Illegal or Not Illegal?....That is the Question.

[Flam1ng Dem0n]

So from the start. I bought a Laptop from Best But back during last August in 2011, and it has given me nothing but problems. First off before I ask the questions....here are my Laptops Specs:
My laptop is a Asus Republic of Gamers.
Model: G74SX-BBK9
SKU: 4566495
CPU - Intel® 2nd Generation Core™ i7
Processor Speed - 2.0GHz (with Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz)
Battery Type - 8-cell lithium-ion
Screen Size (Measured Diagonally) - 17.3"
System Memory (RAM) - 8GB
Type of Memory (RAM) - DDR3
Computer Hard Drive Size - 1TB
Optical Drive - Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW
Wired Network Adapter - Built-in 10/100/1000 Mbps Fast Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
Wireless Networking Adapter - Wireless-B+G+N

Here are my questions pertaining to my laptop.
First Question:
I when I got my laptop from Best Buy it was the "Display Model" Meaning it was their last one they had available. Does this mean that the Laptop can have more of a chance of having maintenance and/or hardware issues?

Second Question:
I have recently been having Network problems with the laptop. At first i thought it was just Windows 7 being a pain and not cooperating. But then I noticed it was happening everywhere. The symptoms were that when i started up windows the Wireless Network symbol on the taskbar (in the lower right hand corner) was not loading anything sort of network. All it gave me was the blue loading wheel but after a few seconds the blue wheel just froze and would like finish loading. I then tried to open the network adapters threw the control panel but when i clicked on the "Network and Sharing" option the window froze and nothing happened and once again i was getting the frozen blue wheel. BUT the wheel only appeared when i hovered over the "Network and Sharing" window but NOT when i hovered the mouse over the desktop.
After restarting my laptop more then once and nothing seemed to work and so I went into Safe Mode and did a system restore and that seemed to first the loading problem but did not completely fix the problem. After i did the first system restore I when back into normal Windows mode and tried to load up and network to use. But i then noticed that the computer was not able to find a network adapter. So i went into the "Network and Sharing" control panel (which i was able to successfully load this time), but when it pulled up there were no installed network adapters. I was rather annoyed at this point because how can a Laptop NOT recognize the network adapter that had been soldered to its motherboard.
I was able to give up for the night but then I tried one more thing to see if that would fix it. I tried (yet again) another system restore. THAT seemed to fix the problem once more....but completely.

My question here is is it illegal to dismantle by desoldering curtain pieces of a laptops motherboard and then to go and resolder and new/working piece in the old pieces place? And if it is not illegal to do such a thing....can doing so decrease the performance output and the ability of the hardware to function? I am asking because before I did the second system restore I called up Best Buy and talked to a Geek Squad Member and the guy said that that is what they do when there is a problem with a curtain piece of hardware. Can they get in legal trouble for doing such a thing?

Third Question:
I the same laptop I am now having another problem....a problem with the battery. Here is what is going on. It started about last week when I turned on my Laptop on the bus (going home) and JUST after the log-in screen popped up the whole laptop shutdown all together. I tired to start it back and it did but this time it got just past the Asus Logo screen and then it again shutdown completely. I know that the battery had been fully charged for but for some odd reason it had completely shutdown. When i got home, I plugged it into a wall outlet and pressed the power button and it started working again. I then continued to use it but when I unplugged the laptop as i was shutting it down for the night it did it again. Just i had unplugged the main power cable from the laptop port it snapped off. It had not even finished logging me out of Windows. This seems to happen continuously for some time and after a while I had had enough and so I decided to go to the Local Computer Renaissance where I had had a internship for a entire summer. I asked my old boss (who has been in the computer business for a very long time) for some help and advise on what was wrong with me computer. I showed him what was happening as well as the reoccurring symptoms and he said that there is something wrong with the wiring/circuitry the tell the computer that there is a battery powering it. He then told me that it seems it only works with the power cable plugged in because it ether has two power currents or the external power supply it forcing a constant flow of power thus keeping my laptop power on. And since this is the case that is why my laptop will not stay on when it is unplugged.
My question here is....Is this true? I know a Duel Power current supply does exist (I know because I took a class that described such a design method), but is the wiring/circuitry malfunctioning really a possible thing?


Thank you for any help given!

Zach

 

[Flam1ng Dem0n]

The down side to buying a laptop from places like Tigerdirect, Newegg and BestBuy is that you can't customize your build. xoticpc has been around for a while (1999 according to their site) and I haven't heard any complaints about them. I haven't heard from anyone I've referred to them that they needed to return their laptops, so I'm not sure about the level of customer service they have for that.

I just check out Xoticpc.com website and it looks really cool. But it looks to good to be true, so I looked into it more. I was able to find many people complaining about the rude customer service as well as other problems. Is this call true? Or is it just made up and fake?


Thanks

 

[Flam1ng Dem0n]

Have you check the TD policy yet?
At least NewEgg gives you 30 days. At TD it's might be 14 days )or 30 days, depending on the model_.

