Crappy IBM support....rant.

[Bluefront]

The hard drive on my sister's A22m Thinkpad started failing...got noisy, sometimes wouldn't boot. Luckily she was able to save all her data. IBM after three week's worth of phonecalls promised to send her a new hard drive....just a blank one. She was supposed to use the restore CD to get the thing working.

Unfortunately they claimed to be out-of-stock...couldn't send one till the middle of September. Couldn't wait that long, so I bought another Travelstar drive at a computer show. What IBM didn't tell us is the restore cd will not work on a bare drive. You have to format the drive, sys the drive, before you can use the restore cd. For the life of me I cannot understand why IBM could think an average Thinkpad owner is capable of physically installing a new hard drive, then figure out how to use the restore disks.

I know my sister couldn't do it, even I had had a bunch of trouble trying to figure the whole thing out. What a bunch of crap from a "big name" company. Arrg....

 

[Cyberian]

You have to format the drive, sys the drive, before you can use the restore cd.

Is this different than the formula that people have to use with other laptops?

 

[bmacd]

that sucks.

-=bmacd=-

 

[Thanatopsis]

Originally posted by: Bluefront


What IBM didn't tell us is the restore cd will not work on a bare drive. You have to format the drive, sys the drive, before you can use the restore cd. For the life of me I cannot understand why IBM could think an average Thinkpad owner is capable of physically installing a new hard drive, then figure out how to use the restore disks.

I know my sister couldn't do it, even I had had a bunch of trouble trying to figure the whole thing out. What a bunch of crap from a "big name" company. Arrg....

1) The average user cannot install a new hard drive in a laptop. Hell, the average user can't even figure out how to open up their laptop.
2) IBM and every other big name company's "restore" disks only work on a pre-formatted drive so you can't simply use that one copy to install Windows Whatever on all the PC's in your house.

 

[Bluefront]

If IBM had furnished a "real" copy of W2k, I could have just booted from the cd and it would have done the whole operation. Afterwhich I could have just installed the specific Thinkpad drivers. That's easy...even with a bare drive. This "restore cd" crap took over two hours to complete...


Had I just bought a copy of W2k, I'd have been able to install it numerous times. Also the restore cd would install on any IBM system...so it said. This MS crap is getting so bad, I can almost see a big switch to Linux........naw.

 

[Cyberian]

1) The average user cannot install a new hard drive in a laptop. Hell, the average user can't even figure out how to open up their laptop.

Many IBM Thinkpads had hard drives that could be replaced by the user, without even using any tools.

 

[diskop]

Originally posted by: Bluefront
If IBM had furnished a "real" copy of W2k, I could have just booted from the cd and it would have done the whole operation. Afterwhich I could have just installed the specific Thinkpad drivers. That's easy...even with a bare drive. This "restore cd" crap took over two hours to complete...


Had I just bought a copy of W2k, I'd have been able to install it numerous times. Also the restore cd would install on any IBM system...so it said. This MS crap is getting so bad, I can almost see a big switch to Linux........naw.

Linux on a laptop is poopy

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: Cyberian

1) The average user cannot install a new hard drive in a laptop. Hell, the average user can't even figure out how to open up their laptop.

Many IBM Thinkpads had hard drives that could be replaced by the user, without even using any tools.

Yes, there is nothing difficult about replacing an IBM laptop hard drive. The access panel to the hard drive is usually removed by 1 or 2 screws, and there is a usually a pull tab on the drive itself to assist removing it from the case.

Hell, it's easier to replace a hard drive on a ThinkPad than it is a replace a hard drive in most desktop computers. I know from experience, because I upgraded the drive on my T20.

You shouldn't put up with that "out of stock" BS that the support technician gave her, though. If they don't have the correct part in stock for a product that is still under warranty, they should offer her a complimentary upgrade!

 

[IcemanJer]

Originally posted by: diskop
Linux on a laptop is poopy

not if you install the right ACPI stuff.

 

[Bluefront]

Actually replacing the hard drive was very easy....after I down-loaded the hardware repair manual from IBM and saw how it was done. One screw on the bottom and the H/D popped right out the side.

You would have thought IBM would have sent a drive already setup...this laptop is still under warranty, less than a year old. They want the owner to do everything, without much direction. Some warranty.