Notebook display issue - ATI Radeon 200M

[Darwin]

I learned a lesson today - always check out the equipment that is returned after a repair before messing around with it...

Background: I sent a notebook in for extended warranty work (DC connection wasn't working). Before sending it in I removed the aftermarket RAM and harddrive upgrades that I had installed and replaced them with the original equipment (two reasons: 1. if the machine wasn't going to be repaired I wanted the RAM and the harddrive and 2. the original harddrive has nothing on it other than a vanilla install of XP Home so no worries about banking information, etc. falling into the wrong hands). I received the notebook today and verified that it was receiving power from the AC adapter... I wish that I had turned it on first...

The warranty repair shop had FESTOONED my notebook with "Warranty Void if Seal is Broken" stickers over the screw covers for the RAM access panel, one of the screws for the Harddrive cover, and a couple of other screws (presumably allowing access to the motherboard or something). Anyway, to cut to the chase, I broke the seals, re-upgraded the components, and fired up the notebook. 25 to 30% of the lcd is a solid black band. As far as I can tell, this is likely an issue with the video adapter (ATI Radeon 200M).

Any advice? Should I take it back to Staples and argue that claiming that the warranty is voided when the end user upgrades components that the manufacturer deems "user upgradeable" is ludicrous (incidentally, this was the third trip to the warranty repair shop for this notebook and the first time it came back with any stickers on it at all - and it certainly didn't have any on it when I purchased it brand new)? Any other suggestions? It's a Compaq Presario R4225CA, if that helps. I have a pdf version of the repair manual but it is silent on the issue of the video card.

Not happy in Courtenay... 

[cranioscopical]

I'd head back to Staples.

Sometimes their store managers aren't drawn from the deep end of the gene pool but, in the case of in-store reluctance and/or ineptitude, I've usually managed to bully coax someone higher up into a state of compliance. In my dealings with Staples they've been more reasonable than not, sometimes they just need to be shown the light.

Spoiler

And, should it be that DoCo is populated by Staples' managers, may I say what a fine body of people you are!

[Darwin]

Heh, heh - I'm reading Gum, by Douglas Coupland at the moment. Very apros pros...

Anyway, thank you for your comment, Chris. I dread going back to Staples, but suppose I have nothing to lose - except time. The notebook will be sent back to your neck of the woods (Vancouver Island all the way to Toronto) for repair, so I won't see it for a good long time...

[J-Mac]

Either that or rip the remainder of the stickers off and then say, "Stickers?  What stickers?"   

Jim

[mouser]

What if you go back to the store and tell them when the monitor didn't work you went looking for what was wrong, which included opening the stickers.

The nice thing about Staples is that they don't seem to be interested in being bastards.  My experience is that since it's so soon after you took it in and with the warranty, they probably won't think twice about taking it back to fix again.  Don't stress over it, just go back and tell them what happened.

[Darwin]

Thanks, guys. Jim - that's more or less what I'm thinking, too... However, I think I'll follow Chris and mouser's advice and be honest about the stickers. The notebook is no doubt going to go directly back to the shop that just fixed it, so trying to claim there were no stickers probably won't do me any good.

[cranioscopical]

be honest about the stickers

-Darwin (March 27, 2008, 10:34 AM)

I suppose you could try "the video worked fine until you attached these Polluxing stickers..."
Probably not the safest course to steer 

Good luck with the venture. Must have been tedious to go through this once but twice is a real drag.

[Darwin]

OK here's my cunning plan. I'm cleaning off the stickers - they offend me. I'll take it in and have the work done and not say anything about the stickers - I'll deal with any objections to their absence when the issue arises. Sound like a good idea?

[cranioscopical]

OK here's my cunning plan... Sound like a good idea?

I guess we'll know when you report back on your success. 
Or will you be able to do that from a laptop with a fixed video but a non-functioning keyboard? 

[Armando]

[off-topic]

Sometimes their store managers aren't drawn from the deep end of the gene pool

-cranioscopical (March 26, 2008, 09:54 PM)

ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahah ahahahah  ahahahahaha sorry.
Is that a common joke in English? In any case I found it really funny, especially that you can't translate it in French -- "patrimoine génétique" couldn't be used in that sense.
[/off-topic]

[cranioscopical]

especially that you can't translate it in French

-Armando (March 27, 2008, 10:15 PM)

Attempts to translate whimsy often result in unusual punnishmeant. 

[Darwin]

Update: I took the notebook in and it was sent off without issue. I "fessed up" to the stickers and was assured that all would be well - the local techie said that he often peels them off before sending equipment in because they might try to work on the unit first to recover data from a harddrive for example, or to update components. It's a loose connection (I think) in the display, as the tech showed me that squeezing the display in the middle of the black band removes the black band and reveals the full display. All should be well (I hope) with the sole exception that in attempting to reseat all the connections last night I thought I'd remove the display... the final of four screws holding it onto the body of the notebook was seized and the head got chewed up... I'm hoping the repair shop just does the job and overlooks that one... of course, I know nothing, NOTHING, about this. If they won't fix it, I'll be shopping for an external monitor!

[cranioscopical]

it was sent off without issue

-Darwin (March 28, 2008, 12:03 AM)

Sounds as though you're off to a reasonable start.

the final of four screws holding it onto the body of the notebook was seized and the head got chewed up

Arrghhh!  You do like to bring down trouble on your own head, don't you? 

"It's like this officer, I saw the lamp-post leaning at an odd angle and thought I'd discharge my civic duty by trying to push it back into position, using this v-shaped groove in the front of my car..."

[Darwin]

UPDATE: Cheque is in the mail! Staples have decided not to fix the notebook and are buying it from us... We have $725 toward a new one. Exactly half what I paid for it almost three years ago, but for $849 I can get a very nicely spec'd Duo Core 2 Centrino machine with dedicated graphics and a much smaller footprint (the one being replaced weighted over 8 lbs. - a newer centrino machine will come in at around 6...).

Pretty happy! Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'm really glad I didn't try to have the power connector fixed locally!

[Darwin]

PS took delivery yesterday of a replacement 14.1" LCD for my 8 year old Compaq notebook running Win2k. Disassembly, installation, re-assembly went without a hitch and I now have a functioning Win2k machine again. I also, courtesy of the other notebook going pearshaped, have a perfectly good 120 GB 5400 rpm drive that I will be installing soon... Ah, the good life!

[cranioscopical]

Really pleased to learn that things worked out to your satisfaction!

[Armando]

>Ah, the good life!
 

It's great! I recently sent back a bad memory stick to future shop, and got a knew one that's 2x the price. Hehe. Ah... the goods of life...