I don’t post much about things like this, but I feel I need to share it so that others may know.  A year ago in December I bought a new laptop, a 17″ Gateway FX, considered a “desktop replacement”– an AWESOME GAMING MACHINE, as our 18yo son says.  And he wants my laptop, BAD. This thing is a monster, I mean seriously HUGE as far as laptops are concerned. It weighs 10# and the only cases they make for them cost $80-120.  I carry mine, when I choose to lug it around, in a beach bag with Tweetie Bird on it.  Yes, I really do.

So recently I started having some power issues with it.  When I had it plugged in, the battery notice would read, “Plugged in, not charging”.  We took it down to the GeekSquad for them to take a look at it.  The geek, er, guy said that we needed to use our warranty and request the battery and power cord that are covered under it, so we could play process of elimination and figure out whether it was either of those or the motherboard.  I called the phone number they gave me, and requested the parts.

I received a battery and power cord about a week and a half later.  The batter was the right size but it was only half as wide as my battery was. It did fit the laptop. Still, it was so obviously not the right battery.  The power cord was this tiny thing with interchangeable heads. I’ve never seen anything like it.  None of the plug heads fit my computer’s AC jack.  I called the phone number again, got a return label, and sent them both back.

Shipment #2, I received the correct power cord, although obviously a used one.  The battery I received was THE IDENTICAL ONE that I received last time.  By this point I took my computer back to the Geeks, and they sent it, along with my original cord and battery, to their repair center in Chino, CA.  Meanwhile, I called the number again, and complained. Yes, I complained.  “This is ridiculous!”, I think that’s about what I said.  They re-ordered another battery for me.

Shipment #3 (you notice I did NOT return battery #2) contained a battery that wasn’t even made for my make of laptop.  I have no clue what these people were thinking but who ever ordered it wasn’t running on all cells.  9 cells, you know, like the EXTENDED LIFE BATTERY I was supposed to receive. I took a picture of all 3 batteries, just to illustrate this, prior to sending back that third battery this morning.

The explanation here is that they don’t even CARRY extended life batteries. The smaller one I received does fit and will power my laptop, though I haven’t yet tried it out to see how long. Its is a 6-cell, so I don’t expect big things out of it.  When I went to pick up my laptop, which was gone to Geeksville for a total of 4 weeks, I had just received the third battery. I brought it in to show them. The guy told me that when I call, keep the other battery because it’s the only one they will cover, so I did.  WHAT A PAIN!!!

So what, exactly, did this warranty pay for?  I’m sure it’s probably worth it since I ended up having to have the motherboard replaced, but it was a serious hassle.