I bit the bullet…

Posted 1 year, 5 months ago at 7:50 am. 0 comments

Well, I’ve been having problems with my computer – I can’t re-dock it unless before I remove it from the dock I turn off all my items docked to it (external hard drive, DVD-writer, printer).  Plus, the PCMCIA port died (I get the blue screen of death when I plug in my SoundBlaster 24-bit sound card into which I attach my surround-sound speakers).  When I tried to get service on my extended warranty from Gateway, I found that my warranty was sold to another company.  I contacted them & they scheduled service (in October!), but it didn’t happen because the part was “back-ordered.”  Then, three weeks after that, the company was going through bankruptcy.  Now, it’s liquidated & I can’t get any service even though I have a year left on my warranty.

I went back to Dell (with whom I’d purchased my previous 3 laptops).  I’ve ended up buying a computer every 3-4 years for the past 12.  I did research online & was going to purchase through the Dell Outlet – but to use the financing for the first time I had to call them.  I ended up purchasing a new computer as well as a wireless printer (we’ve also had tons of printer problems & this will be a nice resolution so that all computers in the house are able to print).  My sales rep gave me an upgrade on my extended warranty (so that when I call I recieve US-based service), upgraded my hard drive to amazingly large (for free) & in the end (since I AM in the system as a loyal Dell customer) saved me about $700 off the price that I’d worked out online as my “wish-list” – AFTER taxes & financing charges!

So, in about 2 weeks, I’m going to be going crazy trying to transfer everything over to my new computer, but it’s got everything I need (although it’s not the extreme top-of-the-line that I’ve tried to get before) and I’ll even have a webcam so maybe I can do some video posts.  We’ll have to see what happens.

I’m excited!!  I’ll let you know how it all works out…Gateway – never again!

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