here's walter mossberg from his wsj interactive tech mailbox column, on coping with a lemon computer...
"Q. Help! We bought our first PC in January 2000 and have had it back to
the store three times already. Even so, we are continuing to have problems.
Every time we load a new program, several files become corrupted and
other programs cease to work properly. ScanDisk and Disk Clean-up
indicate no problems with the drive. Yet, every time we turn this thing on, a
new problem appears. Obviously, we need to take it back to the store
again, but what do we tell them? What, if anything, are we doing wrong?
A. It's hard to diagnose a mess such as this when it's in front of you, let
alone long distance. But my guess is you're not doing anything wrong. I
suspect you got a lemon. It does happen with PCs. I bought my son a new
HP Pavilion a month or so ago and it was slow, couldn't reliably connect to
the Internet, and couldn't record CDs on its CD-RW drive. So we brought
it back a week later and exchanged it for an identical unit that works
flawlessly. I suggest you do the same, if it isn't too late.
Just because it's a complex PC, and you're novices, doesn't mean it's your
fault. Often, it's the fault of the PC maker or the store. And you shouldn't
have to spend your lifetime fixing their mistakes, turning yourself into a
diagnostic technician. You don't do that with other products that fail to
perform, do you? Who cares what specifically is wrong with the thing? Just demand a new one that works. I wish you'd have done so right away."
you tell 'em, walt...
:)
mark |
