The computer techs are "stumped"

• Messages sorted by:[ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]

>>>>> "fmbank" == fmbank  <fmbank@ruralnet.org> writes:

    fmbank> I need advice from one of you computer experts.  If you
    fmbank> will remember, I just got a new Gateway Intel 266 MHz
    fmbank> Pentium II.  I am having some very weird problems.

These are just my personal opinions, but they are based on my
experiences over 30 years of using computers.

    fmbank> #1 The light on my 24x CD drive does not come on (at
    fmbank> startup or when a CD is in use). When I have a CD in the
    fmbank> drive it *constantly* revs up and slows down, over and
    fmbank> over again.  It is very loud. I have also had some
    fmbank> difficulty retrieving images from my Printmaster Gold CD
    fmbank> that I KNOW are on the disk as I have used them before.
    fmbank> Do you think I have a defective CD drive?

The most incriminating evidence is that this drive will not read stuff
another drive will read.  First line of atteck: replace the drive.

    fmbank> #2 I keep getting intermittent snaps and pops on my
    fmbank> monitor. Like big static electricity zaps.  It causes the
    fmbank> image on the monitor to quickly "jump" (shrink from both
    fmbank> the bottom and top of viewing area) when it snaps and
    fmbank> pops. This happens numerous times throughout the day.
    fmbank> Gateway sent me a new monitor. It started doing the same
    fmbank> thing after one day in use.  I have a small fluorescent
    fmbank> light in the credenza above my desk about two feet from
    fmbank> where the monitor is. I have not turned on the light for
    fmbank> two day now and have noted no difference in zaps.

This snapping noise is caused by an arcing flyback transformer.  If
you have had the problem with more than one monitor, my firts
questions is, "Is your monitor in an area with either high humidity
(like *VERY* high) or a high dust level (such as a machine shop floor,
etc.)?  If no to both of these, then perhaps the monitor *DESIGN* is
bad, or they got a bad batch of flyuback transformers at the monitor
factory.  Check the date of manufacture on both monitors.  Are they
close to the same time period?  If so, a bad batch of flybacks is
likeley; ask for a monitor from a different batch.  If not, then the
monitor design is likeley weak; ask for a different *KIND* of monitor.

    fmbank> The techs at Gateway are stumped at present.  They are
    fmbank> sending a new power supply unit, CD drive and onsite
    fmbank> technical assistance for installation.

Telephone techs are typically not real troubleshooters, but just quick
fix people.  They try to solve the problem quickly, and do not try to
understand the cause.  They just want a satisfied customer.  The
engineers back in the lab will eventually get you bad monitor and try
to figgure out what happened to it.  The telephone people just want to
get you up and running againl;.

    fmbank> If this doesn't work, they are talking about putting in a
    fmbank> new hard drive. As this system is only a few weeks old, do
    fmbank> you think I should agree to this (based on the premise,
    fmbank> once a lemon, always a lemon?) or insist on a whole new
    fmbank> system?

A new hard drive is really grabbing at straws.  If the tech suggests
that approach, ask to speak to his supervisor.  I do not think the
hard drive has *ANYTHING* to do with a noise from the monitor!

-- 
--------  "And there came a writing to him from Elijah"  [2Ch 21:12]  --------
Robert Jay Brown III rj@eli.elilabs.com  http://www.elilabs.com 1 847 705-0424
Elijah Laboratories Inc.;  37 South Greenwood Avenue;  Palatine, IL 60067-6328
-----  M o d e l i n g   t h e   M e t h o d s   o f   t h e   M i n d  ------