Stupid support (hp)

corblimey

I just got off the phone with HP support, and I have to say, they were tremendously unhelpful. I was asked for model number, all that stuff, so i figured when I was finally put get through to the technician he'd know what sort of machine I had, or at least have a map of it on screen.

All I want to do is add a second hard drive to the machine. I can't see where I can attach it to the chassis, and I just needed someone to say "yeah, that's it, fine".

However, all I got was "Well I don't know that chassis". He recommended I add some Meccano to my computer to hold the hard drive in place? Fricking Meccano? Wha'? Then when I asked him about the piece holding the current hd, and whether I could disassemble that and slide the 2nd hd in, he said "I don't know. Sure, try it." Jesus. Thanks (!)

So, anyone out there with a desktop hp pavilion t680.uk who has managed to add a 2nd hard drive, any tips would be greatly appreicated.

mp3guy

Case pics would help. I've a HP a330.uk and it doesn't look like it CAN add another drive.

rander00

Sure wots the problem like? :mad: Just fook it in anywhere. If the cage is real small, and you squeeze in 2 hd`s, they`ll be too warm. Just fook it in anywhere i nthe tower, stand it up in the middle of leave the side of the case off and let it stand near the edge.

Sure like for gods sake,,,, its not rocket science, fook it in anywhere and connect up your cables. If it doesnt work give the ould **** a kick in the modem.

BeardyGit

Do you think a company like HP will have one of every desktop chassis type and machine configuration they have sold in every support location globally (Including outsourced support desks like the Stream operated desk located in Derry that you were speaking with?) The answer is no. Do you think everyone who supports one of these PC's should know the hardware inside out? If you do, you're being completely unrealistic. If you bought this PC new from HP you got a very detailed manual which includes information on how to replace/install a hard disk. If you threw it away, that was careless. If you bought it second-hand then you're not entitled to call HP for support in the first place.

None of the above means you can't get the information you need if you make an effort. A quick look at the chart on the inside of the case side panel would more than likely give you the information you needed. Failing that.....

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&docname=bph03429&product=431812&dlc=en&lang=en

If you couldn't find the document above with a simple search on the Pavillion support homepage @ hp.com then you probably shouldn't go messing about inside your machine. I'm not being a smartass here - I'm pointing out that it appears as though you're not capable of finding some very simple information yourself and that this would indicate you're not terribly up to speed on working with computers and in particular with major brand OEM hardware. If this is the case, maybe you should just leave well enough alone until you can get someone to do it for you. If you decide to go ahead and there simply does not appear to be room for an additional drive in the 3.5" device caddy, get a 5.25" adapter kit and fit it below your optical drives.

Redrocket

meccano works fine if you know what you are at!!!
however that dumbass shouldnd have recommended that

Mac daddy

also its third party hardware and the support desk can tell you to get lost and buy supported hw - just check the Hp it is full of manuals and whitepapers on this type of stuff - If needed i can even get a service manual for it.

Mac daddy

all you need

Calina

gotta say my past experience with HP support is not all that hot either...wound up fixing my own problems with google rather than with HP.

corblimey

Okay, looks like I've inadvertently stumbled across the "we love hp support" group. I never claimed that I didn't know what I was doing. I have added hds to many machines in the past with no trouble, and I didn't forsee any issue with this either. I have the frigging documentation and the part I'm having trouble with is that the manual states "if you don't have a cage, then call us", and I'm not even sure if I have a cage.

Yes, Gil_dub, I would expect the company to have a database of its chassis types on file. And that information should be shared with their support staff, outsourced or not. I don't know what sort of hardware problems they'd be able to solve without knowing their way around each type of machine. I'm sure they all have a lot in common, and the positioning of things like hd, motherboards, pci slots should all be known to the support tech. That's what support is for, no? To solve *my* problem, not just the problems the tech knows about 'cos he has the same machine, or he saw it in a movie once.

rander, I'd rather not leave the hd rumbling around inside the case, and leaving the cover off is not really an option either, although if I have to, I will.

Mac daddy, I'll try the link, thanks, but I still believe my main trouble is going to be unscrewing something that I shouldn't and f**king up my machine. I'm not a complete novice, as I said, but I'm not happy about taking out screws that i know nothing about.

BeardyGit

If you had bought a HDD upgrade kit from HP it would be a specific kit for your machine. Included in that kit would be a clear how-to for the installation of the drive in your computer chassis.

If you bought a HDD from somewhere else you're on your own and have absolutely no right to expect the OEM to support you. There's nothing wrong with the original system so what do you expect from them?

