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April 28, 2009

Toshiba laptop drives its owner crazy

A reader owns an expensive laptop that has never worked -- Gripe Line admits defeat

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Tina wrote to me ages ago with this lament:

Help! A little over a year ago I bought a Toshiba Satellite laptop. I paid over $2,000 for it from Best Buy. I have had nothing but problems with the machine since I brought it home. Like any new pet, I expected to have to get used to it, to figure it out, etc. It ran Vista and hated it at first sight. Then the docking station I bought from Best Buy did not work with it. Whenever I used my 19-inch monitor it caused a conflict and the thing simply shut down. I ordered a new docking station directly from Toshiba. They promised this one would work. It did not. It, too, caused a conflict. I sent that back.

But the conflicts continued. The laptop stated giving me a blue screen on a regular basis. I took it to some local geeks who could not get the machine to duplicate the problems. But they suggested I remove Vista, put XP on it and run office 07, which I did.

It didn't help. This laptop is a total nightmare and now sits quietly under my printer waiting for something to do. I want to use it. It is pretty. But I can't get anything done on it because every time I turn it on something else goes wrong. I am at a loss and really irritated by the fact that I could spend $2,000 in many other ways right about now.

I would like to say that this story has a happy ending. But, though I have tried, it does not. I sent Tina's e-mail to Toshiba -- repeatedly. I even got someone from Toshiba to call her once or twice to see if they could walk her through fixing it over the phone. This has gone on for several months.

[ Frustrated by your tech support? You're not alone. Get answers from Christina Tynan-Wood in InfoWorld's Gripe Line newsletter. ]

I have prodded, inquired, e-mailed again, and suggested that $2,000 is a lot of money to pay for computer that does nothing. Nothing I do now gets so much as a response from Toshiba. And no one is making any effort to get her machine working.

I hate to admit defeat, yet that's what I'm doing. But that doesn't mean I have to admit defeat quietly.

Got gripes? Send them to christina_tynan-wood@infoworld.com.

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mrloonytoony 29-Apr-09 10:01am
We have several Toshiba laptops and had nothing but headaches from them. For instance, one laptop's headset jack stopped working. We sent it in to be repaired and for over 4 weeks were unable to get any type of status on the laptop. When we called in, my techs would be placed on hold for over 2+ hours. As the IT Director, I finally called their headquarters and threatened to open a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. At that point they expedited the laptop and had it sent it overnight back to us fixed. There is a trick, however, that you can do to get very fast support on your system. Find a local service center in your area. When we did this, we found that the local server centers repair the laptops very quickly sometimes on the same day. You do not have to call the main line but can deal directly with them and they do cover the warranty. Over all I would say Toshiba has really dropped the ball and is no longer selling a quality system. Every Toshiba Laptop we have (15+) all have had numerous problems.
TinaENC 30-Apr-09 1:04pm
Hi Christina, Tina here. I just wanted to let you know that I received a very nice phone call from Toshiba today - a gentleman named Guy called. He asked a lot of questions, listened to me and is sending a box over night so tha tI can send my laptop to them. What a relief! I am so tired of having to go through trouble shooting on the phone to end up with " hmmm, I have never heard of THAT before." So, I am sending it off to Guy with the promise from him that I will either have this fixed, get a new laptop, or get my money back. In any case, I feel much happier about this now. Thank you so much for your help on this issue. I will be sure to update you on what happens next and how they work to resolve this. Best- Tina
wayne 5-May-09 9:23am
Tina I am glad you have some help finally. I have found that once you reach high enough you can get an answer. I have contacted HP (Carly Fiorina) and Dell and had good responce from both when I have sent an email detailing the issue I have been having. I really prefer Dell's support model to the local repair center since they are no always nearby. I am surprised that Best Buy did not step up to the plate and offer any help shame on them for missing an opportunity to show people why they should buy from them!
CHL_TX_COM 5-May-09 9:24am
Remember, Toshiba is the Japanese company run by people who thought it was ok to sell their country's secrets (and ours) to the enemy during the "cold war". Treason should be rewarded with death, not more business. If they think it's ok to betray their country for money, do you think they would hesitate to screw you over for money? They did respond in this case, but only after being shamed publicly.
candidcactus 5-May-09 9:53am
My brother purchased a Toshiba laptop a few years ago. I called tech support when a part burned out after 2-3 months, and was able to get an RMA. They kept it for a long time, we called repeatedly. We finally got it back after 9 months. The part burned out again, but Toshiba insisted the 12 month warranty had now run out. Good timing Toshiba. I haven't bought or recommended a Toshiba product since, and recommend no one else so it either. Is it reasonable to call the company slime in this forum?
gjewett 5-May-09 9:56am
My own experience with Toshiba Satelite is not a good story. I had one brand new, company supplied. Within the first six months it was in the service shop three times. It's over-priced and a disappointment. On the other hand, I have been very impressed with my dealings with Dell support.
Jim 5-May-09 10:25am
I have a worthless Toshiba paperweight at home too. After about 9 months it started crashing occasionally. It grew worse and it became clear that it was overheating. I discovered this and it died just after the twelve month point when the waranty was out. At that point, they weren't covering those heating issues and there were lots of angry posts on discussion groups. I knew it would need a replacment motherboard and by that time I could purchase a newer replacment laptop for barely more than the cost of fixing the old one. Later there was a class action suit that gave money to those who had repairs on that model. I didn't benefit from the suit since I didn't get mine repaired. Now it is just a worthless paperweight sitting in my closet.
richb-hanover 5-May-09 11:00am
I learned an interesting technique with a (reasonably expensive) Seiko watch. It wouldn't keep time, even after a couple trips to the local Seiko repair shop. I was even told that my two year old watch would need a complete replacement of its innards. No way... I boxed it up and sent it Fedex to the president of Seiko. I attached a polite note that described that the watch was unusable, despite the several attempts by their repair facility. I threw myself on his mercy - was I going to have to pay for this repair on a quality piece of goods? A week later, I had my watch back (with a new watch band) and it has been working perfectly for several more years. [The reason this works is that the President hates to get mail like this. He has a person who opens the mail, and who has authority to intervene on your behalf...] Best regards, Rich
Luteguy 5-May-09 11:51am
I used to repair Toshiba laptops, and I'll tell you: I would NEVER buy one with my own money. It's good to have recent validation as I steer my friends away from this brand.
KenGross 5-May-09 7:30pm
I buy only Sager laptops. Custom laptops don't cost any more, and they are better configured for maximum performance. Toshiba, HP, Sony Fujitsu.. All those companies just assemble the cheapest parts and one mismatched component can degrade the entire system; you have no idea what's inside of a branded laptop. But a custom laptop you know what's there.
Loerps 8-Jul-09 11:27am
My family has owned only one Toshiba notebook PC and it was an unmitigated disaster. We haven't even looked at a Toshiba since and don't recommend them to anyone.

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