HP means Hatred for People
Today I had an appointment to help a girl out because her monitor wasn't displaying anything when she turned her computer on. I arrived, plugged the monitor into my PowerBook, and found that the monitor worked just fine. I deduced that it must be the video card. I opened up the machine and reseated it, but the problem persisted. We walked over to the local computer shop and picked up the cheapest AGP card they had, a Radeon 7000 at the amazing price of $50.
We walked back, and I went to install it, and found that it didn't fit. Now, this makes me feel like a bit of a rube, but I had no idea what her video slot was. I've been purely Mac for about a year and a half now, though. I paged through the manuals that came with her computer, and found that it was described only as "AGP." No 5V, 2V, 8x, 16x, or any other adjectives, just "AGP." I tried to find an open wireless network nearby so that I could just get on HP's website, but no luck. It was time to call HP Support.
I was promptly connected to an Indian dude. I've never had to deal with a foreign call center before. I had to spell out my last name for the guy. My last name is Adams.
After getting all my serial numbers and such, the guy puts me on hold. After a few minutes, he comes back and tells me that my serial number and product number do not match. I look at the piece of paper full of numbers that the girl had given me and realize that the product number is not the "M1720N" in "HP Pavillion M1720N," but rather is a number beginning with "PP" printed elsewhere on the page. I give this to him, and he puts me on hold.
A few minutes later he comes back and asks for my email address. I ask him why he wants it, and he says so that HP can contact me about updates or something. I just give him a fake address, and he puts me on hold.
A few minutes later he comes back and tells me that the warranty is expired. The girl has only had the machine a month. I tell him I don't care, cause I'm not trying to send it in for service, I just need some information. I tell him what I need, and he puts me on hold.
A few minutes later he comes back and asks me if it's a Media Center PC. I confirm that it is. He then asks me if I'd like to be contacted by phone, email or, postal mail. I make a sound of confusion, then tell him to contact me via phone, and he puts me on hold. I'd like to note that every time he puts me on hold he says, "Let me see what comes up." I think he might be accessing HP's intranet through dial-up or something.
He comes back and tells me that it's a Radeon X300 PCI Express. It took me about twenty minutes to get this information. It made me want to cry. We dash over to the store and pick up another X300, the cheapest PCI-E card in stock, come back, install it, and all is well.
I'm very very glad that I don't have an HP.
We walked back, and I went to install it, and found that it didn't fit. Now, this makes me feel like a bit of a rube, but I had no idea what her video slot was. I've been purely Mac for about a year and a half now, though. I paged through the manuals that came with her computer, and found that it was described only as "AGP." No 5V, 2V, 8x, 16x, or any other adjectives, just "AGP." I tried to find an open wireless network nearby so that I could just get on HP's website, but no luck. It was time to call HP Support.
I was promptly connected to an Indian dude. I've never had to deal with a foreign call center before. I had to spell out my last name for the guy. My last name is Adams.
After getting all my serial numbers and such, the guy puts me on hold. After a few minutes, he comes back and tells me that my serial number and product number do not match. I look at the piece of paper full of numbers that the girl had given me and realize that the product number is not the "M1720N" in "HP Pavillion M1720N," but rather is a number beginning with "PP" printed elsewhere on the page. I give this to him, and he puts me on hold.
A few minutes later he comes back and asks for my email address. I ask him why he wants it, and he says so that HP can contact me about updates or something. I just give him a fake address, and he puts me on hold.
A few minutes later he comes back and tells me that the warranty is expired. The girl has only had the machine a month. I tell him I don't care, cause I'm not trying to send it in for service, I just need some information. I tell him what I need, and he puts me on hold.
A few minutes later he comes back and asks me if it's a Media Center PC. I confirm that it is. He then asks me if I'd like to be contacted by phone, email or, postal mail. I make a sound of confusion, then tell him to contact me via phone, and he puts me on hold. I'd like to note that every time he puts me on hold he says, "Let me see what comes up." I think he might be accessing HP's intranet through dial-up or something.
He comes back and tells me that it's a Radeon X300 PCI Express. It took me about twenty minutes to get this information. It made me want to cry. We dash over to the store and pick up another X300, the cheapest PCI-E card in stock, come back, install it, and all is well.
I'm very very glad that I don't have an HP.
posted by Brandon Adams at
7:18 PM
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