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Sunday, September 27, 2009...
I would
like to give my review of my first "Geek Squad" experience. One of our Toshiba laptops, purchased in February
of this year, suffered a motherboard meltdown...simply stopped "posting" (booting). Ok, it's under warranty,
so off to Best Buy on September 1, 2009 (less than 7 months old!) we go...check system in with "Geek Squad."
My husband was told it would be mailed later that same day and we should have it back within 2 weeks! WOW, great so
far...not so fast, I begin receiving e-mail alerts to tell my what is going on with my system. (See the path below)
I receive an alert on 9/9/09 to say it's been received at the repair location (wonder exactly where they sent it?).
The next e-mail is on 9/16/09 to re-iterate it's at the repair facility awaiting assignment. (so much for the two weeks
we were told to have it fixed and returned to us 
. By the 21st, I am getting concered because status check still says awaiting assignment to be repaired...On
the 24th, we get the magic call to say it's fixed, back at Best Buy and ready to pick up...my husband hands me the phone
because the repair Tech needs to speak to me (ok, this doesn't sound good!)...he informs me the system has a new motherboard,
BUT, the OS (operating system) is corrupt and do I have the restore disks that I received when we purchased the system or
the ones I burnt? Well, yes, I have the disks that I created since Best Buy and Toshiba didn't bother to include
them with the laptop at the time of purchase (oh, forgot, that costs extra $). I have been building desktop systems
for over 10 years now & I am smart enough to know the first thing you do after you set the system up is to burn "rescue"
disks when you only have a "restore partition" instead of the actual OS Disk (remember when you got an actual disk
years ago?). So todays lesson 1 = burn a set of "restore disks (DVD's) when you get the system if you don't
purchase them ($19) or if they're not included (they won't be...we purchased 2 low-end Toshibas $350 & a high-end
HP $750..neither had an actual install disk)...I have had to restore at least one of the systems...if I hadn't burned
the disks, it would have cost money to purchase a retail replacement up to $300 or beg my manufacturer to send me one (for
approximately $20).
Ok, back to the fact that my warrantied system is back with a new motherboard, but my data is corrupt & I will need to re-install the OS (Windows®)...I inform the Tech guy that my system is not the one it came with (we rolled this system back to XP® from Vista Basic®) and that it is a TRI-BOOT system (also has Linux and Win7 RC® on it)...I tell him I will simply log into the Linux side and fix it from there. He says it sounds like I know what I am doing...I say yep & we'll pick up the system after we get our kids from school. Cool...NO...when we get there, there are TWO stickers on my laptop lid that I have to remove & deal with sticker goo...AND I see scratches on the top...they weren't there when I dropped it off!!!! I complain about the stickers and am told that is standard policy...as I stand there glaring at them and removing the stupid stickers, my husband is signing the release paperwork to get the system finalized...I complain about the scratches and the "Geek" offers to SEND IT BACK TO THE REPAIR FACILITY....AFTER 23 DAYS GONE ALREADY...NO THANKS...I'LL JUST HAVE TO GET A SKIN TO COVER THE DAMAGE! As we leave, I hear hope you're happy with the work...I growl back "you'll just have to wait for my survey review!"...am I happy, let me see, had the system for 23 days (it appears to have actually been back in the store on the 22nd, but not in my hands till the 24th), scratched the top and oh yea, your data is gone & YOU need to recover it! And the best part...we pick it up on Thurs night & on Sat. morning, we get a "recorded" call from Geek Squad to pick up our system...HA HA HA...well, I guess you get what you pay for? Wonder if I had actually paid the $84.95 instead of having it covered under the warranty if it would have made a difference of how this turned out? Nah, probably not...nobody is interested in giving good services anymore...should have just asked Toshiba to send ME the motherboard...I can build desktops, surely I could figure out how to change a laptop motherboard...
By the way, the "Geek" tech was mistaken...my OS wasn't corrupt...there is something he missed and I knew how to fix it in five minutes when I got it home (shhhhh, it's a secret...if you want to know the reason they couldn't get it to boot...join MyPCMyWay.com as a registered customer & find out what Geek Squad missed...obviously, not "certified" enough to know how to handle any OS other than the one with 93% of market share...sorry Mr. Gates, we at MyPCMyWay are doing all we can to change that!