I just read you post and was not sure what you meant by it. But then I re-read what you had quoted by me and noticed that the word "before" should be a "Because". Sorry about that....I will be fixing here soon.

Post Edit: The word mix-up has been fixed.

 

[WR2]

@ TigerDirect Samsung NP530U4B-A01US Series 5 Ultrabook

TD Return Policy - 14 days:

 

[Martell1977]

I just check out Xoticpc.com website and it looks really cool. But it looks to good to be true, so I looked into it more. I was able to find many people complaining about the rude customer service as well as other problems. Is this call true? Or is it just made up and fake?

Good or Bad, you have to take reviews with a grain of salt. You never know what information people aren't giving you about their situation. Some could be totally honest, while others don't mention that their dog spent 3 hours chewing on the screen and the company wouldn't fix it, they just tell you about the not being fixed part.
As for customer service being rude, you have to remember that a callers attitude usually sets the tone for the whole conversation.

Everyones experiences are different, from the people that I have referred to xoticpc (around 80), there haven't been any complaints. But again, they didn't have any problems with the laptops they recieved.

 

[llguitargr8]

Maybe?

http/www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&series_name=ENVY17_series&aoid=35252

I tried to do some research, and I found this. I've heard good things about HP's Envy series.

 

[Flam1ng Dem0n]

@ TigerDirect Samsung NP530U4B-A01US Series 5 Ultrabook

TD Return Policy - 14 days:
http://i.imgur.com/vn50X.jpg

That return policy it for that specific item. On Tiger Direct a return policy change from Item to Item. When i was building my second desktop the return policies were a lot better then what was available on NewEgg. On NewEgg (from what I have found) their return Policies are basically the same for almost all items you buy there.
For example when I buy CPUs, RAM, or Graphics Cards on Tiger Direct they give me the ability to return them if they are incompatible with the current setup I have, was damaged in shipment, was not what you ordered, stopped working after some use and many more options.
But on the other hand NewEgg return option for CPUs, RAM, or Graphics Cards was very limited and if you bought the wrong item or if it stopped working after some use NewEgg would have nothing to do with what you bought.
Also i just checked Tiger Directs Return Policy and this is what it said about the the time you can return a item.
"Unless otherwise specified in the item listing on our website, on the receipt or packing slip, or in the following terms, TigerDirect.com will accept qualified and conforming products for exchange or refund within 30 days of the original purchase date."

 

[WR2]

For example when I buy CPUs, RAM, or Graphics Cards on Tiger Direct they give me the ability to return them if they are incompatible with the current setup I have, was damaged in shipment, was not what you ordered, stopped working after some use and many more options.

NewEgg is the same way.

Also i just checked Tiger Directs Return Policy and this is what it said about the the time you can return a item.
"Unless otherwise specified in the item listing on our website, on the receipt or packing slip, or in the following terms, TigerDirect.com will accept qualified and conforming products for exchange or refund within 30 days of the original purchase date."

 

[Martell1977]

Of all the parts I've ordered from Newegg I've only had 1 problem. An HDD that was DOA. I called them and they overnighted a new one to me at no charge and even included a shipping label for me to return the bad drive.

Everyones experiences are different, for me Newegg is one of the best.

What I don't like about TD is that alot of their pricing depends on mail-in-rebates. To this day, I have never recieved any M-i-R that I have sent in. Because of that, I don't consider them as relevent to the price and on several items that makes TD more expensive than Newegg.

 

[WR2]

You did go through and check the return policy on some laptops, didnt you?
After all - you're not talking about CPUs, RAM, or Graphics Cards, right?

 

[jsrudd]

You should contact the manufacturer about your laptop. Asus is generally pretty good about support.

You will have to send the laptop to Asus, but they'll probably fix/replace it.

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

I own computer shops and a laptop repair company...

Answer to a couple of your questions...

Your boss is WRONG about the battery wiring...

If you bought a Laptop from me or ANY company and you had been ANYWHERE near it with a soldering iron.....your WARRANTY would be invalid INSTANTLY...EVEN IF IT WAS AN EXTENDED WARRANTY...



All the best Brett

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

Oops forgot to answer your first question....

YOU bought it knowing it was a display model.....you have no comback at all on the seller...

All the best Brett

 

[rattman169]

If wireless stops functioning, possibly due to heat, purchase a usb wireless key, second, batteries die fast with heat, laptop batteries have usually a 1 year life due to heat. Are you using a laptop cooler? I have used a cooler with my last laptop and have had no issues in 2 years on an ACER and battery works like new, last 2 laptops no cooler was used, batteries died just after a year, one Toshiba and one Acer. Heat on laptops is a MAJOR factor, and if you want to keep it longer, get a cooler. Third, don't remove old components or try adjusing connectors for battery, one little slip and you can fry the whole laptop, then what does it get you, spending money for nothing. My 2 cents., but have seen it in use and everyone that has gotten a cooler now have there laptops longer.