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Faulty laptop?

4 replies

Hther · 29/12/2009 14:33

I'm not that great with computers so not sure whether it is or not?

I bought a laptop in september. It seemed pretty slow but I can be impatient. When I ut a DVD in, it said DVD playback is not available on windows media player. Click to use intervideowinDVD isntead. This was qite a hassle and took a while to start.

But it was the internt that annoyed me most. It takes a long time to start up, I was forever getting the page can't be displayed, it was really slow and the computer kept freezing when using the internet so i couldn't close the page, click on anything else or even turn the computer off. For some reason google is even worse, the chat takes ages to load and when i try to open an email, i can't scroll down to read it.

I took it back, aske for a refund, they said it was fine, they fiddled about to get windows media player to play DVDs, although they didn't play well, they couuldn't try the internet there as tehy couldn't connect it up, they said it must be my connection. I rang virgin they said it was ok. Went back to shop, still blamed connection. I rang virgin again, they came and checked everything, they tried their computer it was fine, i tried my old computer which was also fine.

Went back to shop, they accepted there may be a problem but said emachines have to approve the refund so they wouldnt refund or even give credit note or replacement but could send it off.. A few days later, tehy said they had carried out recovery and it was fine and ready for collection. Same problems and now it had been reset there was the dvd issue again too. Returned to shop again, said i must have refund this time, they said all we can do is send it off again, but it must be fine. I said my other computer was fine, they said well this is vista, is your other computer that and i said no. He said it has 1024 MB Ram and it took that much just to run vista so the internet was bound to be slow as vista is mch slower than XP.

Is this right?

OP posts:
WebDude · 29/12/2009 16:24

There have comments about Vista being slow, but given the problems you have, I would go back to the shop (since the responsibility in the first instance for selling you "goods fit for purpose" is theirs) and tell them that you want a refund, or you will be considering Trading Standards, since your internet connection works OK (and you went to the trouble of getting Virgin staff to check), and that if they knew the machine was "bound to be slow" they should not have been selling it.

If they offer a free upgrade (eg bumping up the RAM from 1024 MB {1 GB} to 2 GB, 3 GB or 4 GB) then you should accept the upgrade, but explain that unless you consider it performs at least as well as your (old) PC, you will be returning it - ie that they won't have heard the end of it, including Trading Standards, if it still underperforms.

Remember that the responsibility will be for them to sort out their dealings with eMachines, and your "disagreement" is with the shop in the first instance, they should not try to "fob you off" with having to get eMachines to agree/accept things.

How long did it take before you first went back about the DVD and internet speed? Just curious as it seems to be quite a while - I'm also guessing that you had to arrange to fit in an appointment with Virgin (and if you do contact Trading Standards, you can explain that you initially accepted the information from the shop, but since your connection was shown to be OK, the laptop is just not performing very well).

Hther · 29/12/2009 17:47

thanks, i have contacted trading standards, several times, its always an answerphone and they always ring up during the school run when i don't hear my phone or when i'm changing a nappy, in the end i emailed them and have just ahd a response.

I bought it in september and returned it 2 or 3 days later, after virgin said the connection was fine i assumed i was being impatient. a few weeks later i then lost my tv channels so called virgin about that and they said there was something wrong with underground cables and said that could be affecting internet too but for some reason it would take them 2 months to sort out as they ahd to dig up the cables and it was a big job?! however they finally did that and they then tried their computer and i then tried my old again and both of those were fine but my new one still slow and crashing. This is when i took it back and they said it was vista. Sibce then i have been waiting for trading standards which is why the time lapse

comet are so awful, i have just ahd to ring up about my new tumble dryer again as it keeps tripping my electrics

OP posts:
WebDude · 29/12/2009 22:19

Ah, that explains the delay - was just curious in case the store made a big issue of it, but clearly outside your control about the delay before you could give the internet link a "fair" try out with the sluggish laptop.

Sad to read about Trading Standards re phoning you and if they prove poor in the New Year, you might find it worth looking at a few of the computer magazine websites, and see if they have a Q+A / Technical Help section (where the magazine will contact the store on your behalf)

Computer Act!ve www.computeractive.co.uk

Computer Buyer www.computerbuyer.co.uk

Computer Shopper www.computershopper.co.uk

PC Answers www.pcanswers.co.uk

PC Plus www.pcplus.co.uk

PC Pro www.pcpro.co.uk

PCW - Personal Computer World www.pcw.co.uk

If you don't spot a section online, check one or two in a branch of WHSmith, or try out their trial subscription (one was offering 3 issues for a pound) - just make sure you cancel the subscription in time.

Hopefully, the embarrassment of having a magazine reporting on them selling a laptop that they "know will be slow as it is running Vista" (with 1 GB of RAM) will be enough to kick their marketing director into action to head off the bad publicity!

WebDude · 29/12/2009 22:48

www.magazine-group.co.uk/magazine/computers-technology/computers

offers 3x Computer Active for 3p and 3x DVD editions of PC Pro or Computer Shopper at a pound (ie 3 PC Pro for a quid, or 3x Shopper for a quid)

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