NEVER buy an HP laptop
As an ex-loyal HP customer, I bought my 3rd HP laptop, an HP TX1210us for $1349.99 on August 17th 2007, thinking I was set for a good 3 or 4 years, boy, was I wrong!
I’ve been a computers tech for around 10 years, and besides always taking good care of my gadgets, this one in specific was barely used (it still looks new), because I mainly use my desktop computer (good thing it’s not an HP).
The Problem
The nice looking HP tx1210us worked fine for one year and a half (which translates to a little over 100 uses) until it suddenly died today, with no previous symptoms, it will no longer boot up, it powers up, lights turn on but the screen stays blank.
Because of such a sudden and unexpected failure, the first thing that came to my mind was a motherboard problem. I couldn’t believe it myself, so I quickly started troubleshooting it… No beeps, battery works fine, it does the same with or with out memory or DVD drive, etc… it quickly came down to 2 things, the processor or the motherboard. Per my experience, CPU symptoms tend to be different, so I was sure it was a motherboard problem.
Research
I was starting to get really fucking pissed irritated, because I knew that the warranty had just expired, but I also knew that this wasn’t a user caused problem, so I went online to see if others were having similar issues… 2 minutes later… and WOW!, I found that thousands of HP laptops are having THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM! This problem seems to affect the entire HP Pavillion TX1000 family and other models.
If you have owned this laptop (or similar), you know that no matter what cooling pad you use it still gets really hot. Well, that’s the problem, it seems that the defective Nvidia chipset is overheating and after some time (ironically shortly after warranty expires) it dies, rendering the laptop unusable.
Models that are affected by defective graphic cards include:
HP 6000
HP 8000
HP 9000
And the entire tx1000 family
If you own one of these, you will sooner or later have similar problems.
While having thoughts about taking legal action , I decided to contact an HP representative, their answers were surely what I was expecting, they pretend this is a unknown, unreported issue, and that it’s not (yet) on their faulty crap list…
My chat script with Nataly (HP support) Click here to skip
Nataly : Welcome to HP Total Care for HP Notebooks.
Nataly : Hi, how are you doing today?
David C.: not really well..
David C.: my laptop just died, and my warranty recently expired
Nataly : I understand your concern.
David C.: it seems to be a motherboard issue, a known one
Nataly : David, I understand that the Notebook is nt turning ON, Am I correct?
David C.: it powers up, but it stays there, with the light on and nothing else
Nataly : I apologize for the inconvenience. However, I am glad to assist you in this regard.
Nataly : Thank you for the confirmation.
Nataly : May I know, for how long you are experiencing this issue?
David C.: for 1 day
Nataly : Okay.
David C.: Nataly, I don’t want to waste my time, I been reading about this issue in over 20 different forums, by hundres of users, I just want a solution to my problem
David C.: everybody else seems to be having this same issue with the same hp model, the tx1000 family
Nataly : David, I understand your concern. Let us start with the basic troubleshooting steps to isolate the issue.
David C.: I’ve been a computers tech for 10 years, I know how to troubleshoot a computer…
David C.: it’s not the memory, hard drive, wifi card, dvd drive…
Nataly : That’s great to hear.
Nataly : Could you please let me know the Serial Number and Product Number of the Notebook so that I could assist you better?
David C.: it has never been dropped or hit.
David C.: sure 1 sec
Nataly : Okay.
David C.: CNF7286XNB
Nataly : The Serial Number is a 10 digit alphanumeric number, for example: CNS34915MC.The Product Number is a 5-7 digit alphanumeric number, for example:DS542U. You will find that on a white sticker beneath the Notebook.
David C.: GA646UA#ABA
Nataly : Thank you for the information.
Nataly : David, could you please confirm the troubleshooting steps you have performed to isolate the issue?
David C.: …
David C.: checked the memory compartment, removed the DVD drive, checked the HD compartment, removed the battery and powered it with the adapter alone, anyways those devices woundn’t cause this symptom
Nataly : I appreciate your efforts in troubleshooting the issue. However, I am glad to assist you further.
Nataly : May I ask few more questions so that I could isolate the issue better?
David C.: sure
Nataly : Thank you.
Nataly : Could you please confirm if the Notebook is able to boot into safe mode or it is not at all turning ON ( blank display)?
David C.: blank display, lights turn on and stay on, not sounds or beeps
Nataly : Thank you for confirming the same.
David C.: it does the same with or without battery, memory or CD drive
Nataly : David, as you have performed all the possible troubleshooting steps and the issue remains the same, this would be a hardware issue.
Nataly : The issue at hand seems to be related to a physical hardware malfunction which would require a physical examination to analyse the issue.
