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At this point, I am almost amused when I see someone bash a computer OEM. The sad fact is, they all had/have good and bad models. Sometimes good models have a bad batch where one component will fail across the board.
Another thing to keep in mind is when you are buying a budget model, do not expect the reliability and performance of a model that costs twice as much.
OP, if still under warranty, return the machine and get something else. Looking at the photos you posted, especially the last two, it is very likely to be hardware related. A computer getting Blue Screen of Death is mostly due to bad/incompatible drivers but I'd have suspected that to be the case if you had updated drivers or Windows or installed a different version of Windows than what it came with.
In your case, a faulty video card, RAM or even motherboard could be the case. Not worthy troubleshooting if under warranty.
At this point, I am almost amused when I see someone bash a computer OEM. The sad fact is, they all had/have good and bad models. Sometimes good models have a bad batch where one component will fail across the board.
Exactly. And as we already witnessed here, one person hates Dell because that one time...and another person hates HP...because that one time.
Y'know why I like Dell? An American company based in Austin Texas and when you call for support, you get someone named Steve, not Ramesh. Not that there's anything wrong with people named Ramesh but I'd rather talk to a Ramesh... that lives in Austin, not Jaipur.
I try to be accepting of a global economy, but if you're going to support an English speaking populace you need to hire people that speak it well.
Exactly. And as we already witnessed here, one person hates Dell because that one time...and another person hates HP...because that one time.
In this case, for me and HP, it's not one time. It's multiple times over the course of years for multiple devices. Several laptops, a monitor or two, a DVD drive etc. My preference is Dell and I have seen some failures on occasion but they are few and far between. On the other side of the coin, I've had Dell servers that just go on for years, over a decade in some cases without any problems whatsoever. Granted, the quality that goes into servers is superior to just regular desktops. As for their support, I was impressed with it, regardless of where it's from. They have been known to outsource as well. They have to in order to compete. Selling hardware is a a tough business. You have to provide a good quality product AND support to go with it and make a profit.
Same for me, too. HP actually screwed around with my dad when he still had one month of warranty left. They kept stalling him telling him to try this, try that... he did and when it was decided it was a hardware issue it was out of warranty and they wouldn't cover it.
Last HP anything I bought, except for printers at work.
Dell's been rock solid. What I started at my job we had a Dell server that had been running since 1999. I shut it down in 2019. I run nothing but Dell at work. 40 workstations, 2 servers, 5 laptops. Never have problems.
Exactly. And as we already witnessed here, one person hates Dell because that one time...and another person hates HP...because that one time.
Y'know why I like Dell? An American company based in Austin Texas and when you call for support, you get someone named Steve, not Ramesh. Not that there's anything wrong with people named Ramesh but I'd rather talk to a Ramesh... that lives in Austin, not Jaipur.
I try to be accepting of a global economy, but if you're going to support an English speaking populace you need to hire people that speak it well.
As a foreigner who still is rocking a goofy accent, I can assure you, it is not the accent, or, just the accent, from what I have experienced and heard, they are borderline useless. Some of them sound bitter but for the most part, they are courteous enough, however, often, unable to resolve the issue. That is the bottom line.
What I suspect is, that failure is by design. I am almost certain their Stateside colleagues are keeping them that way as they were meant to be a layer of delay if not, a layer of deterrent for callers and nothing more.
At various companies, I recall placing calls and letting them know that I am a member of company's IT staff and this is the error and this is what I have done to troubleshoot the issue and like an answering machine of the 90s, without missing a beat, they would start reading their troubleshooting script designed for extra novice home users.
I'd be like "Ramesh...I mean Randy, let me stop you right there buddy. I have already done xyz, can you pass me to the next level as I am in a rush and I know you are dying to get the next caller..."
All non-PC kidding aside, I agree, Dell seems to be better than HP overall. I still have a 14" Lenovo T440 I got on an eBay auction for $670 back in 2012 or 2013. At the time that model with i7 8GB RAM and 240GB Intel SSD would cost twice as much retail. It still looks new, I upgraded the HD to a 500GB Samsung Evo Pro and doubled the RAM. I don't like laptops but I use that one for testing and VMs. Last job severance package included a 15.6" HP Elitebook 850 G3, currently collecting dust....lol.
