number of classes, exercise classes, games, movies and lectures. It has exercise machines that are almost as nice as what we have at Frisco Lakes. There is no pool. Every month they have a several day trips. I signed up to go to the Science Museum and IMAX movie in late March. They are having trip to East Texas to see the dogwood and azaleas in bloom in March. That trip was full, but I put my name on a waiting list.

LAWYER! SUE!

Those were the words that were running through my head at this time yesterday when no box had arrived. I called HP's support line to try and get a tracking number on the box. The day time calls for support are routed to Mexico complete with lots of static on the phone lines. The so called tech could not find a tracking number for the return box. He said call back in 24 hours. I told him I had paid for an expedited service policy on the computer, and they were supposed to turn it around in 3 days. I asked him if he understood. He said, "Yes, Sally I understand you are frustrated." I said you are pathetic. Do you understand what that means? He said "yes, Sally I understand you are frustrated."

 

On my first call on Monday night the tech. had told me that Circuit City, Best Buy and Radio Shack were authorized HP service centers. I loaded the pc in the car and took it to the Geek Squad at Best Buy. I talked to a very nice older man. He attempted to turn the pc on and saw the brief flash of the power light and then nothing. He said they could handle the warranty repair, but it would be sent to Kentucky and then in turn would be sent to HP. He said my best bet was to get the box from HP and let them handle the repair.

 

I went back home and read all the fine print in the service agreement. The sorry part about this agreement is there is not a special phone number for the expedited service on notebook computers. You have to use the same number that send you to India or Mexico. When the call is answered, the tech's don't know what expedited service means. The previous day I had a terrible time getting the expedited service activated because it is supposed to be done online or by fax. Since I was without a working pc I called the number the tech. in India had given me. I had to beg the rude man to activate the service over the phone.

 

After I got back home, I again called the phone number I had used to activate the policy. I gave the woman who answered an ear full of my troubles. She said my problem needed to be escalated. She gave me another 800 number and told me to choose option 7. I called the number and was put on hold and then cut off. Steam was coming out of my ears. I called again and punched 7. This time a man answered and said he was in HP's corporate headquarters. He was very curt and would not listen to me but said he recommended I return the computer and place a new order for a new computer since the first had failed in such a short time. He transferred me to Mexico. This person had excellent command of English. He placed the order. He wanted to send me FedEx shipping labels. I told him I had no way to print them out. He called FedEx and arranged for next day pickup. He read the order to me for the new computer. I told him I needed a new expedited service policy since the first one had been activated with the serial number of the pc that was to be returned. He said he was taking care of that.

 

I then went to the Frisco library and checked the new orders and return order. There was also a confirming email from FedEx saying the package would be picked up between 1 and 5 PM on 2/15. I printed the new pc order and the return order and the FedEx email and took them home. When I got home,I saw one small item had been left off the order for the replacement pc. It is just a pair of earbud earphones which I will probably never use. I called the number of HP headquarters. I talked to a very nice lady. At last I found someone nice at HP. I told her about the omission, and she said she would take care of it. This nice lady said I would call the special number any time I have a problem in the future.

 

At 2 PM the FedEx truck pulled up to my house. The driver printed the shipping label and gave me a receipt. The new pc is to be built on or before Feb. 27, and I was told to allow two days for shipping. At least I have put the thoughts of lawyer and sue on hold.

 

I have spent so much time on the HP support line I never was able to write in the blog what went wrong with the pc. The new computer was delivered around 4:30 PM on Monday. I unpacked the computer. There was a note inside the computer that said Vista would take approximately 25 minutes to load the first time and not to attempt to shutdown or reboot during the start up. I sat back and watched as Vista did its thing. Finally it was ready for me to do some work. I chose a user name, pw and named the computer. I named the computer "Black-Beauty" because at that point that was what I thought of it.

 

I clicked on the wireless network icon in the task bar and entered my encryption key. It worked perfectly. In no time at all I was notified that Windows updates were ready to be installed. I clicked to have them install. The computer rebooted and all was well. In spite of the fact that I had not purchased the Norton security software, HP had installed a trial version anyway. I went ahead and signed up for a 60-day free trail and let it do its install. Again it all went well. Then I loaded Microsoft Excel. A screen popped up to activate Microsoft Office online. This process failed but gave a telephone number to call. I called and stepped through an automated menu which gave me a code to enter. This attempt to activate was successful. I used Excel for a while. I loaded my spreadsheet with my most important financial data from a CD and updated the information. I then saved the spreadsheet to the pc's hard drive. I then loaded Internet Explorer. I accessed by bank and downloaded my last statement in PDF format. Everything was going so well, and I was so happy to have such a beautiful pc. I thought about connecting my external disk drive and copying over all my photos, music, scanned data, etc., but I was getting tired. It was about 7 PM, and I shut the pc down. The shutdown was via the menu and was completely normal. It was very similar to the way Windows XP shuts down. I was glad that I had found no problems with Vista. I had checked the Vista performance index on my pc and stacked my windows and saw the touted Aero 3D display. All was well.

