Alert for HP users!!

[JStuart]

If you have an Hewlett-Packard machine, and see an update from them for software to fix a motherboard problem, BE VERY CAREFUL !!!
Yesterday am, I clicked yes, as it seemed to be an OK idea, 'preventing hang-ups in the motherboard when installing new software'. My machine is just under a year old, and has been doing just fine.(Pavilion a6300 series)
Well. Download went well, but it hung up on installation, frozen mouse, etc. After I turned the power off, on rebooting, no signal got to the monitor, and a very annoying beeping ocurred.
Called HP, and got help, but the guy -in Bombay, by the way- came to the conclusion that my motherboard was defective (!) even though I repeatedly told him that this all stemmed from HP's own automatic upgrade download. 'We' switched out the memory cards, and a few other tricks, and I later tried my recovery discs, all to no avail. They'll be sending me a shipping carton to return it to a repair place for -presumably- a new motherboard, and things ought to do OK, but I wouldn't load that update if you have any doubts, or really, really need your web access over the next week or two!
JStuart
PS: any advice on extending my warranty from HP? These repairs should come with their own warranty, correct?

[OZZIE4DUKE]

If you have an Hewlett-Packard machine, and see an update from them for software to fix a motherboard problem, BE VERY CAREFUL !!!

PS: any advice on extending my warranty from HP? These repairs should come with their own warranty, correct?

First, are you sure the download was a genuine HP upgrade and not something bogus loaded with a virus? I thought that was where your post was leading as I first started reading.

If your box is still under warranty, the new mother board will be covered under the original warranty for the original length of time remaining. If you box is out of warranty, the new board probably has a 30 day parts and labor warranty, but not longer and not covering the rest of the system. Sounds like you should extend your HP warranty if the price is reasonable.

[devil84]

I've got a much older HP, so I'm probably using different drivers.

However, as far as extending HP's warranty, I'd do it. I think the top option is $349, and you can get it from HP's website. I've had the power jack go bad on my machine at least three times. I've had the keyboard go out. The hard drive went flaky. The hinges started to fail. And that's just on this machine (the HP). The 3 year warranty expired in August. It was well worth it. They overnight you the box, and once you overnight it back, you usually have in back about 3 days. (Just to compare, it's MUCH MUCH BETTER than the Best Buy warranty, where they have to truck it to Atlanta through their own trucking pony express instead of using shippers, so it takes 15 or more days for a repair. How can it take FIVE DAYS to get from Raleigh to Atlanta, and 5 more to get back? Sheesh!)

Every laptop that I, my husband, and two teenage kids, have purchased has had some sort of catastrophic failure within three years. The leading culprit: the screen dies. Power jacks are second on the list. Hinges are the third problem. At least two of these happen to each machine -- whether they are Toshibas, Compaqs, HPs, Dells, or anybody else. Each of these repairs costs more than the cost of a warranty (many times, it's more than the cost of a new laptop!). With over 10 laptops used in a home environment with lots of moving them around and use on laps (they're not set on a desk and left there!), we're money ahead with the extended warranties. Just get the warranty from the manufacturer, not a third party. I had a bad, bad series of experiences with Best Buy, but great experiences with Toshiba, HP, Compaq, and Dell.

We've never needed an extended warranty on any other appliance, so I'm a very tough sell on extended warranties. I won't be without one on a laptop.

[JStuart]

Oz,
This sure looked like the usual HP standard upgrade, so much so that I didn't think about viruses, and It showed up just like the usual HP upgrades, with an explanatory panel in the lower right hand corner of the screen. If it were a virus, it was well-executed, and ironically, it was to prevent the motherboard from having problems hanging up on installation of other software...in retrospect, a bit suspicious. When I get things back in place I'll re-post as to the real defect.

D84, I agree with you on laptops and power jacks!

JStuart

[JStuart]

Got the machine back from HP last night, and all they did was reset the BIOS. Apparently the file I downloaded and installed from HP mucked it up, and didn't fry the MothahBoard.
In talking to an HP rep (while trying to reset my IP configuration- turns out Vista does it automatically..Verizon didn't know that, and I spent 2 hours on the phone with them...) he allowed as how most HP Updates are not necessary, and HP will be sending out e-mails to explain things 'once they have gotten things sorted out'. Guess that's as close as an admission of guilt as any.
Merry Christmas, y'all