2009 Ends With A FAIL
Posted By Kristabella on December 29, 2009
Hey! Guess what? Apparently my laptop is broken! Well, not totally, completely broken yet (seeing as I am posting this from said laptop), but I’ll be getting the blue screen of death here any time soon. (Note to self: remember to back it up.) This is God’s way of punishing for me slacking on my blogging duties and spending my days sleeping, eating and drinking. Point taken, Jesus.
Anyway, apparently my wireless card-do-hickey-thingamabob is no longer recognized. So I can no longer blog and email and Twitter from the comfort of my couch. It means I have to be plugged into the actual DSL, which is WAY over there in the second bedroom. The bedroom WITHOUT a TV. The bedroom with the futon. YAY! Wait, no, not yay.
After doing some research online (yay for iPhones!) I found out this is a common problem in this HP laptop. But not common enough to require a recall, since it only happens in one of seven laptops. HUZZAH! I should play the lottery with those odds!
So the only way to fix it is to fix the motherboard (which will be going kaput here any day now). And since it’s called the motherboard, like the MOTHERLODE, it’s not going to be cheap. And since this laptop is going on three years old, I’m thinking the most cost effective thing is going to be to buy a new laptop. Because fuck! That’s exactly what I need, because I’m just rolling in money at the end of the year! Guess I’ll sell my Christmas gift cards to help me buy a new computer.
Yes, I realize this is a first world problem. Yes, I realize I could have so many other worse things happen to me or my family. But you know what? I’m pissed! Laptops should last more than two and a half years! And people should tell you, HONESTLY, to renew your extended warranty so you’re not out a lot of money in this situation. Also, HP SHOULD TELL ME THIS, don’t you think? I mean, I do all their checks for updates, etc. Shouldn’t I have been ALERTED to this as a possible issue? I mean, one in seven is kind of high odds. If you had one in seven odds of winning the lotto, WOULDN’T YOU PLAY? Well, fuck you HP. You have up and lost my business.
So yeah, I’m pissed. And I’m going to have a glass of wine and go to bed. And curse HP and their damaged HP Pavilion laptops. And be thankful that it isn’t something worse. And be glad I bought a house this year and will have some extra money come tax refund time. THANK YOU OBAMA STIMULUS PACKAGE!
Good riddance 2009! Bah humbug.
(Noteworthy: When I previewed this post, it came up with an HP ad in the sidebar. I’m going to bet BlogHer won’t be too happy about this post since HP is a big sponsor. THEN GIVE ME A FREE MOTHERBOARD AND WE WILL CALL IT EVEN, HP!)
About the author
Come to the darkside my friend… embrace Apple. HP is not your friend….
.-= Eileen´s last blog ..Because you’re worth it =-.
I had the same issue last summer with my HP Pavillion dv9000 & they replaced it free of charge because it was a known issue. Call HP, seriously! I was pissed, but they did it for free & it took 4 days! Good luck! xo
The last part made me laugh out loud. Like, a lot.
I love me some Kristabella rants.
.-= Angella´s last blog ..Seven =-.
I think you should bully HP into giving you a new computer. I took Tae Bo so I know some things, too if you ever need me in your corner.
.-= kirida´s last blog ..Rest in peace, flat iron =-.
HP should just give you a new computer for all that shilling…
.-= Noelle´s last blog ..Whaddaya doing new year’s eve? =-.
Try contacting HP…there should be some compensation since 1/7 people have had the same problem. Sorry for your loss.
I have an OLD HP, it weighs about 20 pounds (ok, mabe 5) but love it. Years ago my parents made nice with thie local computer repair person. Such is what happens when you are 100 years old and create art work on the computer (my Mom). Anyway, their local computer fixer guy reconditioned an older HP laptop for me for $250. No way I could have afforded new (or new, without some crazy ass payment plan) Unles you are rich! rich! rich! I say seek solace in a local, trusted, computer geek, to see just how much it would cost to fix. It may be more fiscally prudent to buy new, but I think it’s worth the time to check int
.-= JRM´s last blog ..December =-.
Oh hell, I’ve got an HP Pavilion on my lap right now. And at almost 2yrs old, it’s been throwing hissy fits more and more often. I need to back up pictures NOW!
Are you going to try an Apple? I’m thinking I might. Probably sooner than I want to.
We have a 5 year old Mac laptop and it’s still trucking. The dogs totally destroyed the ac adapter and so the husband took it apart AND MADE HIS OWN.
I used to work for HP and I will own nothing but a Mac now.
.-= Raven´s last blog ..yay! Christmas is over. =-.
This makes me wonder about the HP laptop I bought Black Friday 2008.
The HP I had previously was from before wireless was invented (HA HA) so I had to use a wireless adapter card. Maybe you can find an option like that since the computer seems to still be functioning fine for the moment. That would buy you some time to research a new purchase. (my husband LOVES his MacBook Pro)
Or just give HP hell, whichever you prefer! 🙂
I have had this happen to me three different times, not with HP per se. But having to deal with this is such a huge inconvenience. I feel your pain.