 

Around 9 PM I decided to go back and play some more with my new toy. I pressed the power button. There was a brief flash of the power light and then nothing. I removed the battery and tried again. Same result. I unplugged the computer and tried to start it on the battery only. Nothing. I tried a couple of different electrical outlets. I then called HP and was on hold for 73 minutes before the first tech in India answered. I had an extremely hard time communicating with him. I was frantic thinking about the financial data I had copied to the hard disk.

 

I do not think I slept at all on Monday night. Actually is was Tuesday morning by the time I went to bed. The next morning as soon as the financial institutions opened I was calling and changing ID's and PW's. I left a message for my personal adviser at the bank. I had already changed my banking ID and PW. He called back and tried to reassure me that my risk was very small. My accounts are insured and the bank has many safeguards in place.

 

I then borrowed my neighbor's little notebook computer. I finished changing passwords on my accounts and paid a couple of online bills. Earlier I had made a second support call that landed in India. This woman had me get a phillips screwdriver and remove compartments on the back of the pc. She wanted me to reseat the memory simm's. She was absolutely nuts. I told her I wanted to get busy and get the pc packed up for repairs. She told me a hardware tech would call me back within the hour. I waited 3.5 hours and received no call. I then called again and the call was answered in Mexico. This tech supposedly sent up the order for a box to be sent to me--the box that still has not arrived. I again explained that I had purchased the expedited service policy. By then I was almost sick. I fell asleep in my recliner while I watched my soap opera.

 

Now I am in waiting mode again. If all goes well, Black-Beauty2 should be delivered two weeks from today. I imagine the first Black Beauty will be repaired and show up on HP's website where they sell refurbished pc's. It will have a substantially lower price than I paid. I do not know if I would consider buying that computer. I do not have a clue as to what caused it to fail. It may be something was shook loose during the trip from China, or it might be some bad soldering. I will never know the answer.

 

 

$2,600 Paper Weight

I am waiting for FedEx to deliver a box so I can ship the new PC back
to HP. I am not happy.

Update

This may be my last trip to the library to use a computer. The new computer has arrived in Dallas after a quick trip from China. I called FedEx before coming to the library. The computer was traveling to the local facility in Irving at that time. I talked to a representative and was assured it would not be delivered today so I assumed it was safe to go out. The estimated delivery date is by 10:30 AM on Tuesday, but I am confident that it will arrive on Monday.

 

On Thursday I went to the dentist here in Frisco. His hygienist is a graduate of Lamar University in Beaumont and lived in Orange. She said she has not met very many people from Southeast Texas in Frisco. It turned out she interned in the office of my old dentist in Nederland. Her mother now is a patient of that dentist. They did a full-mouth X-ray of my teeth and found no problems. I will go back in six months.

 

Yesterday I did my weekly shopping. I bought the new Rowenta iron at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It is one hefty iron but is fairly easy to handle. I finished the ironing I was doing which was interrupted when I destroyed my old iron. I was really surprised to see that the new iron was made in Germany. It seems like all the products with U.S. or European brands now come from China.

 

Before my old computer died I had found on the Woolite website that they make a high efficiency version for washers that require HE products. The warranty on my Kenmore Elite Oasis washer is void if I use non-HE detergents. Both times that a service technician has come to my house, the first thing they did was grab my bottle of Tide and check to see that it was HE. I had checked several stores for the Woolite HE and been unable to find it. This morning I stopped in Kroger, and they had the Woolite HE.

 

Cold weather has returned to Dallas. By mid-February signs of spring are usually apparent in Southeast Texas. The lawn and garden stores will be well stocked by this time. I am really ready for some warmer weather.

Interesting Journey

My new computer's travels are amazing.

Feb 10, 2007 5:49 AM DALLAS, TX/At dest sort facility
5:02 AM INDIANAPOLIS, IN/Departed FedEx location
3:20 AM INDIANAPOLIS, IN/Int'l shipment release
Feb 9, 2007 11:57 PM INDIANAPOLIS, IN/Arrived at FedEx location
1:24 PM ANCHORAGE, AK/Departed FedEx location
12:07 PM ANCHORAGE, AK/Arrived at FedEx location
Feb 8, 2007 5:30 PM SHANGHAI CN/Left origin
4:37 PM SHANGHAI CN/Picked up

"In Production"

The order status of my new pc changed to include the above words this morning. It still lists the expected ship date as Feb. 8. I have no idea where HP's assembly facility is located. I hope it is not in China. I hope they are using the Compaq (owned by HP) facilities in Houston. Even FedEx Home should be able to deliver a package in one day from Houston to Dallas. I think it shows that I am really looking forward to the new pc.

