<In response to Gary's comment about his HP Pavillion>
This is almost the same scenario I had with my wife's
Pavillion a year ago March, but the disc drive went out.
It took 6 weeks, many phone calls, and was very
frustrating. The first time the repair man showed up (he only
came from 50 miles away) he replaced the controller cable
and all was well for a week. When I called again, I was
informed that if I wanted a technician on a Saturday( I
could not take off another morning, they operate like the
cable companies - they will be there between 8 and 12 or
1 and 5), that it was going to cost me $50. I now said the
cost was going to be their "nickel" and not mine. After much
haranging, wringing of hands, and talking to a "supervisor" I
was given a "free" Saturday morning appt. and the disk drive was
replaced. I will definitly buy from a local store next time.

                                           Eric Sand
                                           [log in to unmask]

        -----Original Message-----
        From:   Gary Jackson [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
        Sent:   Monday, April 27, 1998 1:33 PM
        To:     [log in to unmask]
        Subject:        Re: PAVILION PC

        >I remember from another forum a heated discussion on cheap
components
        >that might fail just out of warranty versus big name components
that
        >will continue working long after becoming problematically
obsolete. I
        >think that there will always be a market for these cheap
components,
        >knowing that they are likely to cost time and effort later
(and, yes,
        >Denys, they may cause interesting instabilities). Or, my PC at
home has
        >a bargain basement keyboard, because my children find
interesting ways
        >to render them inoperative. Something to be said for cheap, I
never buy
        >just one, and have yet to wear one out...
        >


        But you know, buying a * Name Brand * is no guarantee either.  A
year and a
        half ago I bought an HP Pavilion.  It gave me all sorts of
problems and HP
        finally replaced it with a newer, better model.  Now, about once
a month the
        keyboard won't work on the new one.  I have to open the case,
pull out the
        daughter board, wiggle the other boards, replace the daughter
board, and
        (usually) the keyboard works again.  It is out of warranty so
all I can do
        is whine to myself (and you :>).  My next machine for home will
probably be
        from a local source where I can get it fixed and not have to
wait for a
        repair person from 60 miles away.

        Gary


        Gary Jackson
        Nevada CSOS
        (530) 478-6407 - voice
        (530) 478-6410 - fax