New HP laptop is fecked.

darrenw5094

Bought a HP laptop from PC World about 2 months ago.
Noticed a burning smell in the room about 2 or 3 weeks later. I didn't know what it was.....could have been anything.....tv, light, etc. Never assumed it was the new laptop.

Anyway, the laptop was fine all the same. No problems with it. Then one day the HP wouldn't power up by battery alone. Battery was fully charged, as from the last time it was on. Needed the power supply to power up. I didn't mind too much, as it was only for the house anyway. Then the following Saturday, it would not power up at all. Tried it again and again, untill eventually it worked.

It was fine untill about a week ago. I opened up the laptop, not plugged in to the power supply and a puff of smoke came out of the left hinge or there abouts. Smelled burning. Plugged in the power supply a few minutes later, but it worked fine. A few days after that, the screen was blank. It still powered up, as i used tv out cable to view it on the plasma tv. Worked fine without the laptop screen on the tv screen. But a couple of days ago she finally kicked the bucket. She didn't even have a chance to swin with dolphins. Stone feckin' dead.

I looked everywhere for the receipt, but can't find it anywhere.
What are my best options?? Will PC World take it back without a receipt or do i need to get it fixed somewhere?? And how much would i get charged roughly?

ttm

Did you pay by credit card, lazor or cheque? They dont like it but proof that they have had the money from you in the form of a credit card statment item is just as good a a receipt.

darrenw5094

Flippin cash man.....worst thing ever invented. No records of a purchase.:mad:

jimmycrackcorm

Go back to PC world anyway. They might have a record of the serial number.

darrenw5094

Suppose it's worth a try. The original box is gone too.:mad:

Have HP gone to the dogs......their pc's and laptops are fairly cheap these days.
I thought they were a top brand.

ttm

I'd take it back anyway and try and find the guy who sold it to you. If you can't find them ask to talk to the manager?

I had a similar problem with some cheaper items from PCWorld and emailed the company first explaining I didn't have the receipt and was not that happy about the products and could they explain there policy about returns sans receipt. The reply was take it back to the store and they'll sort it out for you sir, so I printed out the email took the stuff back and got a full refund.

ttm

darrenw5094 wrote: »

Suppose it's worth a try. The original box is gone too.:mad:

Have HP gone to the dogs......their pc's and laptops are fairly cheap these days.
I thought they were a top brand.

Every PC manufacture sells products to cover the whole market so you can buy a cheap Sony Vaio just the same as a cheap HP, but they still have the expensive models if you've got the money.

AlmightyCushion

Do you know when you bought it? They would keep a record of all the transactions so if you can narrow it down for them they might be able to find your specific transaction. Obviously anything you can think of that can narrow it down would help them find it (did you buy anything with it like a bag or some software, do you know what till you were at or who served you, even if you knew what time it was at should help). The onus is on the consumer to provide a proof of purchase but if you give them enough information they should be able to track it down for you.

And don't worry about the box. The laptop is faulty, you won't need it.

darrenw5094

Spec was fairly decent though. Intel Duo Core, 3gb Ram, 17" panel, Blu-Ray drive, 160gb Hard drive etc. for €599

ttm

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Do you know when you bought it? They would keep a record of all the transactions so if you can narrow it down for them they might be able to find your specific transaction. Obviously anything you can think of that can narrow it down would help them find it (did you buy anything with it like a bag or some software, do you know what till you were at or who served you, even if you knew what time it was at should help). The onus is on the consumer to provide a proof of purchase but if you give them enough information they should be able to track it down for you.

And don't worry about the box. The laptop is faulty, you won't need it.

Good advice but it does depend on the store and who you speak to. I've known 2 really good PCWorld store managers that would be really helpful and quite a few staff that are also but I know of several PCWorld mangers and staff who might not be as helpful. Suppose its the same with all stores so you have to keep a smile on your face and be friendly but firm about them checking their records to help you prove when you bought it. afaik they normally take your name and address details for larger sales so you might be able to get them to trace it that way for you.

kikel

Your laptop should have a manufacture date. HP will know it from the serial number. As long as your laptop wasn't sitting in a warehouse for 10 months you should have no problem.

bonnieprince

Ring HP Support, they will advise on warranty and fix etc.

ttm

bonnieprince wrote: »

Ring HP Support, they will advise on warranty and fix etc.

Oh no they won't . PCWorld keep their prices down buy not paying for any manufacturers warentee because the have their own support - if you can call it that :rolleyes:.