As a foreigner who still is rocking a goofy accent, I can assure you, it is not the accent, or, just the accent, from what I have experienced and heard, they are borderline useless. Some of them sound bitter but for the most part, they are courteous enough, however, often, unable to resolve the issue. That is the bottom line.
What I suspect is, that failure is by design. I am almost certain their Stateside colleagues are keeping them that way as they were meant to be a layer of delay if not, a layer of deterrent for callers and nothing more.
At various companies, I recall placing calls and letting them know that I am a member of company's IT staff and this is the error and this is what I have done to troubleshoot the issue and like an answering machine of the 90s, without missing a beat, they would start reading their troubleshooting script designed for extra novice home users.
I'd be like "Ramesh...I mean Randy, let me stop you right there buddy. I have already done xyz, can you pass me to the next level as I am in a rush and I know you are dying to get the next caller..."
All non-PC kidding aside, I agree, Dell seems to be better than HP overall. I still have a 14" Lenovo T440 I got on an eBay auction for $670 back in 2012 or 2013. At the time that model with i7 8GB RAM and 240GB Intel SSD would cost twice as much retail. It still looks new, I upgraded the HD to a 500GB Samsung Evo Pro and doubled the RAM. I don't like laptops but I use that one for testing and VMs. Last job severance package included a 15.6" HP Elitebook 850 G3, currently collecting dust....lol.
The thing I like about Dell is my company has a techdirect account - I don't even have to go through tech support anymore. I login, put in the service tag, put whatever's wrong with it in the description and what I did to troubleshoot, pick my parts and presto, parts show up before 10:30AM the next morning, assuming they're in stock. If it's a system board, I check the box that says send a tech out because I don't want to waste the time doing it myself.
That said, on the personal side, their tech support is garbage. I had to get a monitor replaced and you would not believe the guff I went through. "Yes, the backlight is dead. Yes, I'm in a bright room. No, it doesn't work in a dark room either. Yes, the brightness is all the way up. I do this sh*t for a living, just send me a new damn monitor and save us both the time and aggravation."
My computer was in the shop from April 8 to April 21, which is when I picked it up, and it wasn't fixed. HP has a warranty contract with a company called, "UBreakitIfixit," (no one else) and they're utterly useless. They claimed that they were waiting for a part to come in from HP, and it could take months, so I picked it up and called HP. They told me said that a prepaid label could be emailed to me to ship it back to them, and their repair shop would fix it with expedited service.
But the problem with that is that I would still be without a computer, and I have a new job starting in June that requires reliable internet access. So I decided just to use the way it is for the time being, then either pay for the repairs myself or buy a new one and hope it doesn't have any problems.
I bought the computer from Best Buy in January, and unfortunately, they have a 15 day return period, so I can't return it, and the HP warranty is a year, but doesn't do me much good, though.
Are you comfortable opening a computer and futzing a bit? If so open it and re-seat everything. Cards, RAM, cables (both ends), everything. And unplug re-plug the power leads to the motherboard.
If I were you, I would get a 7th or 6th Gen i5 laptop (7th Gen would be better if within your budget).
A laptop offers you mobility, if ever needed.
Also, 6th Gen i5 laptop is the same price as a 6th Gen i5 desktop so it is a much better value overall.
For $200, a refurbished laptop like that is a very good value.
If going there in person (would be ideal unless they do cover the device for defects, etc.), I'd recommend going there with the following standalone free app on a USB stick: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/battery...tion_view.html
When you pop in the USB stick to the laptop you are interested in buying, run the program (no install), it will show you a live report of the battery.
The most critical information is the "Battery Health" field. The health should be as close to 100% as possible. If it is under 80%, I would ask them to swap the battery or the laptop.
Are you comfortable opening a computer and futzing a bit? If so open it and re-seat everything. Cards, RAM, cables (both ends), everything. And unplug re-plug the power leads to the motherboard.
No, unfortunately.
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