.-= Sensibly Sassy´s last blog ..2009 in Pictures =-.
everyone i know who has switched to apple this year is in heaven. sigh. i don’t WANT to switch to apple, but it’s looking more and more likely.
.-= Alice´s last blog ..snow! movie! giants game! christmas! =-.
I’m having RIDICULOUS problems with my Mac right now and it’s only 2 years old. So, I FEEL YOUR PAIN.
My one-year-old HP laptop just bit the dust; the second one I’ve had to go kaput within a year and third to die prematurely in general (yeah, yeah, I’m a slow learner). So now I’m raging against HP hardcore and all “Eff that crap, I’m getting a Mac.”
I’m picking up the rehabbed remains of my laptop tomorrow, to tide me over until the Mac happens … which will be soon, because new job = ability to replace important crap that I need to NOT be dying on me all the time. I feel ya.
.-= inkpuddle´s last blog ..And then there were none =-.
ARG! Kristabella not blogging? SO not happening! OK HP – fix the daggone thing – seriously 1 out of 7 – I smell lawyers circling… that’s a class action waiting to happen.
And I’m thinking of going to the MAC darkside myself – but I’m still hugging my Gateway tight and praying that it holds on because dammit, this wench needs more shoes 😉
Good luck Krista!
.-= Lys´s last blog ..B[u]y The Book: Nigella Christmas and a Tried & True Recipe for Bourbon Glazed Ribs… =-.
In February I asked hubby to buy me a new laptop, since my old one 1) the battery died and could only be used if plugged into the wall, 2) would overheat and shut off if it was on for more than 10 minutes, so we always used it propped up on one end, which made it hard to type, and 3) gave me an electric shock every time I touched the left side. It was $275 to replace the battery…..or $400 to buy an Asus Eee PC with a 10 inch screen. So I got the little netbook. I LOVE it. Its so tiny, petite, so portable, and doesn’t give me an electric shock when I use it.
http://eeepc.asus.com/us/product1000ha.html?n=0
Note that it doesn’t come with a disc drive, and it doesn’t come with Office. (It comes with StarOffice, some knockoff/generic wordprocessor/excel thingy, but it reads microsoft documents, and you can always buy and install Office if you want.)
I would like to see you perform this piece. Like some beat poetry where we snap and you wear a beret whilst beating the shit out of an HP. (Can I say ‘shit’ on your blog comments? I don’t say it on my blog anymore and I like to curse elsewhere on the internet.)
.-= Mocha´s last blog ..Teaching and Learning =-.
My new year’s resolution is to have LOTS AND LOTS OF MONEY. So I can buy my friends things they need. And a villa in Tuscany where we can all spend the month of August. Yes.
Hope HP coughs up a new laptop/motherboard/whatever will make your life easier!
.-= Moose´s last blog ..Christmas at the Homestead =-.
My HP desktop just crashed too. We lost everything. *sigh*
My next computer will be a Mac.
I cannot believe I didn’t comment on this post when i first saw it. It must be the drugs I’m taking. Anyway. And first. I love you. I think you’re swell. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way ….
Computers have all these little things in them called transistors. Transistors are like light bulbs. They can and will burn out. Fail. In most systems, the only moving parts are the mechanisms associated with disks. Guess what normally fails. Disks. Because they have moving parts. BUT. And this is a big butt. But. Sorry. Electronics, whether with moving parts or not, fail. They burn out. Some sooner than others – some later. But they will ALL FAIL EVENTUALLY. Not IF. WHEN.
HP, at the electronic level, is no more or less reliable than any manufacturer out there. Including Apple. I’ll give you dollars to donuts that the elements that fail in HP systems (1 out of 7) aren’t even made by HP, but contracted out to another manufacturer.
If you are going to listen to your readers and consider an Apple – do it for considerations other than reliability of hardware. Do it for design. Do it for panache. Do it for the fact that Apple has a superior Operating System. (they do, by the way)
And so you know – I am a long time anti-Microsoft bigot and a Linux evangelist. That said, I have and absolutely LOVE my MacBook Pro. Her name is “Luscious”. Because she is.
.-= lceel´s last blog ..Don’t bounce your body =-.
I love my HP laptop! Don’t drop me, BLOGHER ADS!
It’s not funny – at all – especially since my husband’s 2 1/2 year old Compaq just bit the dust. But I still giggled because YOU are funny. And I laugh in inappropriate situations.
.-= heather…´s last blog ..So Long =-.
I have a Lenovo laptop, and LOVE it. Mr. Dizzy has a Dell laptop, and LOVES it. I have many friends who have Macs, and they swear by them. So there is good machines in any brand (but a bunch of lemons thrown in for good measure!)
Good luck with the laptop, KJ. Hope you get fixed up soon!
.-= Liz J in Central Illinois´s last blog ..2009: A Year In Review =-.
Get a Mac.
.-= jodifur´s last blog ..Out With The Old =-.
it cannot possibly be worse than my piece-of-poo Dell…
😉
.-= ali´s last blog ..I’m not sure I completed one entire thought in this post. But, at least the payoff pictures at the end are good. oh yes, they really are. =-.
If your motherboard ain’t happy, ain’t no one happy.
Get a damn Mac already.
Problem solved.