Sold laptop on TM...buyer saying BSOD constantly..? What should I do?

Forums › Off topic › Sold laptop on TM...buyer saying BSOD constantly..? What should I do?

1 | 2

Silvrav

477 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 173

ID Verified

#3086941 9-Jun-2023 14:17

HandBrake:

I did a clean install of Windows before selling it though wouldn't have thought it would cause any issues (I've always done this for previous laptops/desktops I've sold and never had any issues reported).

Will ask for a copy of the event logs and try to assist to avoid a return. Will say it does suck for them... I'd personally hate that if I was on the receiving end. The guy has 100% feedback and lots of trades so didn't feel he would be the type to try and pull a fast one.

Will see how it goes. Cheers.

Did you stress test it again after installing windows? Did you install the required drivers for the laptop?

Sounds like it might just be a software issue. - ask him to send you a video so you can get the BSOD info.

HandBrake

21 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 2

#3086949 9-Jun-2023 14:58

No as I didn't want to install things the buyer wouldn't get if they brought it from a store. Windows normally installs drivers and never had any issues but maybe for this particular laptop it didn't grab the right one. Will see what buyer reports back error-wise.

Silvrav:

Did you stress test it again after installing windows? Did you install the required drivers for the laptop?

Sounds like it might just be a software issue. - ask him to send you a video so you can get the BSOD info.

robjg63

4161 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1427

Subscriber

#3086966 9-Jun-2023 15:46

Windows is pretty good these days in automatically getting drivers installed and getting things working out of the box.

But if the make/model has a decent download site and supports whatever version of windows you did a clean install, then see if there is a driver update tool.

HP and Dell have a utility that is supposed to manage 'their' drivers specifically.

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-sr/000133088/how-to-automatically-download-and-install-drivers-on-a-dell-computer

https://support.hp.com/nz-en/drivers

I am sure other manufacturers have tools as well.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

wally22

504 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 128

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3086976 9-Jun-2023 16:06

HandBrake:

Once had BSOD issues for 3 days issues after a GPU driver update but grabbing drivers direct from NVIDIA solved that. That was over a year ago so I had written no issues in the TM ad =_=

Maybe worth checking if this scenario has happened again for the buyer and they have no idea what to do....

dpf81nz

71 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 34

#3088011 9-Jun-2023 18:28

i had something similar happen to me about 3-4 years ago. In the end i got the laptop back, checked that it booted up etc and gave the guy his money back because i really didnt have the time or energy to deal with it at the time. Couldn't find any issue with it myself so sold it on TM again and got more money in the end and zero complaints from the second buyer

hsvhel

1273 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 596

ID Verified

#3088020 9-Jun-2023 19:53

dpf81nz:

i had something similar happen to me about 3-4 years ago. In the end i got the laptop back, checked that it booted up etc and gave the guy his money back because i really didnt have the time or energy to deal with it at the time. Couldn't find any issue with it myself so sold it on TM again and got more money in the end and zero complaints from the second buyer

Same scenario, although same money.

Had laptop returned and refunded on proof of delivery. Only to find it was the buyer that mucked it with the wrong driver.

lesson learned

can they at least get you a screen shot as it's constant

Referral Link Quic

Free Setup use R502152EQH6OK on check out

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10018

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3088031 9-Jun-2023 20:22

robjg63:
Windows is pretty good these days in

installing toxic updates that trash your system.

Given the OPs comment about the buyer having 100% positive feedback, I'd say it's an unfortunate case of wrong or buggy drivers being installed or updated to, particularly if it's a gaming laptop that needs something quite different from a stock set of Windows drivers.

loceff13

1089 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 340

#3088279 11-Jun-2023 01:05

I hope the buyer paid via Ping/Afterpay if OP does decline any return/refund as TM may offer them buyer protection.

Some buyers are dumb and install incompatible drivers, sometimes it will be bad RAM, sometimes it could be the fan damaged in transport causing it(overheating). If BSOD is still going on while in recovery mode it's probably hardware related.

Ge0rge

2114 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2060

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3088281 11-Jun-2023 05:52

loceff13:
I hope the buyer paid via Ping/Afterpay if OP does decline any return/refund as TM may offer them buyer protection.

Some buyers are dumb and install incompatible drivers, sometimes it will be bad RAM, sometimes it could be the fan damaged in transport causing it(overheating). If BSOD is still going on while in recovery mode it's probably hardware related.

I'm confused by your post - on the one hand you're saying that buyers can be dumb and do things to a device that will cause BSOD, and on the other hand you're hoping the trademe will compensate them for it?

loceff13

1089 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 340

#3088645 11-Jun-2023 20:38

Ge0rge:
loceff13:

I hope the buyer paid via Ping/Afterpay if OP does decline any return/refund as TM may offer them buyer protection.

Some buyers are dumb and install incompatible drivers, sometimes it will be bad RAM, sometimes it could be the fan damaged in transport causing it(overheating). If BSOD is still going on while in recovery mode it's probably hardware related.

I'm confused by your post - on the one hand you're saying that buyers can be dumb and do things to a device that will cause BSOD, and on the other hand you're hoping the trademe will compensate them for it?

To clarify, if it's a hardware issue and not the buyers fault and OP decides not to refund as it's secondhand as someone suggested I hope TM's buyer protections helps them out in that situation.

also, people are dumb and install the wrong drivers. It could be a really simple fix with some troubleshooting.

HandBrake

21 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 2

#3088652 11-Jun-2023 20:58

Buyer said he'll give some drivers a go and report back. That was a couple days ago and haven't heard anything yet - might still be testing.

If I have to refund, at that point I would've been better off just not selling my laptop and just taking out a loan to buy a car. At least my laptop would still be working. I'm hoping the drivers fixed it but will see I guess.

Looks like from this point on I'll be selling everything with an as is where is disclaimer on any platform. Good lesson.

New World

Shop on-line at New World now for your groceries (affiliate link).

kiwiharry

1064 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 476

ID Verified

Subscriber

#3088724 11-Jun-2023 22:37

HandBrake:
Buyer said he'll give some drivers a go and report back. That was a couple days ago and haven't heard anything yet - might still be testing.

If I have to refund, at that point I would've been better off just not selling my laptop and just taking out a loan to buy a car. At least my laptop would still be working. I'm hoping the drivers fixed it but will see I guess.

Looks like from this point on I'll be selling everything with an as is where is disclaimer on any platform. Good lesson.

When I've sold my laptops previously I've always specified buyer must pickup so that I can show it boots etc.

Still would get queries from people who wanted it shipped so told them I accept no responsibility for any damage or for laptop not arriving in working order. Anything can happen in transit so wanted to avoid that hassle.

If you can't laugh at yourself then you probably shouldn't laugh at others.

gzt

18684 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7824

Lifetime subscriber

#3088856 12-Jun-2023 10:13

You mentioned a clean windows install. Do you happen to know which drivers were installed?

Kookoo

869 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 407

Trusted

#3089046 12-Jun-2023 14:21

neb:
robjg63:

Windows is pretty good these days in

installing toxic updates that trash your system. Given the OPs comment about the buyer having 100% positive feedback, I'd say it's an unfortunate case of wrong or buggy drivers being installed or updated to, particularly if it's a gaming laptop that needs something quite different from a stock set of Windows drivers.

100% positive feedback means very little these days. Buyers and sellers game the system by conditioning returns/refunds on no feedback or positive feedback, etc.

I've encountered members who were absolutely mental and yet somehow had 99% or 100% positive rating.

Hello, Ground!

1 | 2