Over the summer, my Gateway computer started acting a little weird. It was a little over 3 years old, and since the average life of a pc is 4-5 years, I figured I might as well get a new one, so I could switch over in my leisure and not in a computer crash kind of manner.
The big question was Mac or PC. I was starting a photography business and everyone said go Mac. But I have been a PC person for probably longer than some of you have been alive. They have all been Gateways. To give you an idea of how long ago that was, my hard drive was 123mb, and I thought that was huge. I lived on Compuserve and Prodigy.
Deciding to switch to Mac was too scary…the whole “can’t teach an old dog new tricks” frame of mind.
So, I got a Gateway. As soon as I unpacked it, I noticed how cheap it felt. The keyboard and mouse were a joke. They were so cheap feeling that I am still using my old mouse and keyboard. But whatever, it was loaded with Ram and a 1gb hard drive. I was good to go.
Until now. Until yesterday. My Gateway hadn’t even celebrated it’s 6 month old birthday (that will be on Dec. 21), and it was dead. Not quite dead, more like floundering. The fan comes on for a second, shuts off, then the power light comes on for a second, and then shuts off. This cycle repeats itself about every 5 seconds. The rhythmic pulsing light is actually kind of soothing, until you stop for a minute and realize that it’s not soothing, it’s taunting you!!
So, I call Gateway customer support. Here’s the deal. Yes, it’s under warranty. So, what I can do is find a box and box it up very carefully. And then go to a UPS store or FedEx, and pay for shipping and insurance to send it to Texas. (During the holidays! What fun!) They will look at it, and if they decide that it truly is their problem and not something I’ve done to it, they’ll fix it and send it back to me. (Still during the holidays – the turn around should be quick!! Right?!) But if they think I have messed it up, then they will just send it back to me or hold it until I pay for repairs. OH…and by the way, they might reformat my hard drive, so be sure and copy every thing off of it (I would if I could, but if my computer actually booted up, I wouldn’t be sending it to Texas, now would I?)
I am livid.
I am not sending it to Texas. I am taking it to a local shop and have them look at it. I know it’s under warranty, but I don’t care.
And, if it was not the week before Christmas, I would be at the mall in the Mac store.
31 comments:
Bummer
That's such a bummer! I've heard bad things about Gateway's customer support. I went with HP since they seem to be making some of the best PCs right now. But 6 months, really? That's a crappy computer.
Oh no! I'm going to miss your posts so much! Hope it all gets sorted out soon!
Gateway suxx.
I feel your pain Pam. Recently Our laptop died while we were down south with only one computer and of course, who travels with their computer programs in their suitcase? Not moi.
Anyway, we got a new laptop right away but of course we didn't have our programs, so we are limping along for now. Good luck to you. We got a Toshiba and love it and it doesn't feel like junk. I'm not sure I could adjust to a mac.
Sam
Ugh. But you will never regret going Mac. Their attitude about customer service is great.
Sorry, Pam. Bad timing for sure. Hope you and yours have a very merry Christmas. Maybe Santa will bring you a mac!
I'm sorry, Pam. What a hassle. I went through something similar. Things improved when I took my computer to the local guys.
Oh honey, that sucks! My folks have issues with their PCs all the time. We're a Mac household. 5 of them to be exact. Never ever have any problems. As a teacher you should know...an apple a day... ;-) Okay, I couldn't resist. Don't throw things at me.
Oh Pam, I'm so sorry. I too feel your pain. I had a Compaq that hit the graveyard too just shortly after I purchased it and spent hours and hours on the phone with someone in India. I learned more about the country than I really care to know and had issues with that darn computer on an ongoing basis. I now have a Dell laptop, with a wireless keyboard and mouse, along with a large monitor that I plug into for work. It's the bomb! The Compaq was sledgehammered ...made me feel fabulous!
This is such a bummer! We have had Macs for awhile. In fact my MacBook Pro fell off a high counter onto a tile floor and while the metal on one end is bent - it still works fine! Hope you get your new computer fixed and it works properly for at least a year or two. Geeze.
poor you... its almost cheaper to by a new one then bother with repairs... my computer was 9 YEARS OLD! can you imagine my ultra shock when i joined the new century! oy things were fast and furious, i am thrilled with my new cheap sams club computer :)
i almost was going to be shopping for a new one too, my dog got car sick driving home last night and thru up on my CAMERA, COMPUTER AND COOKBOOK! my husband worked for hours to see if they could be saved... computer kept saying you have a malfunction in your ports, how do i tell the computer yes i know, its dog vomit and not a usb cord :( he put the central vac on it for an hour,so far its not telling me nothin, no news is good news, right?!
good luck, but seriously, look at new ones before you spend $250 on repairs, its to new to be a lemon this early in life, it might be a constant source of aggravation :(
That's terrible, hope you have a Merry Christmas!
sorry, Kiddo. I would never buy a Gateway myself; I'm an HP kinda gal since I worked there before they spun us off. However, the apple a day comment was a real winner :-). Hope things get better for you. One does need the tools to get work done.
I went to a Mac in 2007 and have never, let me repeat that, never had a problem. That was not the case with my PC. I am an old dog and didn't find it all that difficult to switch over. They are very user friendly.
Sorry, Pam... Should I say: "You should have gotten a Mac." (Sorry!!!) I had always been a windows person --but when I switched to a Mac, I was THRILLED....
Just stopping by to say Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Love,
Betsy
Oh no! I am so sorry to hear this, expecially about all your work that I know seems like your children to some degree!! How horrible. I sincerely hope your local computer guy can salvage your files. :( What a poopey Christmas gift.
I hope you get a new PC for X-mas, sorry about that!
That stinks...I hope it gets fixed soon. I don't know anything about Macs but people who own them seem to think they're awesome.
Once you go Mac,
You'll never go back!
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Macs seem to be worth the higher price. Right now I have a HP. It's been great so far. Before that I had a Dell. It crapped out a week after the one yr warranty. Good luck sorting everything out.
Ditto what Alex said! Dh has a company laptop with Windows that's a constant source of frustration. I told him he could lighten that load considerably by getting a Mac for personal use. I'll never go back!
Oh bummer! Hope your computer is back to good health soon.
Sorry to hear that. I hope your local pc repairman can fix it. It sucks being without your computer.
Nothing more frustrating than a broken computer!! We're so dependent on them. I made the switch a year ago. I'd been a totally pc person forever and bought a mac. I LOVE IT!!
Hope the computer is fixed soon.
Oh, no! My first computer was a Gateway then I switched to Dell. I have been pleased overall but would love a Mac, too. There is a learning curve but I know you will tackle it without problem!
Merry Christmas! I will miss your posts while you work on getting this resolved.
That blows but the service issue seems consistent with Toshiba, Acer, and a few other machines I have had serviced over the years (I have a fleet of about 50 computers at work).
Just like you, I'd rather fix it myself or pay someone to, than go through the shipping, waiting, etc. Same reason I NEVER buy an extended warranty on computers.
That just sucks! I used to have Gateways and switched to Dell. I do think my next will be a Mac. I'm like you, I've been a PC user for so long it will be a huge decision. Like switching religions.
Missing you Pam! Hope you have a fabulous Christmas.
i used to be a PC person until I switched to android based tablets....now I'm never looking back :-)
Oh really?! You know what, I was really planning to buy Gateway Tablet PC for me to travel and go wherever I want while working online. And after reading your post...I've been back to thinking again on what product to buy now. I have read lots of good specs for Gateway but having read that your PC stays only for not more than 6 months...that's a big waste of money.
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