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[quickinferno]

1. Hinge crack is not normally covered under waranty. However, in your exceptional case, you can tell them that it is a mass defect which was declared by HP. 

2. Back up everything you want to save... your computer will likely be wiped.

3. MAKE YOUR RECOVERY DISCS BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

4. Over heating is covered

5. Do a SMART test in the bios to test the hard drive. If it fails, write down the error code to bring in. If it passes, not sure if it was get replaced.

6. Hinge replacement duration depends on the part availability. I had mine done by HP themselves and it took less than 24 hours.

7. OS issues are not covered (as far as I know), again, MAKE YOURE RECOVERY DISCS! By reformatting your computer, your update problems will probably be solved. Windows gets a little rusty after a long time without reformatting. These problems can probably be easily fixed with the forum help. 

8. A hinge should be a major repair. Overheating.... not sure... it might just need a dust cleaning or new thermal paste.  

9. If when you go to pick your laptop back up, and some things aren't fixed, you can give it right back and tell them to continue the "repaired within 60 days guarantee".  

[Dave]

Hello VCX,

Keep in mind that what I write on the forums is only general advice and your case needs to be looked at by a Future Shop technician to determine what will really be covered.

• Hinges. They depend on the level of damage. I believe that just as I was leaving Future Shop (in Oct-Nov) there was a policy change to cover some hinge damage. I may remember incorrectly however.
• Update Issue. This is a software issue and so not covered by warranty. To fix it you can simply reload Windows using your Recovery Discs.
• Hard Drive noise. Let the technicians know about this. They will run a HDD Sector Test and Extended SMART test to determine if the drive is faulty. If the drive does not fail the tests it will not be replaced just because it is "noisy".
• Overheating. It is covered but be careful how you use the term "overheating". It usually means a system shutdown in the event of damaging levels of heat. If your system is simply getting uncomfortably hot (but still running) tell the technician this.

Keep in mind that you need to have 3 past Major repairs with a 4th needed to qualify for a replacement.

[VCX]

Ok when I spoke to someone in the tech dept at Futureshop 2 weeks ago, they said the Hinges were covered because it's a problem that has been made aware by HP. So that is something that I planned on getting fixed anyway, but my laptop fan would stay on and it would be loud for 3-4hrs at a time and I would just leave it on and wonder why it would do that, it never did before and I never had anything running, just the normal desktop screen and nothing open and it would do that. The area where the mousepad is, that whole area would be warm to the touch, when I say warm I mean it as a "a computer shouldn't be that hot" type of warm.

As for my hard drive, it freezes at times - my laptop. I had a few instances where my screen would scramble and freeze and the noise would happen more often than none and more frequently. If my hard drive passes the tests and then fails after my warranty is over, I don't want to be screwed over. I have heard noises like that before and ran tests and my hard drive (for my desktop) passed, then 2 months later...it died. See what I mean? Some tests just aren't good enough.

As for the update, yeah that is the only thing that I could and should fix on my own with my recovery discs.

Message Edited by VCX on 04-29-2009 02:08 PM

[Dave]

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VCX wrote:

As for my hard drive, it freezes at times - my laptop. I had a few instances where my screen would scramble and freeze and the noise would happen more often than none and more frequently. If my hard drive passes the tests and then fails after my warranty is over, I don't want to be screwed over. I have heard noises like that before and ran tests and my hard drive (for my desktop) passed, then 2 months later...it died. See what I mean? Some tests just aren't good enough.

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Happy to hear that your hinges will be covered.

Drives are replaced if they are defective. If there are no defects they won't be replaced. What hard drive tests did you run on your desktop computer?

[VCX]

It was last year around February, I bought 2 250gig hard drives to replace my hard drive (it replaced an 80gig hard drive I had for 2 1/2-3yrs). I don't remember the tests I did for that unfortunately. If it was more recent then I would, but I do know I went through a few tests with a friend that fixes computers for a living back in February.

Sorry I can't be more help. Hopefully it passes the tests and the noises go away and all is well. I would hate to have my hard drive crash...I have a back-up HD but i only move stuff when I notice something is going wacky, I guess I have to really use that external HD more often just to be on the safe side.

[quickinferno]

Well, companies won't replace a hard drive just on speculation and without proof that it is defective or going to fail. If everything were like that.... warranty would cost a lot more! 

And plus, if your hard drive is replaced, it is not necessarily replaced with another new product, it can be refurbished. So that means, for illustrative purposes, that someone says "I think my hard drive is going to fail", gets it swapped, company runs tests, all passed, then they might put that drive into YOUR computer!

And furthermore, brand new drives are not 100% reliable either. Hard drives tend to be considered more reliable after been used for a while.  

[VCX]

So much for getting my laptop back in 5-10 business days. I dropped my laptop off on April 30th. It's been 11 business days, I need my **bleep** laptop back. It's not rocket science, it's a freaking hinge that's messed up. I have heard people say they got theirs back within 7 business days. Yet I am sitting here 11 days have past and no word on my laptop being back.

They were also supposed to call me to ask if I wanted to upgrade my ram from 2 to 3 or 4gig (if it's possible - that I can speak to them about anyway).

I don't know if I should call to see if they have it in and forgot to call me or whatever.

[Dave]

Hello,

Remember that repairs are processed through a que system. Which means "first come first serve". Perhaps the repair depot is simply busy at this time. They might also be waiting on parts.

For RAM upgrades you have to wait until the laptop gets back to the store. The in-store technicians will talk to you about that.

Hope that helps.

[Marc-Andre]

Thank you for your post to the Future Shop Community Forum. We appreciate your feedback and value your opinions.

We have forwarded your concern to our Customer Service department and they will be contacting you directly via email in regards to your concerns. 

Please note that the Forum is not intended for customer service issues.  

For future reference, if you have any concerns about your in-store or online customer experience at Future Shop, please contact our customer service department via email at service@futureshop.com or by phone 1-800-663-2275 so that we may address your concerns.

[VCX]

That is kind of creepy. Anyways, my laptop is my main machine, it's what I use for my school work, for my design work and everything else. It sucks not having it for this long and tomorrow is day 12. Yeah, that's how badly I want it back, fixed of course and I get that there is a cue system but this is HP we're talking about. This isn't a small company, they have a lot of workers and a department dedicated for repairs and such. I am sure they have other places to send out stuff too if they are just sacked with way too much to do.

I am really hoping they call me tomorrow and ask me "would you like the ram installed in your laptop" which would mean it's finally back and I can get that upgrade I want and pick it up Saturday or Friday night since it's not really a major thing (to put the ram in). 

It's funny how much we depend on computers.