Almost Had to Send My New Computer Back to the Factory

[TromboneAl]

I was almost done "working," and I'm looking forward to a relaxing afternoon reading, when the bluetooth mouse stopped working.

I did a lot of googling, battery changing, etc., with no luck.

I did an HP chat, and a tech in India named Ashrafel Islam took over my computer. It was very interesting watching him try out different things. After about an hour, and four reboots, he told me it was a hardware problem, and that I had to sent the computer in -- 10 day turnaround.

But then he tried one more thing, and it worked. There was another service that Bluetooth was dependent on, and that had to be started. Something might have happened to that weeks ago, but it wasn't until I rebooted that it failed.

So, an interesting experience, and I appreciate not having to be without for a few weeks. The remote control is certainly better than being on the phone and following directions.

 

[easysurfer]

Always easier to trouble shoot when "in front of" someone's computer.

Glad you got the computer fixed.

The experience is a bit jarring the first time seeing someone remotely control your computer. There's the transition from "What?" to "Cool!"

 

[Katsmeow]

I just did have to send my computer back to the factory.

In this case, the support call with the manufacturer didn't result in them controlling my computer remotely. However, we did put them on speaker and they led DH and I through a lot of things to try to solve the problem, up to and including things like removing the video card, removing the memory, removing the optical drive, etc. (trying to isolate the problem).

I was told they almost never need to have computers shipped back since most times they can diagnose the problem and send out a part and the customer puts the part in (with instruction).

However, I fell into the "almost never" category as they determined the problem was either motherboard or CPU. (Currently using my notebook computer to post)

 

[NW-Bound]

Remote access is how IT in megacorps has been maintaining business PCs from a distance. At a megacorp I was, there was a guy who got booted because they found he had stored porno photos on his work PC.

I have been using remote desktop to control my desktop PCs, and the home server too, from my laptop via WiFi. I can even turn them on/off remotely because they use wired LAN to get reliable 1 Gbit Ethernet.

This arrangement is good when I need to run a job on the fast quad-cores, but too lazy to go upstairs where they are located. Of course the disadvantage is using them via the small laptop screen, instead of the big desktop LCD screens. For a batch job, it is nice. I just start the job, then use my laptop to drop in on them every so often to monitor the progress.