Overall, I would rate my first Geek Squad
experience C+...Toshiba was the only one to send a follow up customer survey about this issue & yes,
I told them how I felt about it. I guess my Geek Squad survey got lost in the e-mail...ha ha ha
Here is the path my Toshiba went through to receive a new motherboard:
9-1-09: 10:04 Checked-in and awaiting shipment
9-2-09: 3:05 A NEW service order number is assigned to my Toshiba
9-8-09: 10:37 System received at the repair location and is awaiting assignment to a Geek Squad Agent or a Certified technician for repair
9-17-09 9:47 Parts are ordered
9-21-09 11:31 System is awaiting final inspection and shipment (Back to Best Buy I assume)
9-25-09 5:15 System is picked up and case is closed
I was able to print this only "after" I picked the system up & did a check status from my last e-mail (9/16/09)
I hope your experiences with Tech repair are happier than this...if not, join us in building a community to fight
for better computer options! Join MyPCMyWay today!
Good Saturday Morning...I will try to post to this blog at least once a week...This has been an extremely busy two weeks for MyPCMyWay. We are now a registered Company with 5 domains (MyPCMyWay.info, MyPCMyWay.com, MyPcMyWay.org, MyPCMyWay.net, MyPCMyWay.biz). Dan and I have spent the last two weeks doing the administration for the company as well as attending every computer club meeting we can find in the Austin Area. Attending these meetings and posting the best computer solutions will happen on the MyPCMyWay.com subscription site. We will still update the MyPCMyWay.info site with information that we believe is essential to our "Free" customers basic computer support solutions.
My "basic" topic for today is Third-Party Partitioning Software. This software is useful in dividing your hard drive into separate sections. This is highly recommended when you get a new system or to protect an older one. Think of it this way, your hard drive is a drawer in your desk. Do you dump ALL of your objects in the drawer on top of each other. If you do, then you have a mess to sort through if you need one particular object. My desk drawer has separate compartments for my things. I have a removable plastic bin for paperclips, etc. and I can lift it out to see the objects stored underneath it. Your computer hard drive (where the data is stored--like your drawer) should be organized into separate sections too! Ok, your system (if new and pre-installed with Windows®) will have a root drive (the drawer) called C:\ . Windows® installs to this drive (all your programs and data) by default. I have lost many things on my system because my main partition (C:\) gets corrupted and I have to re-install my windows®. If I only have the drawer and it gets seriously messed up, the objects can get messed up too. The workaround is to create "separate" spaces for my data. I do this by using a third-party partitioning software (unless I partition BEFORE I start using the system).
We recently purchased two laptops for MyPCMyWay. Both had Vista Home Basic® pre-installed (no installation disk, just a hidden partition with the install files on it). We purchsed a licensed version of XP® and removed the Vista® from one of the systems. When I installed the XP® I had the option to set a separate Data partition at the time of set up. I didn't do this and formatted for one single partition (C:\). I knew this wasn't the best thing to do, but I didn't want to deal with creating my data drive at this time. This was a bad decision, and I knew better.
Ok, fast forward to now...I need to create my Data partition. I wanted a third-party software (meaning non Windows®) to create a Data partition without having to re-install. I am a member of the Austin Computer Club and Disk Director Suite 10® from Acronis was recommended along with Acronis True Image 2009® for partitioning and back up purposes. We purchased the Disk Director® from our local Fry's and installed it on our Vista Basic® machine (remember, one license, one machine...DON'T purchase one copy and put it on multiple machines--this is a violation of the license agreement and considered piracy). We installed our software and I went through the partitioning process. A re-boot was required to finish the process. When I re-booted, I not only didn't have a separate "Data" drive (L:\), BUT, my Vista® partition was now Unaccessible as well. I could see the system boot and try to load...after my boot screen, I was left with a black screen and a cursor. I immediately went to the Acronis website to look for a phone number for tech support...none available...what? I just paid $34.99 for a partitioning product, installed it, ran it, and lost my MAIN partition and now I can't even talk to someone at Acronis about it! I searched the tabs on the site until I found an "online chat". I clicked on it and told the "support" person what had transpired. This is the transcript from the chat:
"You have been connected to Gajender Goswami.
Gajender Goswami: Hello. Thank you for contacting Acronis Customer Central. My name is Gajender. How may I assist you?
Lita Letourneau: hello, just purchased DD...installed on Vista...created partition from what I believed to be the C:/ (probably should have done shrink)....reboot....now after boot screen system hangs at black screen w/cursor
Lita Letourneau: system is dual w/Kubuntu also
Gajender Goswami: I understand your issue and would ensure that we come to a quick solution.
Gajender Goswami: Let me know now are you able to boot your computer?
