Compaq CQ62 HD Failure (again!)

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tardtasticx

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#75858 24-Jan-2011 21:58

Some of you might remember this thread: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=48&TopicId=64856 - Where my laptops hard drive failed and HP replaced it after months of frustration.

Well this evening I was on Facebook and heard some clicking and buzzing coming from said notebook. I thought it was my browser (chrome) lagging as I just watched a video and thought audio might be playing still or something. So I closed it and could still hear it. So I went to reboot and the power button in the start menu did nothing so I wait a min or 2 and tried again with no luck. So I pressed and held the power button until it turned off. Waited 20 seconds and tried to reboot. Greeted with the screen: "Hard disk read error, press ctrl + alt + del to reboot"

So I followed those instructions 4 times and same results. So I pressed the power button again and turned it off and went to show parents and then it wouldnt show me the reboot screen, it just held there at the red Q screen (the compaq logo), then it started clicking even louder, like the HD was dislodged or something. So I said I wasnt f***ing happy and went to HP online and talked to the US support line because ours was closed. She ran through some trouble shooting. Like going into the bios and running the HD test. So I did that and it said "Hard Disk Not Exist". The rep said the Hard disk has most surely failed and would need repair. So we're going to Harvey Norman again tomorrow =_____=

Would I be able to demand a refund or something from them? Or an instant replacement? School starts in 2 and a half weeks and I need that laptop.

Also, what am I entitled to under the CGA? Since this is the second time I've had this issue.

Thanks GZ'ers, I'll post here tomorrow when we get back from HN.

- Sam.

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#430776 24-Jan-2011 22:28

You're not one of these people that moves their laptop around while on are you?

Friend does that and wonders why HDDs are always dieing in it.

Richard rich.ms

Dunnersfella

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#430777 24-Jan-2011 22:29

As per usual, the retailer has the right to have the device checked by the repair agent...
You have rights under the CGA, so do they. Just follow the process through and if you get on well with the people at HN, they may well be able to help you out with a 'good will' replacement.

My advice, when you get the laptop repaired, sell it on Tardme and buy something else...
Maybe a Mac... ;-)

richms

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#430781 24-Jan-2011 22:34

Buy a dell where the man comes out next day with parts and fixes it. None of this send it off crap that harvey norman do.

Richard rich.ms

johnr

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#430791 24-Jan-2011 22:58

Get a Mac

tardtasticx

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#430795 24-Jan-2011 23:04

Yes I have moved the laptop while it's on, but I never tilt it, and it's only ever from the couch to my desk or from desk to my bed. It's nearly always on a desk and well ventelated. I'm super careful with my machine. And yes I would get a mac, except one with the same specs as mine cost more than double the price. :(

Batman

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#430802 24-Jan-2011 23:36

pardon the ignorance but isn't a laptop supposed to be portable (not be treated like a rugby ball but portable)??

Batman

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#430803 24-Jan-2011 23:36

and so we buy a macbook and glue it to the desk?

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tardtasticx

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#430808 24-Jan-2011 23:46

I think laptops are classified as Notebooks now because pretty much every manuel for a laptop I've seen, it states clearly that its not meant to be on your lap. Its so stupid.

Batman

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#430814 25-Jan-2011 00:15

the guy who wrote about the dell reminded me of something: I dropped my XPS with the lid open and video playing, from 1 METRE ... there was a chip but it kept going and LED screen still perfect ... the XPS is bullet proof!

so yeah ... i still can't understand why we're not allowed to apply portability to a laptop ... I hope they replace it for you with something better!

tardtasticx

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#430815 25-Jan-2011 00:25

joker97: the guy who wrote about the dell reminded me of something: I dropped my XPS with the lid open and video playing, from 1 METRE ... there was a chip but it kept going and LED screen still perfect ... the XPS is bullet proof!

so yeah ... i still can't understand why we're not allowed to apply portability to a laptop ... I hope they replace it for you with something better!

I'm hoping they give me a refund because I'll request it tomorrow, but I doubt they will give me it. If they do, I'll be ordering a Dell laptop or save up a bit more to get a macbook or something. And since I spent $1500 on that laptop I think I'd be safe to expect that it survives being carried to the next room without breaking. That laptop has been on my desk for a whole day, haven't moved it an inch. I was even using an external keyboard and mouse because I had it elevated on a stand.

They better have a loan laptop. The CGA says I can claim back the cost of renting something while the faulty product is being repaired. I don't really wanna do that unless I have to. THey didnt have any last time it broke, and HP sent us a loan unit after about a month of complaining to them.

richms

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#430816 25-Jan-2011 00:43

because certain movements while accessing the disk will cause contact which will destroy it. The G's allowable may sound a lot when you compare it to what a roller coaster feels like at not even one G, or the few Gs people get in a carcrash, but a HDD would be fine there since its all low G. Dropping from just a few cm doesn't give the protection stuff enough time to park the heads, so is worse than a taller drop.

Then there is angular acceleration which is not much on a laptop drive either - thats when you twist the computer around etc. Not even specced on the drives and I understand that is the most problematic for them as they dont detect it like going into freefall.

Richard rich.ms

tardtasticx

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#430818 25-Jan-2011 01:02

See that's just stupid. People are going to have them on their laps, because they are laptops. So they will turn and stuff occasionally with use. It shouldn't be legal to market them as laptops when they expect peoples laps to be desks which don't move what so ever.

richms

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#430820 25-Jan-2011 01:12

So its a good thing that they have not been sold as laptops for many many years - at least since there was the nad burning incident many years ago.

They are not portable devices like an iPad, they are made to be put on a surface and then used. Just the fact it has vents underneith is enough to show that it was never intended to be used on a soft surface.

Richard rich.ms

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#430821 25-Jan-2011 01:13

seriously i think it's just the HD brand/series that they use for the CQ62 line which is suspect - perhaps even a dud batch of a lousy series of a hopeless brand that you got ... ?

trig42

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#430829 25-Jan-2011 06:49

yeah, I just think you are unlucky to have had two dud hard disks. There is probably nothing wrong with the notebook, just the brand of hard drive that they use in it. I wouldn't be insisting on a refund that you will not get, but pushing for a different brand of hard drive when they replace the one that is in there.

You have backups right?

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