They do have a system available which diagrams EVERYTHING in EVERY chassis. The fact that you don't have the documentation available with your new HDD is not their problem and you have no right to expect they spend time on the phone with you, at HP's cost, to support you in the installation of additional hardware from which HP have derived absolutely NO profit. In fact, if I had answered your support call I would have classified your support request for 3rd party supplied kit (otherwise available from HP in a fully supported kit) as being out of bounds and refused to provide you with anything more than a courteous 'get stuffed'.

Many of us in this industry have been forced to accept lateral moves into other job positions or have been made redundant due to lost income in a particular business unit. If one division can't remain consistently profitable they are outsourced. Yes, it's happened to my old team recently and I was lucky to have been promoted a short time before it impacted on many of my colleagues. You buying that drive from another company who sold it for less but won't support you on the installation was your choice. What you're expecting now however is the remaining part of the 'option kit', namely support on the product installation, from a company to whom you have payed NOTHING for the service.

It doesn't matter who the PC OEM is, what matter is that in order for them to provide an agent to speak with you for 20 or 30 minutes that company will incur a cost. If they have not made any profit on the sale but have to spend money employing someone who mistakenly attempts to support you at all, they are leaving themselves in the red on your support call. If they do that enough, someone will have to pay the price. Here in Ireland the only way the can recoup the losses is to cut HR expenses and outsource.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because HP make millions each year they can afford to support you on your PC call. HP is comprised of lots of smaller business units - Each essentially an independent company for fiscal purposes. The PCS unit, the group responsible for sales and support of laptops and desktops made very little profit last year - Not even enough to cover the dividends which had to be paid to shareholders. In fact, in order to put the PCS group in the black they had to amalgamate with the IPG (Imaging & Printing Group). But internally, PCS will still be treated as a seperate unit and will pay the price for poor cost management.

I can't tell you what HP make on the average PC but it can't be vastly different from what Dell would make. I know that to be approx. $45 on the average machine. Only 1 support call reduces their profit on that machine to nil. If they've to replace something they're in the red on that box. It's ended up costing them more to support than they made in profit in the first place.

It might sound like I'm making a big deal out of this and perhaps this really isn't the forum for my point to be made. But your comments have certainly touched on a sore point - Albeit one that I'm sure I'm not alone in nursing. If enough people buy elsewhere and expect one business unit within one company to pick up the tab for everything else you demand then We, the I.T. employees who are left with uncertain futures already, will bear the brunt of cost saving excercises in the very near future.

If you buy a drive from a 3rd party vendor - Deal with your own problem. If you buy it from the PC manufacturer then please log a call. If you're unhappy with the support you receive, raise it with the support manager for that team. But if you've paid nothing more for the pleasure, deal with your own problem, be thankful that you had the opportunity to speak to a local support representative instead of someone working late into their night in Bangalore or Hadrabad and try to be a little understanding about where the person on the end of the phone may end up in the future because of your unfair expectations.

corblimey

Gil_Dub, if I ring hp and tell them that my 3rd party hd won't install correctly, I would fully expect to be told to "get stuffed" (your words). Same if I rang Microsoft with a problem with my email server.

However, if you bothered to read my op, I didn't ring hp to get support on a 3rd party hd, I haven't even bought the sodding hard drive yet. What I rang hp for was support on finding my way around their machine, does the chassis I have allow for a second hd to be installed as my documentation was a little vague. I don't believe I'm in the wrong to expect a solid answer to that question, "can I install a second hd?".

If they've to replace something they're in the red on that box. It's ended up costing them more to support than they made in profit in the first place.

if I break something in an attempt to put in a second hd without adequate support, you can bet I'm gonna send this machine back under warranty, and there goes their precious profit on my machine. Would it not have made more sense to have someone competent on the phone tell me yesterday that my machine can or cannot handle a second hd.

You obviously work in the industry yourself, Gil_dub (support? hp itself maybe?), and perhaps like most people in the industry, you suffer from the requisite "the customer is an idiot" attitude that inflicts most support techs. Not all of us use the CD-ROM drive as a cup holder or plug power blocks back into themselves, so why treat everybody like they're wrong before even attempting to help us?

Mac daddy

how to install

Found here

or here

should solve your problem pics on the sites i have included.

corblimey

Tks again Mac daddy, I guess I can go ahead and purchase the drive.

zap

i have never had any trouble with hp there tech support has always been excellent.

Mac daddy

corblimey wrote:

Tks again Mac daddy, I guess I can go ahead and purchase the drive.

no problem