I hate laptops !!!

[Phil J]

3 laptops have gone down in the last 2 months

I have had to resort to bringing a 15 year old desktop out from the attic now, it hasnt been touched for 10 years lol, but after a few updates its up and running faster than anything i have had for ages

[boycie101]

hey if it gets you online go for it mate

[taffy1967]

It must be catching Phil because my 2 year old desktop died on Friday.

It's an Acer Aspire L320 and to be honest I was just waiting for it to happen, because before Xmas I Googled it to see if it was digital TV ready and I was horrified to find sites with pages full of unhappy owners whose L320's had packed in just after the warranty had expired.

Many claim Acer aren't bothered and refuse to admit there's an issue with this compact model. But many believe that as it's so compact (the hard drive unit is about the size of a Nintendo Wii) it gets too hot and so the circuit boards fail. Plus it's near impossible to repair as many pc experts won't touch it and Acer don't supply any spares and if they did they'd cost a fortune anyway so it'd be uneconomical to bother.

So we followed the advice of some and after phoning the Comet helpline (where we bought it from) they stated it was now out of warranty. But we quoted the sale of goods act and how it hasn't lasted for a reasonable amount of time etc etc.

They then told us to take it to our nearest branch to get an engineers report and take it from there. They said it would cost 45 quid.

So we did that, but it actually cost 60 quid and the cheeky git marked the engineers report as it being in a 'Fair' condition. Yes it's got one light scratch on the top thanks to our cat, but apart from that it was near perfect.

Anyway I'm now using my daughters laptop and I have to wait until mid May before I know the score and whether Comet will accept the machine died unnecessary. They copied the print off's I did of the comments left on those websites.

Oh and it's exactly 10 years ago that we bought our first computer and that still boots up, even though the main processor is on it's last legs.

[taffy1967]

So try doing the same as us Phil if you think it'd be worth it. But although an engineer's report isn't cheap, if it goes in our favour (we'll be off to seek legal advice if it doesn't) we should either get a full refund which includes the engineers report fee or a new computer.

Because I expected it to fail, I wisely backed everything up on to DVD-r discs and I'd recommend everyone do that at least once a month or whatever.

[taffy1967]

Well we had a phone call from the Comet repair centre in Bristol today and they said the mother board has gone and they want £210.00 to fix it.

This is the comment I left on someone's blog about this computer model: -

We bought an Acer Aspire L320 from Comet during late December 2007 (30th December to be exact) and after some 2 years and 4 months it failed to boot up.

So we rang the Comet helpline and got told we’d have to take it to our nearest branch and pay £45.00 for an engineers report. We did that, but it actually cost us £59.99 instead.

Anyway we got a call today to say we have a dead motherboard and it’s going to cost over £210.00 to fix it.

After reading all the horror stories here and on other sites, we really don’t particularly want to spend silly money on something that’s likely to fail again pretty soon.

So we rang Acer who didn’t want to know and wouldn’t accept there being an issue with this model and we rang the Comet helpline again who admitted the machine should have lasted more like 6 years and it was unacceptable and so they gave us their complaints department telephone number, but they were less sympathetic and offered us a measly 35% off the repair costs. But with the engineers report fee, we’d still be paying over £200.00.

So next stop is Trading Standards and that is the last Acer product we’ll be buying and we’ll never recommend their products or service to anyone.

We’ve still got our old Tiny desktop PC which is now 10 years old and that still boots up, even though the processor is on it’s last legs.

Plus an Acer Aspire desktop PC that a family member bought new in 1997 and which was given to our local school some 4 years ago is still working fine.

On this blog page: -
ianparr.com/blog/2009/03/14/alternatives-to-my-dead-acer-l320/

Just as well my wife's laptop is working okay, because I've currently got that connected to my Acer keyboard, mouse and 19" LCD screen.

I'll keep you updated and hope for a happy outcome, although I won't be holding my breath.

[coedy]

This is the main reason I hate laptops... Stuff In Desktops gets really really hot. and they tell you not to move the computer for an hour or so after use.

Laptops are meant to be packed up and flung in a bag at a moments notice and most, if not all, of them cook, flex boards or overheat in the bag and end up going up the spout...

as much as I hate to say it, if you want to get a laptop style thing. get a macbook. (but costs you two kidneys and an ankle ligament) as they are known for being solidly constructed and yes, they get hot... almost painful to hold hot... but everything is packed down tight and solid.

OR!

Put the same money onto a desktop pc and you will get:
Faster CPU
Graphics cards
More memory
More storage
More USBs
Less likely to fry
all for the same if not less money...