 

Nice weather has returned to Dallas. I turned my lawn sprinklers on this morning. I had not run them for several weeks because of below freezing temperatures. I noticed a couple of sprinkler heads did not pop up. I called Meagan and asked her to schedule a service call. I also reminded her that the extension section in the fireplace vent pipe on the roof had never been painted. It will five months on Friday since I moved into the new house. It does not seem possible.

 

I am back at the Frisco library. There was a sign on the computer lab door that the facility was reserved until 1 PM for a training class. It said 24 additional pc's are available on the 4th floor. The chairs are not as comfortable up here, but I have a view of Frisco Square and can look across to Pizza Hut Park. The view is nice compensation for the hard chair.

 

Tomorrow I have an appointment with the dentist for my six-month checkup. I hope he does not find any problems. I do not have dental insurance and would hate to get another unexpected bill. The new pc plus the additional software and hardware is straining my budget.

Second Article Today

My first post of the day has not shown up in the blog yet. Some days are like that. Yesterday I spent some of my library pc time searching for a new iron. My old iron was a Rowenta that I had for 10+ years. I checked Rowenta's website and found their best steam iron is called the Advancer. I checked Amazon.com and read the users' reviews. All but one gave the iron 5*. It almost made me glad I broke my old iron. I then did a Froogle shopping search. Amazon.com is charging full list price. Macy's has the iron on sale for only $10 off through Feb. 19. I then remembered that I have a 20 percent off coupon from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I checked their website, and they carry the iron. When I went home, I found the coupon; and it does not expire until Feb. 16. I hope the iron is stocked in the Frisco store. I will go there at the end of the week and combine a stop with the rest of my shopping.

Oh Good Grief

Now I am really getting mad at Windows Vista. It was bad enough when I learned that my relatively new scanner will not be supported under Vista, but I have now learned something worse. I had Windows XP Home on my old computer, and it did everything I wanted. My new pc will have Windows Vista Home Premium edition on it. Today I learned that Windows FAX and Scan Utility is not a part of Home Premium. It is included only in the Business and Ultimate editions. It is possible to pay more at a later date and unlock the Ultimate edition. I hope that my pc will be capable of being upgraded. I know it was almost impossible to upgrade the pc I had to Windows XP Professional. I used Windows FAX program on the old computer every time I wanted to send a FAX. I really feel cheated.

 

Yesterday CNN had a piece on their morning business segment about iTunes not working with Vista--stale news. I learned that last week.

 

I think Microsoft is going to feel a big backlash over the decisions they have made regarding Windows Vista. Vista might really stimulate Mac sales.

 

 

Searching

I am searching for computer hardware and software as usual. Now I am also searching for a new iron. I managed to destroy my iron by knocking it off the ironing board onto the floor. I don't do much ironing any more and am becoming clumsy.

 

Yesterday, the Frisco Library was closed so I had to amuse myself without a pc. I skimmed the two Dummies books I bought on Saturday. I went over and visited with a neighbor across the street. Fortunately they are not avid football fans so they were not watching the pre-game shows. They have not sold their old house yet. I came home feeling very fortunate that I no longer have that worry.

 

I read the Dummies book about how to attach a Windows Vista pc to a wireless network. It sounded like it is very similar to the XP procedure. My plan is to start up the pc, check for Windows updates and then purchase Microsoft's OneCare security suite.

 

I am not a football fan. I turned on the game and told myself I might get to see some clever commercials. I didn't even last until the kickoff before I turned on the DVR and was searching for better entertainment. I caught some of the post game commentary and knew that the Colts won but still have not seen the final score.

 

I am still lacking one 1099 form so I called the financial company this morning and requested a duplicate. I also called dLink. After reading about networking in the Dummies book, I began to wonder if I could move my laser printer to the room where I have the router, purchase a wired print server with a parallel port and avoid the expense of a new printer. After a lengthy wait on hold, I talked to a man in dLink's technical sales department. He did say that it was necessary to install a driver on the pc, but he avoided answering my question about Vista compatiability. He did tell me that in 4-6 weeks they would be introducing a new line of networking equipment. Right now I want to be able to print. I want to print out a few forms from the IRS website so I can do my income tax.

New Low

Somehow I have always found the titles of the Dummies series of books offensive. This morning I went to Sam's Club. They had the Dummies books for both Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007. I finally overcame my resistance to the books and bought both. I have started to look at the Vista book and have learned a few things already that should ease my transition to the new software.

