[geeks] IBM tech support saga (should be getting a new craptop - long)

[Chris Byrne]

The last few months I've had quite a time with my laptop. The machine is
a ThinkPad A21P with a P-3m 850, 256m ram, 30GIG, dvd, a 15.1" 1600x1200
screen and the integrated 3Com mini-pci modem/nic.

Now it is a windows machine primarily (I used to keep a mandrake
partition on it, but lately I havent bothered) so I accept a little bit
of instability and the occaisonal error etc... as a given.

Anyway this whole process started in October. 

I started getting errors while copying large files, or a large nubmers
of files. Then I started getting some blue screening. I did the usual
checking thinking it was a driver issue or whatever. Then I started
getting lots of small disk errors. I hadnt really noticed a pattern at
this point (though its obvious in retrospect) I figured it was just my
windows machine experienceing bitrot. And of coruse as we all now
crashes caused by bit rot leasd to more bit rot etc...

Anyway I decided to reinstall, only it failed. I got copying errors all
over the place. So I wiped the drive clean and started over. Only the
drive didn't wipe completely clean. There were 8 megs worth of bad
sectors showing up. I used a rescue utility to clean the disk up and
those "bad sectors" disappeared but still...

Ok so I called tech support and they had me send the machine in. At the
depot they replaced the DVD-ROM and said it was bad and had caused all
the problems. They tested the HDD with their little utils disk and it
came up 100% clean. I told them that was bullshit but I agreed to test
it. When I got it home I noticed there were cracks in the case from
where they overtightened the screws. 

All of this is back in Ireland BTW.

Of course the problems continued. I was able to get winblows reinstalled
(still with copying errors but I was able to recopy those files) and it
then started constantly bluescreening. It started with my having a few
minutes in the OS before it would BSOD, and got progressivley worse to
the point where it would simply freeze during boot. 

Ok, so to me it was clear that I either had a bad mainboard, bad proc,
or bad memory (or some other compnent was causing that effect anyway). I
called up tech support again and they had me bring it back into the
depot. They tested it again, said it was fine. I said bullshit Im not
taking it back. So they replaced the mainboard. 

I got it back, and it STILL had the blue screening problem, and the case
wasn't fixed. IN fack the cracks were worse. 

At this point I had to go back to the states.

When I got here I called support again and explained everything I had
gone through. They couldn't access the international case logs, so they
started a new case history for me. I noticed that the system had been
getting awfully hot. Hotter than it really should be in fact. So I sent
the machine back in and sure enough, the voltage regulator on the board
was wonky giving ever so slightly too much (and too dirty) power to my
whole system causing multiple failures. 

Ok so this time they replaced the mainboard with proc, the RAM, the
network card, the HDD, and the DVD, as well as my two power adaptors and
two batteries.

I got it back and right away noticed somethng was wrong. The case cracks
were even worse and now I could flex the frame of the machine in my
hands pretty easily. I mean the whole thing feels like a cheap toy. My
peakers now rattle at anything above minimum volume etc...
But logically speaking the system is fine. It works and its stable.

So I go to hot sync my palm pilot, I stick it in the cradle and plug the
cradle into the USB port. Or rather I start plugging the cable into the
usb port when I hear a popping sound, get a bit of a shock and the
screen and my palm go dark.

Uh oh.

I rapidly pulled the USB cable out and looked at my USB port. The little
insulator that holds the four conductors against the similar arrangement
in the cable plug was gone. The four conductors had bent or telescoped
into each other, the shield, the back of the case etc.. The insulatro
wasn't in the usb plug or any of the packaging they sent it to me in so
obviously it had come from the depot broken.
 
Just as obviously no-one tested the thing. Thankfully I was able to get
my palm to come back up after a hard reset, but I am worried about
potential permanent damage.

So this time I was ripshit. I called up IBM and explained the situation.
They said "Im sorry sir theres nothing I can do for you but send out
another repair order". I told them that I wasn't going to accept that. 

After complaining to about a dozen people they finally got me to a third
level engineer who is now "reviewing" my case. 

This guy actually knew what he was doing, and he had a great attitude.
He called me personally, gave me his direct number and said that he
should be able to get me a brand new current production (or just out of
current) laptop if he can get the paperwork from Ireland through. 

So I should end up with a new laptop out of this experience. In
particular I would be getting the equivalent machine in the product line
to what I had purchased, with equivalent or greater features. 

This is a lovely idea because they are only making one model (in two
configurations one with intigrated WiFi and bluetooth one without) with
the 1600x1200 screen and VIVO, the new Thinkpad A31p 2653. It has a
2.0ghz P4M, 256m PC2100, MobilityFireGL 7800 64mb, a 60gb 5400RPM HDD, a
CD-RW/DVD combo drive, and 2xUSB-2.0

Now that would just about make up for all the bullshit I went through
with this machine.

Chris Byrne