Resurrection .... Again..

Hopefully this time it is for keeps...touch wood and fingers crossed.

Like mentioned our hardware guy said that our laptop had a motherboard problem which needed to be replaced. He sent our laptop to his counterparts in Bangalore and the verdict was the same. "there is something wrong with the MB and needs to be replaced" They had the HP service center check it too. And the verdict was the same. Only thing was we did not know what was wrong.

So while my bro and I are discussing the further course of action, whether we buy a MB for a really low price9if that is possible) or we go in for a brand new comp, I find a comment and an email from 2 guys claiming to be from HP. Figuring I have nothing to loose in calling them, I speak with Mr. Rajesh Shah, the Customer Support Manager for Karnataka. He puts us on to the Tech head Mr. Venkat in Bangalore. A week later my bro drops the laptop with the HP service center. In 2 working days it is ready. Turns out that a BIOS chip in the MB was faulty. The overriding software didn't work either, so the MB had to be replaced.The HP guys were also kind enough to replace the LCD panel as it got damaged during its transit to Bangalore and Mysore ( had a helluva lot scratches). And I must say that it was a quick turn around from the HP Service center. They kept in touch with us, updating us and the service was simply exceptional.

Turns out HP has a HP Care pack for those HP customers who are already under warranty to get an extended warranty of 2-3 years by paying approx Rs.7000/-. Unfortunately the HP dealer (KBM on MG road) did not infirm us of the same. So we have lost out on it as its been more that 3 months since the warranty expired. Else one has to pay Rs. 5000/- a year for the AMC. It would be great if they consider us eligible for it, and all those guys who have HP systems, speak with your dealers to get this. It is a very good deal.

Thank You HP and especially Rajesh, Venkat and Jayaprakash the tech support guy who handled our system, Haris Hadiery the Customer Experience Manager for HP who emailed me and also the kind soul who forwarded my post to the HP people. If it hadn't been for it, I would have had to buy a new system.

Blogging Rocks!

Bah!!

And here we go again!

I'm back with the lousy keyboard..For 2 days it works fine and then just like that the display vanishes..and we're back to square one. Only this time, contacted another friend, who is a hardware guy. Turns out there is some motherboard problem and will take 6 frigging days to fix...sigh... so till then my sojourn with the lousy keyboard continues..

Resurrection..

Finally! yes I have my laptop back but minus the data. According to the HP center guys the OS crashed thanks to the automatic download of HP Live Update. And those service center guys are there just to fleece the public. The Bangalore guys said that we can fix it but will not take the back up, you need to go to a third party guy..who charges Rs 3000/- just for the back up. And the HP service center will take 1000/- to re-format and to de-fragment the disk you have to buy the software which costs about 4000/-. The Mysore HP service center says we need to buy the external hard drive available just for 3,600/- to copy the data. What kind of service centers are these? they do no have external hard drives to take back ups! Only after this did we start contacting friends who could help out. Turns out, you do not need to defragment the drive anymore. All the sys files are saved in the D drive and the C drive is the place to store all the files. And the HP laptops are configured in such a way that even with the software you cannot defragment the drives! Don't the service center guys know this? Why cant they just be helpful in the real sense.

Lesson Learnt: NEVER ever go to the service centre. Instead turn to your firends, it helps to know some who can work the hardware of a sys. And do not store files on the desktop ever, instead save them on the C drive.

The Flip Side, I had an awsome break. No work, No play time on the comp and all my time with my daughter and me. Fell sick, travelled to B'lore, read a ton of books, watched the pirated version of Janne tu and fell in love it it. Am so watching it again..wait I am going to buy the DVD when it releases.

Also picked out the school for my Angel. This was the first school I saw and fell in love with it. Its a Montesori Play School, in a quaint neighbourhood, great play area and clean classes. The biggest plus point, they are careful of the kids diets and their restrictions. Since my kiddo is Lactose and Wheat Intolerant, I needed a school which would keep a check on it and be careful during snack times, since children are always more curios and want what the other kid has. And this school has experience in dealing with such kids. Now just have to wait for her to turn 2.5 years. They do not take them earlier. Oh and they also have this really cute and well behaved dog who Angel just fell in love with instantly. yes I visited the school with her and she remembers the dog very well. On our second visit, she kept looking all over for him.

Another thing I noticed here, was that the children are very well behaved. They do not push, fight or yell. It was a really calm and quiet play time. there is slight bullying,which is natural but nothing to the extremes where one kid is pushing the other or fighting or hitting the other kid. they also have a really cute tree house. Looking at all this left my bro and me wishing us to be kids again. So now we go to this school once or twice a week, during play time to familiarise her with the school and the children.

Over and Out!

So here I am doing my work as usual, have tons to finish. my kiddo is sleeping and my system crashes, without warning..kaput..just like that.

And here I am typing this from an internet parlor as I'm simply addicted to the net and missing blogging like hell..I just cant stay away. In-spite of the crazy keyboard

I miss reading other blogs, commenting on them and chatting with my friends. I do not miss my work.. but that is natural ain't it?

Hopefully will be back soon..