 

I don't know how many times I have thought of something to look up on the Internet, and then had to stop myself from walking to the room where I keep my computer. It was one week ago today that my pc bit the dust. HP's website still shows the estimated ship date for my new computer to be Feb. 8. They shipped the warranty papers via FedEx Home. My hopes are rising that I may have the new computer as early as next Saturday.

 

I have never liked the all-in-one printer, scanner and fax devices, but I have started to think about one because it takes up less space and costs less than three separate devices. HP has a Laserjet 3055. A limited driver for it ships with Vista. I have not been able to figure out what limited means. I fear that it means the scanner and fax functions are not supported. It is going to take time for all the hardware and software reviews to be published which reveal what works and does not work with Vista.

Vista Is Not for Sissies

I am back at the library. When I ordered the new pc I declined the Norton security software that HP listed as an option. I have heard too many stories about Norton causing problems. I had decided that I would get Microsoft's OneCare package instead. Microsoft should be in a better position to offer a product that will work with the new operating system. Then I began to think that HP, Dell and Sony were all only offering Norton as the anti-virus software for Vista. I had not checked to find out if there was a Vista compatible version of OneCare. Much to my relief I found that Microsoft started selling OneCare Ver. 1.5 on Jan. 30 in conjunction with the release of Vista. One problem solved.

 

I will have to buy a new printer since the new computer does not have the old parallel printer port. I have a LaserJet 5P that cost nearly $900 back in 1995. It is old but has never given a problem. Vista is shipping with the necessary driver for the 5P. The only way to continue to use the 5P would be to buy the dLink wireless print server. I do not think I can handle the frustration of getting it to work. I started looking at new LaserJet's. There is a 2600n that is available for less that $300 and is network ready and also prints in color. I thought this sounded like a good deal. Then I checked HP's website and saw the Vista driver will not be ready until July. I will have to explore more printer alternatives.

 

Then I started looking at HP's website for information on my scanner and Vista. Much to my dismay it said there will be no Vista support for my scanner and had a link to their new Vista compatible scanners. My scanner is less that four years old. Bah Humbug!

 

This morning FedEx delivered the expedited warranty papers for the new computer. There was a registration card in the package that said the service was void if the card was not filled out completely and returned within ten days. I called HP to tell them I could not fill out the card because I do not know the serial number of the new computer because it is not scheduled to be built until Feb. 8, and it will be well over ten days by the time I receive it. My first call landed in the U.S. That person gave me another number to call. The next call was answered in India. I explained my problem. That person transferred me. I got someone else in India. That person transferred me back to the U.S. Finally the woman I talked to told me to send in the card when I get the pc. Of course  I had a 5+ minute hold each time I was transferred.

 

I have a long list of items to check for compatibilities. My Nikon D70 camera will be the next item I research. Surely I will be able to copy the pictures off the memory card with my existing USB card reader (I hope). Nikon's software has been very bug prone with Windows XP. It will be a long time before I find the courage to install any of their software on the new Vista pc. I am hoping that Adobe will release a new version of Photoshop Elements soon. I trust them more than I do Nikon.

 

Palm has a detailed page posted that tells what works and what does not work with their software and Vista. They state they are dedicated to releasing new versions of their software that is compatible with Vista as soon as possible. I hope I will be able to mount my Palm TX as a drive and copy the database files to the new pc in order to back them up until the new version of Palm Desktop is available.

 

I read that Apple, also, has made a statement that they will release a new versions of iTunes as soon as possible.

90 Million iPods

I read that is how many have been sold since Apple first introduced
them. Now I have learned that iTunes is not compatible with Windows
Vista. iTunes disables the Vista Aero function. It sounds like a
nefarious plot on the part of Apple to cripple Vista sales, As if, the
poor consumer does not already suffer enough,

New PC Ordered

On Tuesday I ordered a new computer directly from Hewlett Packard. After visiting several computer stores and online browsing, I decided HP had the best offering. Here is what I am getting:

HP Pavilion dv9000t customizable Notebook PC Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo T7200 (2.0GHz/4MB L2Cache) 17.0" WXGA+ Ultra BrightView Widescreen (1440x900) 512MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7600 HP Imprint Finish + Microphone + Webcam 2048MB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) 200GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (100GB x 2) FREE Upgrade - LightScribe DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network w/Bluetooth No TV Tuner w/remote control 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery Microsoft(R) Office Home and Student 2007 System Recovery DVD w/Windows Vista Home Premium Mobile Stereo Earbud Headphones (1 pair) HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

I am just about out of time here at the library. I am trying to find out what software I want to install is compatible with Vista. Neither iTunes nor Palm Desktop is ready for Vista.