Computer Maintenance in Progress...or, Maybe Not

It's here.  And I hope everything is in one piece. If the monitor is cracked (I think it's okay), I will know who to blame--I elicited an "eep" as I watched the DHL man whip the boxes onto my porch!  This will probably be my last post on my very slow and very old HP computer.  Now to get it all set up and running smoothly.  Normal bookish posts will hopefully resume tomorrow on a much faster, new computer!

Update:  Guess what I'm typing on?  If you said a brand spanking new Dell, I'm sorry but you're wrong. My trusty though very slow HP is back in it's usual place.  I disconnected everything, dusted off my desk and made room for the new computer.  I followed the instructions (and they even had pictures for some non-technical like me) and set up the new computer.  Hit the power button, ready to be impressed and got only a back DOS screen telling me it couldn't boot up.  Not a good sign.  Checked all the cords, made sure everything was in the right spot, and turned on the computer again.  More black screen.  I dialed customer service and hoped they could get things set right.  Alas, no.  When the man asked me if I felt comfortable opening up the tower to look inside, I had a sinking feeling that I was not going to have luck with this computer.  Screw driver in hand, I thought this is insane.  They are trusting me to open up an expensive computer and attempt minor surgery.  I don't think that would be wise. 

So the new Dell is back in its boxes and ready to go back.  I asked for an exchange.  It's really irritating to take a day off from work and have nothing to show for it.  Other than a very well dusted desk.  Needless to say I am very disappointed.  I don't know what was wrong with the computer, but surely I should have gotten something more than a black screen when I turned on the power button?  Fingers crossed that the new one will work.  Perhaps I'm doomed to use my old computer forever.  If I'm lucky I will have the new (newer) Dell in a week.

Comments

[Lezlie]

Exciting! We just had high-speed hooked up a couple weeks ago, and we've been living on the internet ever since!

Good luck with a quick and painless assembly!
Lezlie

[Tara]

Ugh. That stinks! I'm grateful my husband is handy with these things. And what is the deal with DHL throwing the boxes around??

[Cath]

What a shame! I hope they get a new one to you very quickly. I got a new DELL last Dec. and am very pleased with its performance. (I probably just put a jinx on it saying that...)

[Stefanie]

Oh no! How disappointing and frustrating. I hope the exchange brings you better luck!

[Dorothy W.]

A week!? How frustrating! What a disappointment.

[Heather]

Oh poop! (opps can I say poop on your blog?) I'm so disappointed on your behalf!!!

[Sylvia]

How frustrating! Boo DHL!

[Danielle]

Lezlie--Well, it wasn't as quick and painless as I had hoped, but maybe next week?!
Tara--Yeah, I was annoyed by him whipping my boxes around! I wish I had someone good with technical sorts of things like that in my house, too. Still, I should have been able to at least start a computer, so it had to be defective.
Cath--Knock on wood to not jinx either of us. I'm still optimistic the new computer will run smoother than the one I have now. At least Dell is willing to switch them out at no cost to me, and they are going to try and be quick about it.
Stefanie--I hope so, too. If this happens again I'm not sure what I'll do. I'm assuming there was a problem with the computer--it was like there was no operating system at all. Very strange. Since I made the HP work (both when I got it and again today)I'm guessing I am not the culprit.
Dorothy--I guess this is the downside to ordering online. If I bought it locally I could at least returning it to the store and try again sooner. Oh well.
Heather--Poop is right. I was thinking rather stronger words earlier!
Sylvia--Yes, major Boo to DHL. It makes me wonder if they slammed the boxes around and messed something up while they were shipping it!

[Matt]

What??? I'm sorry about the new computer. My desktop had a similar mishap. The monitor wasn't working so I had to send it back to HP. Maybe the the old computer doesn't want to leave you! :)

[litlove]

Oh how horribly frustrating! I'm so sorry, Danielle! I've got everything crossed that Dell now make huge efforts to get your new computer to you in double quick time.

[Victoria]

Danielle, I'm right there with you. It's incredibly frustrating when a new computer arrives, and you've invested so much excitment in it. And then, for no reason, it goes wrong. Or doesn't work at all. :-(

My new laptop (which arrived last week) absolutely refuses to connect the internet. Something wrong with the wireless receiver. So back it goes...

[Isabel]

Pox on that computer. You had the bad luck to get the bad one.

[iliana]

Oh no! That's too bad about your new computer Danielle. I hope they quickly replace this with a new one and let's hope the second one works!

[Danielle]

Matt--I think the old computer Doesn't want to leave. I must say I hooked it back up and it's chugging away (slowly) like a trooper!
Litlove--I am watching my email closely waiting for that 'we've shipped your computer' message! It was really disappointing, but at least I still have a computer to fall back on.
Victoria--I saw you just bought a new laptap--and now you're having problems, too?! We both deserve spiffy computers that work. I know you also mentioned yours was old as well. I was so excited to see that nice big monitor and I couldn't wait to turn it on--then nothing! But having no internet is just about the same. I hope your laptop problems are resolved quickly, too!
Isabel--Pox indeed. How did I end up with a dud!!
Iliana--Knock on wood that the next one has no problems. I'll be totally peeved if it happens again. So I will try and be patient and optimistic until it gets here!

[Carl V.]

Ugh, I can imagine the frustration very, very well. I am so sorry. I hope the next one works out perfectly for you.

[Danielle]

Carl--It has been frustrating, but I have resigned myself to just leave the new one in the box until I finally have all the parts. Thankfully my trusty HP has been chugging away still!

[Kitty]

Sorry to hear this; I always fear for people when they buy Dells, because of the high failure rate out of the box (higher than any other brand.) Hope all is well with the new one, and good on you for just sending it back and not opening it up or anything; they jerked a friend of mine around FOR A YEAR before telling her, oh, yeah, we've figured out the problem but the warranty is expired now so too bad for you.

Much better to send it back and get a replacement.

[Danielle]

Kitty--I had no idea they had such a poor out of box rating. Since so much is online orders that seems crazy--the cost they must rack up for returns! And when the guy asked me if I wanted to open the tower and unscrew things I was nearly floored. It seems to be a bad sign that they would want to do that on a computer I just bought and literally plugged in. I didn't want to be dealing with problems later on down the line. And I got an extended warranty, so I hope I can avoid any costly problems. I learned that with my HP! I had to wipe the hard drive in the first couple of years I owned it and had I not got extra coverage, I would have been on my own. Now that would have been scary. Fingers crossed things will go smoothly here on out.

[Kitty]

Definitely they should not be asking the consumer to open up and fix a BRAND NEW COMPUTER. Anyway, I'm sure the new one will be awesome and you'll be very happy!!!