[Cialug] OT: DVD drive problem

[Dave J. Hala Jr.]

The real issue here is that you have an laptop that doesn't perform as
expected. The issue is that the laptop is sluggish when using the DVD.
Arguing with the tech about what the issue will be pointless.

I would pull back from arguing about the drive and demand that the
laptop be fixed or replaced. I'd be firm about it. Be overbearing if you
have to. You paid good money for the laptop. Don't settle for some lame
excuse. You don't care what's wrong with it, you just want it fixed.

If he jerks you around, tell him you want to talk to his to boss, when
he  jerks you around, find out who to call at the corporate office. Keep
moving up the tree until you get it fixed. Never give up, and don't fall
into the "Its not the drive" trap. Demonstrate the problem and demand
that they fix or replace it -and don't let them send it off for 3 weeks,
either, demand a replacement. If they won't give you replacement, demand
a refund.

Document every conversation you have with them. Nothing makes me madder
than spending good money on something that doesn't work, and then
getting jerked around to tryinh to get your item fixed or get your money
back.



:) Dave







On Mon, 2007-09-10 at 16:07 -0500, Mark Hesseltine wrote:
> Install VideoLan on it and try playing an audio CD or DVD. A default
> build of VLC should have codecs for both, which would rule out codec
> issues. If it's still skipping and stuttering, it's probably related
> to the drive.
> 
> On 9/10/07, Tim Wilson <tim_linux at wilson-home.com> wrote:
> > I know a question about Windows make most people on the list shudder, but I
> > think someone at Best Buy is blowing smoke (or has inhaled too deeply).
> >
> > My wife's laptop started experiencing issues a little over a week ago, with
> > one of the auto-launch programs saying that a device was not using DMA mode.
> >  So I went to the disk controller in Device Manager, and sure enough, it was
> > set to use DMA mode if available, but it was using PIO mode.  We also
> > noticed that the drive was making noises, and the laptop was quite sluggish
> > when anything was using the DVD drive.  Since it is under warranty, I took
> > it in to Best Buy, and the "tech" at Geek Squad said it wasn't a failing
> > drive, it was corrupted codecs.  He played an audio CD, and it skipped and
> > hesitated.  So his argument was that it had to be a codec, because even in
> > PIO mode, the CD should be fine.
> >
> > I'll admit, that test was pretty convincing, but it still doesn't explain
> > the sluggishness of the laptop while the DVD is in use.  That to me sounds
> > like a PIO mode issue.
> >
> > Does this sound remotely plausible to anyone?  Would putting a live CD
> > distro in and testing with it prove helpful?
> >
> > --
> > Tim
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> >
> >
> 
>