Frontpage Story #4

I have two stories to relate. But first I want to say for all the times I have called 1-800-OK-COMPAQ I have never been pushed off the phone because of any time limit. A couple of times the session lasted almost an hour. That said, it's nice that Compaq offers 24/7 support for the first year of Presario ownership. It's too bad the support isn't very good.

First story: I bought a Presario 5610, and in my quest to find out as much as I can about the inner working of the computer, I visited the 5600 series Maintenance and Service Guide web site (http:\\www.compaq.com/athome/support/msgs/5600/index.html). In the troubleshooting section, a display screen is shown that lists two test (TEST and INSPECT), and it says where to find these tests on the QuickRestore CD. Problem is, the directory listed doesn't exist. I found the program listed in another directory, but running it produces boot disks that perform other tests. So...I called tech support. I have now stumped 6 techs who are clueless on where to find these tests listed on the MSGS page. The latest (last...I give up) call, I was told that they were on the Compaq website somewhere, I just had to look longer. Huh...isn't that what I called them for? They're suppose to know where things are. What did I learn here? The users calling in for help sometimes are better off trying to solve the problem themselves. It will save you a whole lot of time. After 6 attempts, I don't need to be told to look harder for the info I want.

Second story: My Compaq internal 56k PCI modem disappeared yesterday from my system. It worked fine the night before, gone the next morning. Gone from the device manager, wouldn't auto detect, couldn't detect it manually, nothing. After going through all the obvious steps, I then tried to re-seat the card. Still nothing. So...I called tech support. The tech walked me through all of the things I had already done. The tech asked me to try and re-install the drivers from the backup directory on the hard drive. That process gave me an error message saying that it couldn't find the modem (duh). The tech then told me that I would have to do a typical restore to re-install the drivers. I pointed out to the tech that re-installing the drivers would do nothing (yet). If Windows 98 couldn't find the modem, it didn't need the drivers. I was informed that the computer would find the modem only if the correct drivers were installed. I told the tech that it was the other way around. Once the hardware is found then it looks for the drivers. No, I was wrong so the tech said. I then asked how do I get a replacement modem under my 90 day in-home warranty. I was told that I had to go through the troubleshooting steps before a replacement would be authorized. What are the troubleshooting steps? A typical restore and then a full restore. Knowing that neither one would correct the problem, I balked at a full restore.

To prove my point, I agreed to do a typical restore. Guess what? Windows 98 still didn't find the modem. Then the tech put me on hold while doing some checking, and came back saying a replacement had been authorized without me having to do a full restore (thank you). I was put on hold again while the tech got some of the paperwork completed. In the meantime, out of frustration, I tried re-seating the modem a second time. Lo and behold it was back! End of story. What did I learn from this experience? First, this tech had never installed hardware in a Window 95/98 machine. Second, restoring to a typical and/or full restore is all too commonly used as a troubleshooting tool.