Good luck with trading standards Taffy, let us know how you get off Got my fingers crossed

[taffy1967]

Well that's just it coedy, it wasn't a laptop, but an ultra modern compact desktop PC: -

www.twenga.co.uk/prices-Aspire-L320-ACER-Desktop-PCs-254449-0

www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/16/acer_announces_l320/

The main problem seems to be the fact it gets too hot even for the twin fans to cope with and that then leads to the premature death of the mother board.

So it's a design fault that Acer won't admit to.

[boycie101]

my laptop died totally 2 days ago aswell

[taffy1967]

Hold old was your laptop mate?

To be honest I'd have felt cheated if my newish PC had died at 5 years of age, but 2 years and 4 months is taking the wee a bit.

Plus with messages saying to complain and stand your ground, we're going to argue as much as we can because if I knew there was a problem with that PC and it wasn't going to last long, then I'd have chosen a different model.

But I suppose that's the way things go and hindsight is a wonderful thing?

[boycie101]

only bought it bout 7 months ago from someone i know as i only just bought brand new base unit set etc, should of known better with my luck lol

[coedy]

Apr 29, 2010 22:32:41 GMT 1 taffy1967 said:

Well that's just it coedy, it wasn't a laptop, but an ultra modern compact desktop PC: -

www.twenga.co.uk/prices-Aspire-L320-ACER-Desktop-PCs-254449-0

www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/16/acer_announces_l320/

The main problem seems to be the fact it gets too hot even for the twin fans to cope with and that then leads to the premature death of the mother board.

So it's a design fault that Acer won't admit to.

Wow! that's even worse!!!

I plan on getting one of these at some point: Acer Aspire REVO - R3610
Or the slightly cheaper version to turn into a media center ;D Weird though that Acer, a well known company can make such terrible products with only 2 or 3 good products? People have had the revo's playing top of the line games and they can hit crazy temperatures but they never fail or stress anything and thats with just one puny little fan.

Yet that one you linked to is bigger, has two fans and yet they seem to be going the way of the Dodo!

[ljonez]

was never a fan of laptops only ever owned one as i bought it for uni and after 2 months the dvd player broke the keys started coming off and the battery died, got it repaired under warranty but then a few months out of warranty it went bang! ( littrally) smoke being pumped out by the fans. so i have vowed not to own another.

im all about the desktop, mine currently has 6 fans keeping it cool ;D

[taffy1967]

Again my dead PC is not a laptop, it's the desktop as seen in my links above and it's actually no bigger than a Nintendo Wii.

So even with the advanced cooling tubes, the mother board just gets too hot.

[taffy1967]

Sorry for hijacking Phil's thread though and perhaps that's why there's confusion over laptops (i.e. due to the topic title).

So if a mod thinks my posts need to be moved to a separate thread then that'll be fine.

Sorry again.

[ljonez]

i was just pointing out my hatred for laptops

as for your pc its pretty much a laptop just in a small case. from what i have read i'd say you have a good chance of getting a refund/repair as its not "fit for purpose" and its evident that there was a "fault at time of purchase"

keep at hassling comet as any claims are to be dealt with by the supplier/retailer as they are the ones you entered into a contract with when you bought it ( the act of buying is a form legal contract)

[taffy1967]

Yes many have said it's just a fancy laptop (but not as reliable as most laptops) and obviously I wish I'd bought a more conventional model now instead.

Anyway the bad news is Comet's technical centre in Bristol said that for the 200 odd quid they'd only be fixing it with reconditioned parts and giving a measly 3 month warranty. So that's no comfort, especially on reading that one person had theirs fixed 3 times (the motherboard that is) whilst it was under warranty and then it went bang again when the warranty ran out. Plus they definitely won't admit that there's a design fault with this machine either.

So we've rung for consumer advice and their more positive because they claim we have a good case for compensation and the first thing to do is to send a letter to the Comet branch we bought the machine from and Comet head office. Then take it from there and if we don't hear anything after 2 weeks, then we need to get back in touch with the consumer advice people because Comet will have broken the law.

They claim that it should have lasted at least 6 years and as there's clearly an issue with this model and their using reconditioned parts to fix them it's unacceptable. Plus it's for Comet to sort us out with a replacement machine or a full refund. Basically if they don't play fair then we can have them in the small claims court.

So the fight continues.

[Custard]

Taffy hope all goes well with the claim-as for laptops have had 3 dells now never a mo bother and the support is second to none i have found-would never buy anything else, my current one is 3 years old and pounded daily never a second of bother

[taffy1967]

Cheers and we're sending letters to the Comet branch we bought it from and Comet head office tomorrow.

But I'll have to make sure to buy a Dell computer next time.

[ljonez]

dont get me started on dell tech support!

[Phil J]

Finally got one of my old towers to run it's slow but back online properly at last, Got my eye on a 22" touch screen all in one pc, anyone got any experience on touch screens ?