David C.: the issue is with the motherboard, and it’s a known issue
David C.: take this forum post for example…
David C.: http://forums13.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/ques…
David C.: or this one
David C.: http://forums13.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizs…
David C.: or this one
David C.: http://www.fixya.com/support/t1425677-hp_pavi…
David C.: or this one
David C.: http://www.fixya.com/support/p504866-hp_…
David C.: or this one over the UK
David C.: http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-6342…
David C.: I can give you several more
Nataly : David, good to see that you are going through our HP websites.
Nataly : May I take 2-3 minutes of your time while I search for the relevant information?
David C.: sure
Nataly : Thank you David.
Nataly : Thank you for the time and patience.
Nataly : David, as this is the Hardware issue, I recomend you send the Notebook to HP for repair.
David C.: I’m not going to pay for it, this is a known issue of a bad motherboard to begin with
Nataly : I understand your concern.
David C.: besides, many people that sent it back for repair, keep having the same problem, because it’s a design flaw, this is simple a defective product
Nataly : David, this is not a known issue for the tx1210us Notebook.
David C.: hmm… so what do all those blogs and forums tell you?
Nataly : I am afraid, this Notebook is not covered under one time enhancement service.
David C.: it’s a component issue, and that component is used for several hp models
David C.: I’ll be very happy to take this into a small claims court and share my thoughts in 50+ blogs
Nataly : I have checked all the documents available with us. This model is no more covered under Onetime Service.
Nataly : If the Notebook is covered under One time Service, I would have arranged a Free Mail In Repair.
David C.: one way or another it will happen, I’m not going to get stuck with a laptop that I paid $1300 for a little over a year ago
Nataly : I am afraid, I see from our records that your notebookâs standard factory warranty has expired on: 08/25/2008.
David C.: I suppose there’s nothing else you can do, then I’ll have to do it on my own
Nataly : I understand. However, I recomend you either send the Notebook to Hp that our technicians diagonise the Notebook and fix the issue.
David C.: this is an extract from a hp forum post…
David C.: “You are not alone with this issue. There are hundreds if not more of us with the same issue. HP is disappointing us by turning a blind eye to this issue. I don’t think upper management is being informed as to how wide spread this is and how it will impact what was a loyal customer base.”
David C.: and it continues “I suggest anyone having problems with their model tx1000, tx1320 or any other like tablet pc call and write HP to see if we can inspirer them to correct their ways of not standing behind and doing the right thing with these defective units. “
David C.: how can I reach your manager?
David C.: this is what somebody else says:
David C.: “The problem has to do with a faulty video (GPU) chipset from Nvidia, the GeForce GO 6150. The chipset will overheat and shortly after that will start to fail. Replacing the motherboard will only delay it happening again. Personally, I want a refund to allow me to purchase something different. “
Nataly : David, those are the forums. Customers who have the same issue may raise their issues in that.
David C.: I was expecting an answer like that
David C.: actually Nvidia has recognized this issue, and they are not posting this in forums
David C.: NVIDIA says “significant quantities of laptop GPUs are defective”
David C.: from www.engadget.com
Nataly : I recomend you send the Notebook to HP for paid mail in Service so that technicians will isolate the exact cause and repair the Notebook.
David C.: free of charge?
Nataly : I am afraid, as the Notebook is out of Warranty, $ 298 willbe charged for the repair.
David C.: I think I’ll wait for HP to recall this product, but in the mean time I’ll filing this with a small claims court. There’s a lot of people out there with the SAME issue
David C.: how can I reach your management?
Nataly : I am afraid, this Notebook will not be covered under One time Service.
David C.: how can I reach your management?
Nataly : All right.
Nataly : David, I will escalate the case to our case manager so that you will receive a call from the case manager within 24 – 48 hours.
David C.: ok
What can we do?
Everybody needs to understand that *this defect is not caused by the user*, this is a component design flaw. I recommend that we all push for HP to either replace this product or refund us, It’s NOT o.k. for 1000’s of laptops to die a few months after their warranties expire.
Some actions to consider:
- File a complaint against HP on the ripoff report website
- File a complaint against HP on the BBB website
- File a complaint against HP on the FTC website
- If HP keeps avoiding this issue, consider suing them in a small claims court
Sooner or later they will have to address this issue, but by delaying this, they will not only lose money but also loyal customers.
Read what others are saying
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/03/faulty-nvidia-c.html
http://www.fixya.com/support/p504866-hp_pavilion_tx1000z_rd223av_pc_notebook
http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-63420-black-screen-on-my-hp-tx1000
http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?admit…
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/board/message?board.id=Display…
http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/questionanswer…
http://www.fixya.com/support/t1425677-hp_pavilon_tx_1000_turn_half_time_or
http://www.hplies.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=163
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090226221522AA95ktf
http://hplies.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=130
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/board/print?board.id=Hardware&message.id=6…
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?act=Print&client=printer&f=25&t=53799
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/675/1043675/hp-desktops-defective-nvidia
Please post your comments or suggestions below.