Lita Letourneau: basically trying to shrink vista...I used manual to create logical and believed it was taken from C:......can boot and see grub...I am on linux side now because can't fully boot win
Gajender Goswami: Okay.
Lita Letourneau: am wondering if a fix mbr will get the win boot back...it will, of course, nuke my linux....I thought it strange the partition was created after my linux swap
Lita Letourneau: I tried to use the dd from cdrom and says no partition
Gajender Goswami: Please create one partition of 1-2 gb then install OS selector on it with the Disk Director CD.
Lita Letourneau: do you want me to create the partition from w/in linux?
Gajender Goswami: After activating the OS selector check if it display the Windows Vista And Ubuntu.
Lita Letourneau: so, I can't access the cd from w/in windows to install the 1-2
Gajender Goswami: I understand.
Lita Letourneau: in linux, the partition shows no change from dd
Gajender Goswami: You will need to boot the computer using Acronis Disk Director disk and then create a small partition using it.
Lita Letourneau: shows the vista as it was
Gajender Goswami: Alright.
Lita Letourneau: tried that...booting from disk gives no partition error...probably because of the toshiba partition on the 1st sector
Lita Letourneau: gives an error
Gajender Goswami: Alright.
Lita Letourneau: the first thing i did was try to boot from the dd cd and see if a way to fix...when I do, I get an error that dd doesn't see any partition
Gajender Goswami: I understand.
Gajender Goswami: Let me provide you a link to download a special ISO of Acronis Disk Director Suite and which you may burn onto a CD/DVD and try booting it.
Lita Letourneau: ok
Gajender Goswami: The ISO is based on latest kernals which should detect the hard-drive.
Lita Letourneau: I purchased the suite and have it now
Gajender Goswami: Please allow me a momrnt.
Lita Letourneau: k
Gajender Goswami: Please use the following link:
The agent is sending you to http://download.acronis.com/sl/gsgeoutnlqcybdsowxln/support/ISO/24/DiskDirector10.0.2160__s_e_last.iso.
Gajender Goswami: You may also get the steps to burn an ISO file from this link:
The agent is sending you to http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/support/kb/articles/1091/.
Lita Letourneau: is this iso different from my licensed version of SS suite 10?
Gajender Goswami: Yes, this is based on Linux Kernals. The bootable disk craeted within Windows is based on DOS kernals.
Lita Letourneau: yea...so burn iso from w/in linux and reboot?
Gajender Goswami: Yes, you are correct.
Lita Letourneau: ok...so I will try this and if it doesn't work, I will open a chat from a different system so we can work on the vista as I am on it right now...lol
Gajender Goswami: Alright.
Gajender Goswami: You are welcome to re-enter the Live chat session in case the issue persists or you have further questions; any available chat operator will be able to view the current session transcript and further assist you. Live Chat service is available 24/7/365.
Lita Letourneau: thank you...
Gajender Goswami: You are most welcome.
Gajender Goswami: Is there anything else I can help you with?"
I did as I was instructed and got the SAME error from the newly burned disk (it couldn't see my hard drive and told me there were NO partitions!) Ok, back to the site to look for more help...no phone number...can't talk to a person...ok, e-mail...so I did...e-mailed and even included the chat above to let them know this was a SERIOUS issue...their software had killed my Vista! The box says "Reorganize your PC for better performance and data safety, Resize, copy, move, split, and merge partitions without losing your data, Install and boot multiple operating systems, Automated and manual modes for beginning and advanced users".
I would consider myself an advanced user and I have used Partition Magic® by Powerquest (now owned by Symantec) for years. My last version was 6.0 prior to Symantec's purchase. Version 6 doesn't work with Vista® and I only have one licensed copy; so, it was not an option for the Vista® system anyway. Reviews on later versions didn't make me want to spend $69.95 to purchase it. Also, I need to create data partitions for multiple machines ($69.95 x 5)...no thanks, we are in an economic downturn...my budget can't afford this....look for alternatives...tried Acronis ($34.95/one machine)...I intended to use another product on my other machines.
After I e-mailed Acronis, I received a polite e-mail stating that the e-mail support had to be done online with a "Form" now and that I could NOT merely send the e-mail (ok...two hours down the drain in accessing my machine from Linux and using Gparted to show my partitions so I could give the information to Acronis!) Next e-mail wants me to:
Hello
Lita,
Thank you for contacting Acronis Customer Central. My name is Gitanjali.
As you have already done
all the necessary steps with my colleague, I would request you please send us certain reports so we can assure you a resolution.
