Oct 08 2008
Counting fingers the whole day
Terrible, my new laptop just kaput like that! Just 3 weeks old laptop!! This shows how unstable is my hp6910p.
Well, at first it was hybernating issue. It just couldn’t hybernate, but due to my 2 trips, I’ve postponed the repair. Monday, the IT support tried to fix, failed. Today, another guy tried to fix it, while in the process he created another problem.
It gave ‘Virtual Memory Error’. So, while trying to fix this new error… he created the most horrible nighmare any computer fears: Fatal Error blue screen.
Now I just cannot start my computer at all. Not even on Window’s Safe Mode (after F8). I couldn’t work since early morning.
This same guy said he will escalate to local support since he couldn’t help by remote access.
Guess what? I have been waiting from morning until now. No one called.
I called the helpdesk, who passed me to a new guy, who said he will get someone to call me in a short while. I waited 2 hours no one called. Called the helpdesk again, the same answer asking me to wait for somene to call me again.
Here goes our conversation:
Suz: So, what do you want me to do now? I have been counting fingers from 9am till now, more than 6 hourds already, staring at the ceiling doing nothing!
Helpdesk: Suz, I will call the local support and let them call you…
Suz: I have been hearing that, and your colleague said the same thing. 2 hours passed since he said someone will call me, but nothing happened. What do you want me to do now?
Helpdesk: mam, I will call the…
Suz: Don’t tell me what you will do. Tell me what should I do? Should I leave now and go home? Or should I sit here counting my fingers waiting for a call that most likely would not come (coz I sneaked into their office and found no one there!!!)?
Helpdesk: You have to wait for the local support to call you.
Suz: But I have been waiting for so many hours! How long more should I wait? The last time this happened, I stupidly waited till 6:30pm, then I checked out their office, all of them left for the day!
Helpdesk: Mam, I will ask them to give you a call soon.
Suz: Okay, but how soon? How long more should I wait?
Helpdesk: I cannot guarantee you.
Suz: Won’t you at least follow up with me after a certain hour of waiting?
Helpdesk: I will pass this to local support and you have to wait for them to call you.
Suz: Oh, okay, you mean I have to bring my pillow and stay overnight here continue waiting for a call that I don’t know when will come?
Helpdesk: Mam, our SLA with them is 2 working days, so they will prioritize…
Suz: I know the SLA. Do you mean I have to wait 2 days here for them to call me and arrange for pick up of my laptop? I have to travel tomorrow (bluff), so what should I do?
Helpdesk: Please wait for them to call you.
Tell you what? I nearly cried talking to helpdesk!! I have finished reading today’s newspaper including entertainment and classified. I also did all the sudoku in today’s newspaper, plus the old newspaper. Now writing this post with my mobile… (Sorry for the lack of formatting)
Will share another funny but similarly frustrating helpdesk story in another post later.
Whew! After writing this out, I feel so much better!!
Ouch!! It does seem like Helpdesk is more like Helldesk!! But hey at least you managed to write a post on your mobile!
The BSOD is most likely to cause by a missing driver, a pretty common problem. I had it too on my Dell notebook until I found out its because I didn’t install the Intel driver for my hard disk.
As for why couldn’t hibernate, it could have been disabled or probably they hybrid sleep option is enabled. And also, if you have more than 4GB of RAM, the hibernation won’t work too, a design by Microsoft itself. There are many possible reasons to this.
My solution is pretty simple, use sleep mode or just shut down your notebook.
As for why the so many problems, its most likely because your helpdesk screwed up during the installation stage.
I was a satisfied HP Pavilion user until it was stolen. It didn’t give me a single bit of problem, but that also because I did my own operating software install.
If there are so many problems, you might as well buy your own notebook and get someone you know and has the skill (like me!) to do the operating system installation and etc. for you. As for the specific software and network configuration, ask the IT desk to pass you the installers or settings, you can do it on your own as well.
No biggie.
Tat’s the price to pay for outsourcing. My HP notebook is pretty stable even after I pour water on it, LCD got wet and accidentally drop it too..sh sh don’t tell the HP support ppl.
i will consider buying an HP laptop…….not!
Penny: Ya, actually at these moments, I trully appreciate my BlackBerry. Hahaha!
Jason: Well, unfortunately, the company’s policy won’t allow anyone use ‘unauthorized’ laptop on the network, not to say the emails n accessing the server. The company has very strict control on every pc’s structure.
I also aware that the blue screen is caused by driver issue. It was all because of that guy! He was ‘playing’ with the graphic driver (he tot it caused hybernating prob). Then he changed a lot of drivers settings, including memory etc. Aha! There gone and he chickened out. Guess what? I strongly agree it is software(driver) issue but they decided to change the harddisk! So stupid, wasting of resources. And I think they are terribly incompetent!
Worst is that, even sometimes I think I know more, but just don’t have the rights to make those changes. * fume *
Michelle: wow! Geng! Hahaha!
Ivy: I think to be fair, it is not HP’s problem. The support guy screwed it up terribly. Sigh! Such an imcompetent guy…
How about getting your own notebook authorized to use the company’s network? Get clearance.
Jason: Wah, make me sound like a ceo onli. Well, there is not waylah, kenot wan. They so strict even to place a box under your desk also kena scold kao-kao wan… Yes, it just happened to all of us last month, when the safety inspector came and everyone got reprimanded. Say for health wor… Sigh!
not too bad a day lar. still can blog and our little chat was a good catch up on Historical stuff!
WSL: aiyoh, 2 working days gone wor, still bad lah! Now sitting in the IT room, testing my repaired laptop… They reformatted the harddisk, and I have to spend the next few hours pulling back all the previous softwares n files, n spend 2 hours to resnyc all my offline folders… Sob, sob, sob. That incompetent support guy!
But agree, if not because of this, we won’t know so much of our historical ‘connection’ in a way. Hahaha!