OK I hope I'm wrong in this case but noramaly if you call the manufacturer about a PC or laptop bought from PCWorld as soon as you read out the serial number you get told sorry you bought that in PCWorld you have to go to them for support.

darrenw5094

I do remember the sales guy offereing me added accidental insurance for extra money.......but i said NO THANKS.

craddy96

this might not help but laptops have oil and stuff in them and when heat up could cause damage.dont leave you battery plugged in and it could be battery acid.ther are some smaller batteries on the circuits and the motherboard so they could have leaked some battery acid.:)

Capt'n Midnight

craddy96 wrote: »

this might not help but laptops have oil and stuff in them and when heat up could cause damage.dont leave you battery plugged in and it could be battery acid.ther are some smaller batteries on the circuits and the motherboard so they could have leaked some battery acid.:)

Links please.

Laptops are designed to run hot , most components should be rated at 70C if not 105C.

Capacitors are water based, no oil
Battery acid ? Laptops use Lithium which doesn't use acid / older ones use Nickel -which are alkaline
Hard drives and Fans may have oil but only a tiny adsorbed smear that is supposed to stay in place for at least 5 years



If all else fails then try ringing up HP with "puff of smoke" "worried about battery catching fire" routine

darrenw5094

Just to almost bring closure to this thread...

Brought the laptop in to PC World with no receipt and the employee checked up the sales records on their pc and found my purchase.

So i get my laptop fixed under warranty for free even though i had no receipt.
So everyone is happy.

nayorleck114

1. You paid in Cash.
2. You have no Receipt
3. You have no orginal Packing.

What you you expecting? you need to keep these things for warrenty details.

Sounds like the power supply issue (power surge) or you had the Laptop on a cushon and covered the fan vent and caused it to overheat.

You should contact HP directly and give them the details. They will be able to trace where it was sold to and advise what to do.

For all high purchases you should always keep the receipt and packing for the 1st year.

ttm

If PC World are fixing it that might not be the end of the story :P

Anyway one thing to remember is that if they take more than 4 weeks to fix it and you'd be supprised how often that happens you can get a replacement for free . At least thats what they've told me a couple of times in the Waterford shop. I've bought a few very reduces items from them that I've been told are customers machines that came back after the 4 week limit and so the customer got a replacement from stock and PCWorld sell off the old system when it finally arrives back at the shop. Again don't forget this is only what PCWorld staff have told me so could be like a lot of what they tell you - complete rubish.

darrenw5094

Bit annoyed with myself for losing the receipt.....i usually don't do that.

But it looks like PC World in Dundalk will honour the warranty.
So i am ok this time.

As for the problem......i don't know, something burned out near the left side hinge......don't care, as long as i get it fixed, which looks like it will be.

partyatmygaff

darrenw5094 wrote: »

Bit annoyed with myself for losing the receipt.....i usually don't do that.

But it looks like PC World in Dundalk will honour the warranty.
So i am ok this time.

As for the problem......i don't know, something burned out near the left side hinge......don't care, as long as i get it fixed, which looks like it will be.

Thats usually where most laptops run the cabling for the LCD panel, Im guessing the power cable for the LCD shorted out and damaged something else on the motherboard.

That means the LCD and Motherboard are f*cked and if the case was burnt that means it needs to be replaced too, if thats the case I really doubt this will be the last of your problems.

darrenw5094

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Thats usually where most laptops run the cabling for the LCD panel, Im guessing the power cable for the LCD shorted out and damaged something else on the motherboard.

That means the LCD and Motherboard are f*cked and if the case was burnt that means it needs to be replaced too, if thats the case I really doubt this will be the last of your problems.

If the yoke gets replaced under warranty, why would that be the last of my worries???

The screen did actually go before the laptop. I was still able to use it for a week or so with and the external tv link on the plasma tv. Now it's fecked alright.

the_syco

Hope you have your data backed up. Have yet to see a warranty that gives a damn about it. Most likely you'll receive the laptop with the HDD wiped, and a fresh copy of Windows installed on it.

As for PC World, I doubt the laptop will be sent back to HP: most likely it'll be fixed by the "Tech Guys", and sent back to you.

partyatmygaff

Yeah PC World will cause you a fair few problems I recokn. Their way of fixing means taking a laptop from you for 4 weeks, sending it out to some repair centre which may or may not repair it and they just give it straight back to you and its pot luck if it works.

darrenw5094

Picked up the laptop from PC World yesterday after a phone call.
No charge.....works fine and looks like everyone is happy.

Problem solved.......who said PC World were not going to help me!!!!

ttm

Glad to hear its all worked out OK. Would be nice to know what they say they did.

Cryos

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Yeah PC World will cause you a fair few problems I recokn. Their way of fixing means taking a laptop from you for 4 weeks, sending it out to some repair centre which may or may not repair it and they just give it straight back to you and its pot luck if it works.

In this scenario either going to pc world or ringing HP In-Warrenty support would of gotten the unit fixed. Pc World would of sent it to a HP authorised repair center, which is the same place it goes to in the first place.

The unit may then get a Factory OS load and diagnostics run on it before being handed back.