Acronis Report
1. Download the Acronis Report utility from the following link:
2. http://download.acronis.com/support/AcronisReport.exe
3. Run the file
4. Create a System Log.
Linux Report (Refer to Article ID 641 for more info)
If you
use Acronis True Image 11 Home or any edition of Acronis True Image Echo, please create Acronis Linux Report as follows:
• If you have a floppy drive and you are booting from an Acronis Bootable CD, click : http://www.acronis.com/r/support/en/kb/641/AcronisCD2.6.txt
• If you do not have a floppy drive and you are going to use digital camera to create screenshots, click: http://www.acronis.com/r/support/en/kb/641/AcronisNoFloppy.txt
• If you would like to create the report on a flash drive, click: http://www.acronis.com/r/support/en/kb/641/AcronisFlash2.6.txt
• If you would like to create the report on a network share with DHCP running, click: http://www.acronis.com/r/support/en/kb/641/AcronisNetShare.txt
Please let me know if you have any other questions. I will leave your case open until you confirm this resolves your
issue. I look forward to your response.
Note: You can quickly find the answers to your questions in Acronis Support
Knowledge Base at
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/support/kb/
) and waited for them to tell me how to "Undo" their software!Hello Lita Letourneau,
We are following up with regard to your recent Acronis support case #00124813. The reply to your original question was sent out on . We would like to make sure your issue/question has been resolved. Please Reply to this email and simply enter "RESOLVED" as your response if it has been fully resolved to your complete satisfaction.
If you are still experiencing the same issue or are not completely satisfied, please Reply to this email with any additional information so we can continue to assist you right away.
We look forward to your reply.
Thank You
Dear
Lita Letourneau,
I am writing to let you know that your case 00124813 has been escalated to a tier 2 support professional.
This was made to expedite the resolution of the current issue. The initial analysis of the information we currently have may
take up to several days but in any case we will get back to you as soon as we either get a solution for you or gather enough
information on some further steps required to be made.
In the meantime, should you have any other questions or
issues, please visit our support knowledge base at: http://www.acronis.com/support/.
Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.
--
Best regards,
Gitanjali Sharma
Hello Lita
Thank you for your response.
I would request you to please provide the following details, so that we can investigate the issue in more detail:
Please provide us with the system information file. For creating the system information file, please perform the following steps:
1. Open Start\Programs\Accessories\System Tools\System Information.
2. Choose the 'Save' option in the 'File' menu (or 'Action' menu under Windows 2000).
3. Enter the 'File name' and set the field 'Save as type' to 'Version 5.0/6.0 System Information File (*.NFO)
4. Send us the saved file.
Please also provide us with the Acronis System Report. To generate Acronis Report, please perform the following steps:
1. Download the Acronis Report utility from the following link:
http://download.acronis.com/support/AcronisReport.exe
2. Run the file
3. Create a System Log.
Once I have the above mentioned information, I would be able to investigate it better.
Please revert with the information.
I look forward to your response.
Note: You can also quickly find the answers to your questions in Acronis
Support Knowledge Base at
Hello
Lita Letourneau,
We are following up with regard to your recent Acronis support case #00124813. The reply to
your original question was sent out on 4/16/2009. We would like to make sure your issue/question has been resolved. Please
Reply to this email and simply enter "RESOLVED" as your response if it has been fully resolved to your complete
satisfaction.
If you are still experiencing the same issue or are not completely satisfied, please Reply to this
email with any additional information so we can continue to assist you right away.
We look forward to your reply.
Thank You
Acronis Customer Central
http://www.acronis.com/support/ Here it is:
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IF YOU PURCHASE ACRONIS PRODUCTS TO USE ON A VISTA® SYSTEM (I can only give my experience
with this particular system) DO SO CAUTIOUSLY, AND UNDERSTAND THAT THE TECH
SUPPORT YOU RECEIVE COULD MIRROR THE TECH SUPPORT WE RECEIVED
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IT IS FOR THIS REASON THAT MYPCMYWAY™ AND IT'S WEBSITES CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS SOFTWARE FURTHER, MYPCMYWAY™ WILL IN NO WAY OFFER SUPPORT FOR THIS
SOFTWARE! |
Remember, MyPCMyWay™ is here to offer you quality support in getting the most from your computer.
If you need a deeper level of tech support, we invite you to become a "member" of MyPCMyWay™ and help us build the largest user-provided tech support site on the internet. To sign-up, please visit MyPCMyWay.biz.
Until next week, we hope
your computer experiences are fun, positive and productive!
Sincerely,
Dan & Lita Letourneau, B.S.
MyPCMyWay™
