Dang It!

I think I caught Sue's computer woes. Actually, it's the same problem I had 18 months ago when I mailed my laptop off to HP and they fixed it by installing a new mother board (at least I think that was the lingo). The repair was free because it was a recall defect and I just happened to remember the e-mail about it, but the fix was only guaranteed for 90 days or something ridiculous like that.

Anyway, when I let my laptop go to sleep, it won't wake up! I can't restart it -- it's just dead on arrival. After that happened today, I decided to clean it up with a soft cloth. Sure enough, rubbing on it revived it -- just like CPR. Now that's technical! But I know from my experience last time that it's not long for this world. So I'll back up my photo files tonight just in case!

Depending on the cost of repair, I may just chuck it and start over, but I think I'll avoid HP. I don't trust them now. I noticed a smaller Dell at Costco that peaked my interest. Smaller would be better because this HP has been a beast when I have to lug it anywhere. I've thought about a netbook, but noticed many of those don't have the DVD-RW, and that's important to me. And whatever I buy will be my primary computer.

I'll keep you posted. If I suddenly disappear for a few days, you'll know the beast died.

I Feel Lucky!

Well, maybe I didn't feel so lucky on Monday when I couldn't turn my computer on. I think I heard Taps! I pushed the start button, the blue light came on for a nano second, then went out. I tried it over and over with no success. We went on the HP website and did all the troubleshooting. Thank God Craig knew how to take the back of the laptop off and follow their instructions. I'm no good at troubleshooting if it involves a screwdriver and removing anything. I can usually replace batteries in an electronic device, but that's about it! Anyway, none of the troubleshooting worked.

So we called the support line at HP and got a not so helpful woman. She informed us that the computer was out of warranty and it would cost $49.95 to talk to someone about our issues. Craig asked her if she could look to see if there were any known recalls on our particular model since I vaguely remembered a product notification. No, she could not, but for $49 someone might be able to help with that. Alrighty there.

Fortunately, I DO have a mind like a steel trap!!! I may not be able to locate the scissors on any given day, but I definitely remembered getting a service enhancement notice from HP many moons ago which had to do with this issue -- a computer that won't start! At the time, the laptop was working fine, but I also filed it in my brain that they would cover the problem for 24 months. So I decided to dig through all my old e-mails. Lo and behold, it was there at the very bottom of the heap. I had marked it as not read.

So, Craig called the service number on THAT e-mail and got a friendly person named Don. He looked it up and yes, our laptop was covered under that service enhancement program. So, I took the laptop to Fed Ex Wednesday and it was beamed up in a box to the mother ship at HP. The computer will be fixed with a new mother board at no charge. I have HIT the mother lode and will receive a free mother board. (Couldn't resist all those mother phrases!) So I Feel Lucky! Should I buy a lottery ticket?

P.S. We also scored free flu shots last week, so I'm just over the moon. (That's sarcasm.) And that Mary Carpenter Chapin video is a hoot! That's one of my favorite songs!