It’s Sunday night at 9.40 and the phone rings and I answer it, and this voice says, “Hi, we’re calling about the repair of your computer. We’d like to have the technician come by Tuesday before noon. Would that be alright?” What the hell? So of course I respond, “That would be fine.”
Tomorrow or else. I’m happy that Brandon will be able to fill me for me in the morning. When my computer is fixed, Best Buy customer service is going to catch some hell.
Still no computer. Perhaps Tuesday or Wednesday. Damn it.
Lem no longer noticed he was there. He was paying attention to how it felt to be standing there inside his bones, which were covered by muscles and skin. Continue reading
Tuesday, 22 March, early morning: a power surge causes the motherboard on my computer to fry, making it nonfunctional.
Tuesday afternoon: I discover the problem and call the Best Buy tech support hotline and speak to a helpful, knowledgeable lady who diagnoses the problem. She puts in a service call request (my in-home parts/labor warranty covers everything) and advises me to take my computer somewhere to do a data backup before the new motherboard is installed. She tells me that once the new motherboard arrives, a technician will call me to set up the service appointment. She estimates the part will arrive on Tuesday, 29 March.
Friday morning: I take the day off work and go to Best Buy on Clark, about 10 blocks away, to get data backup. This is not covered by my warranty. Cost: $85.00. The member of the Geek Squad seems to be an agreeable fellow and tells me that as there are no other machines before mine, it should be ready for pickup “by dinnertime.” He tells me that he will give me a call when it’s ready.
Friday afternoon: a technician calls me, saying the new motherboard has arrived. He asks if Monday at 10.30 am is good for me. I hesitate (knowing that Andy will have to deal with things then since I’ll be at work) but then say that that would be fine.
Friday evening: still no call from Best Buy concerning the data backup.
Saturday afternoon: I call Best Buy to check up on things and am told that a member of the Geek Squad will call me back in a few minutes to let me know where things stand. The call never comes.
Sunday, noon: I trudge over to Best Buy to see if I can just pick up my computer. When I get there the store is closed up: no signs saying “Closed For Easter,” no nothing. And there were no notices posted earlier in the week either. I fume.
Sunday afternoon: I leave a detailed message with the technician telling him that my computer is still at Best Buy for the data backup, and perhaps he can do the installation directly at the store. I give him my home number, my work number, and tell him to please call me.
Monday, 10.15 am: Despite having been appraised of the situation, Andy is in the shower and so does not hear either the door buzzer nor the message the technician leaves on the answering machine: “I’m 3 blocks away and we had an appointment for your computer. Please call.”
11.30 am: Andy calls me and tells me about the message on the answering machine. He gives me the tech’s cell number. I call both the tech’s office number and the cell number and leave messages with my work number.
3.45 PM: I get home from work. No messages from the tech guy, but there IS a message from Best Buy saying that the data backup is complete and my computer is ready for pickup. I call the store and they inform me that the motherboard installation can only be done in-home since I have an in-home warranty; they don’t have appropriate parts/technicians to do it. I call both numbers for the tech guy and leave fresh messages.
Monday evening: I pick up my computer and bring it home. No messages.
Tuesday morning: I call both numbers for the tech guy and leave fresh messages.
Tuesday afternoon: After I come home from work, I try both numbers for the tech guy. Nothing. No messages. I call Best Buy tech support again and give them the rundown, saying I can’t get ahold of anyone. They open a “fresh” case and tell me to call back in about 2 hours to get an updated status. When I call later on they tell me there is no new info and I should try back in the morning.
This morning: I call both numbers for the tech guy and leave fresh messages. I will try the Best Buy Tech hotline a bit later. Meanwhile: still no computer at home.
I’m at the office, wearing my W.C. Fields tie. I’m kind of amazed that I still remember how to TIE a tie. It’s the kind of day I wish I still had the red Mustang convertible, driving down the Pacific Coast Highway and listening to “Love T.K.O.” by Teddy Pendergrass. I’d look like some geeky, pimped-out car commercial.
Yes, DVD Night is Wednesday at 7.30pm @ Rob & Andy’s Place … let me know ASAP if you’re not coming so I can take your choice out of the queue.
Time to try on shorts again? Tomorrow it will be 70 degrees here! We hafta “dress up” tomorrow for a client visit, so Brandon and I have agreed to wear ties. I’m going to wear my W.C Fields tie. It’s been in the bottom of a clothes drawer for about, oh, five years …
Still without a computer, until tomorrow (if all goes well). Very disorienting. I’m at a net cafe right now. Such technological slaves are we. Am I. Last night I watched “Amadeus” on DVD and I still love that movie. Made french toast for breakfast.
Yesterday I came home from work to find that my computer would not turn on. I tried different outlets, unplugging/replugging the power cord etc. etc. all to no avail. So I dug up my Best Buy warranty paperwork and called the service line …
Yadda yadda, after half an hour of over-the-phone testing (the computer eventually turned on but would only whir and grind without fully booting, was unreponsive to restart attempts) it was concluded that sometime during the early morning hours of yesterday, a power surge had fried my motherboard. Now, my computer was in sleep mode at the time and plugged into a surge protector. But according to tech support, most surge protectors have an average life of effectiveness of 1.5 years, and mine was perhaps a few years old.
GOOD NEWS: my in-home full parts/labor warranty is still in effect, so a new motherboard and installation etc. won’t cost me anything. BAD NEWS: according to tech support, there is a “50/50 chance” that even after the installation of the new motherboard, the only way to get my computer up and running again will be to run the recovery disc; i.e. I’ll lose all the data on my hard drive. GOOD NEWS: Just last week I had the foresight to save & also print out a copy of the latest draft of the new novel. And I can take the CPU somewhere and get data recovery of all my files. BAD NEWS: data loss is not covered under my warranty and so data recovery could cost $100. And there are many files (like all my email, and sundry other writing) which I do NOT have backups for.
And, althought the parts are on order, they are estimating that a technician won’t be able to fix the computer until next Wednesday or Thursday.
I guess I’m taking it pretty well. Just kind of que sera sera. I mean, what can I do? Really? We’re at the mercy of machines, but we musn’t let them dictate our happiness (if we can help it).
Knowing that many of my readers have expertise in these areas, allow me to ask a few questions. Do you think the above diagnosis is correct? What/who do you recommend for data recovery? Is it better to just turn one’s computer off/on rather than rely on sleep mode? Any other tips/recommendations? Thanks.
