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Kyouria wrote on 2011-08-11 07:19
Sometimes my laptop (HP Pavilion dv6) electrifies me. First, my sister says it shocked her when she was using it and I didn't believe her. Until I felt the small shock too..
Is this bad? I got this laptop last year for use in college, about $800. (I know it's much cheaper now). Since the refund date is LONG past, I'm stuck with it for a few years~.
Is the electrocution something of my fault? Or the manufacturer's? I didn't buy warranty.
I leave the laptop charger plugged-in most of the time. It doesn't shock me ALL the time, just once in a while out of no where it'll be all electrify-y. >___<
Td;lr: Laptop electrifies me sometimes (slightly). No warranty. No returning possible. Is it my fault? How can I fix it? D:
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Yoorah wrote on 2011-08-11 07:50
How long ago exactly did you buy it? All laptops come with manufacturer warranty even if you don't buy extra, which is usually 1 year at a minimum. The store refund thing doesn't matter. Check if your warranty is still valid!
As for the actual problem, it's pretty bad. I'm guessing it's a static discharge, and it can actually kill the circuitry in the computer, depending on luck... or lack of thereof. I don't think it's possible for you to fix. :(
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Kyouria wrote on 2011-08-11 08:05
Oh no :C it was a gift from my parents. I think the shocking is getting worse. My left arm feels weird and I have little reddness splotches where my arm was resting on my laptop..
I'll call to see. I didn't keep any reciets though. I don't think my parents would be too happy that I need a new laptop just one year after. Maybe I can still use it at home but with rubber gloves on lol. @__@
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EndlessDreams wrote on 2011-08-11 08:07
Where are you getting electrocuted? Is it while typing or something?
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Yoorah wrote on 2011-08-11 08:20
When you say one year after... do you mean that you know for sure that the laptop is more than one year old? If so, the standard warranty probably expired... since they're most commonly just for 1 year. D:
But if you know that it hasn't been 1 year yet, then you should know that big retail stores like BestBuy can re-print the receipt if you show em the credit card that was used to make the purchase. You should definitely ask your parents about this ASAP if you know that this laptop is less than a year old. @_@
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Kyouria wrote on 2011-08-11 09:04
Yeah.. the warranty is over. I just got off the phone with a tech support representative. He said the send-in, repair & components included that are required to fix it, costs $255. >___< So expensive. And that it isn't factory-related, a known issue, or anything that they can offer a cheaper fix for. I never spilled water on it or plugged in broken USB/plugs (I plug in a laptop mouse and iPhone USB, and that's it).
My mom is a bit upset and is worried about the shocking. Since it HAS shocked my sister twice in the past too.
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Yoorah wrote on 2011-08-11 09:38
It seems that the electric shock is not an uncommon problem with the dv6. Try googling and you'll see...
Among the results I found this, which I must say, I found to be pretty hilarious (sorry!):
[Image: http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/9940/69917311.jpg]
http://www.amazon.co.uk/tag/electric%20shock/products
I mean.. seriously? Right next to the shocking pens? LOL :(
This seems like a serious problem and a potential health risk. I wonder if there's some kind of consumer rights organization through which you could get this fixed.. because this just isn't right. O_o Maybe you should call em again and tell them that they should be held responsible for this, as it could be a health risk.
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Kyouria wrote on 2011-08-11 10:58
Wow ahhaha.. :C
Well, I mentioned that to them and the tech rep just told me that the $255 was the best she could do. And that, although the www may bring up a lot of search results, their repair department hasn't received any previous electric shock reports.. so it's uncommon. >__<
Should I just invest that $255 into another laptop? One that doesn't shock me? I could still use this one (rubber gloves, maybe) and just get a smaller laptop (this is 15") to take to college. This was 900$ but nowadays, it's only $600. Gah. I should quickly decide since all these laptop sales for school is going on.
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TA wrote on 2011-08-11 11:21
Well, that's already half the cost of a pretty good laptop now days... Sounds like a ripoff to me.
But just think... One day you can give the perfect gift to someone you "really like!"
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BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2011-08-11 11:48
Quote from TA;548169:
Well, that's already half the cost of a pretty good laptop now days... Sounds like a ripoff to me.
But just think... One day you can give the perfect gift to someone you "really like!"
odohohoho
they're gonna be in shock
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Osayidan wrote on 2011-08-11 13:33
Have you only tried it on one outlet? and what if it isn't plugged in?
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Yoorah wrote on 2011-08-12 04:27
Quote from TA;548169:
But just think... One day you can give the perfect gift to someone you "really like!"
LOL
Quote from Kyouria;548131:
Wow ahhaha.. :C
Well, I mentioned that to them and the tech rep just told me that the $255 was the best she could do. And that, although the www may bring up a lot of search results, their repair department hasn't received any previous electric shock reports.. so it's uncommon. >__<
Should I just invest that $255 into another laptop? One that doesn't shock me? I could still use this one (rubber gloves, maybe) and just get a smaller laptop (this is 15") to take to college. This was 900$ but nowadays, it's only $600. Gah. I should quickly decide since all these laptop sales for school is going on.
The rep might have lied or was unaware of the info. It doesn't really matter, it just means they don't think this defect is serious enough for them to be responsible out of warranty for it. At this point it could be a consumer rights/safety related issue, but I lack expertise in this field so I can't provide any concrete advice. D: If you know anyone with good knowledge of legal matters, however, you should ask them. I did come across
this, however:
I have an pavilion laptop
HP Pavilion dv9727us Entertainment Notebook PC Serial Number: CNF-----MG Product Number: kc340ua
this laptop gives sustained electric shocks when it is operating with the AC adapter. whenever we touch the bottom cooling screen on the left bottom while touching some other metal part of the case. I am the original owner so i know its full history. The notebook has never been damaged, has never gotten wet, has its original battery installed, and the case has never been opened. The adapter that comes with this laptop is a three prong (grounding) unit. This is the original adapter and, like the laptop, it is in like-new condition. The laptop is only used indoors and the shock can be felt even when sitting or standing on insulating surfaces.
we have to use the laptop on one of those cooler units that goes under the laptop so that we can handle this pavilion without getting the electric shock. The electric shock from the laptop seems to be from the cooling vent that is on the front left side of the bottom. For example, when lifting up the laptop and grasping the left and right sides on each side of the touchpad, we will feel the electric shock. The shock is not strong enough to make us let go of the laptop, but strong enough to make us put it down quickly.
As soon as I give the HP support site the laptop serial number and it determines that the laptop is out of warranty, it is impossible to submit a support ticket.
I called HP on Nov 7 2010. Ten minutes on hold; five minutes describing the problem and HP checking the warranty status followed by a 30 second kiss-off after they said it was out of warranty. I told them that the next step was the United States Consumer Protection Agency which inspired the operator to take this to his manager. After another 7 minutes on hold they finally asked for detail of the problem which took another 15 minutes. More time on hold, and on and on. Finally got a support ticket number.
Total time on the phone with H P: 1 hour, 22 seconds.
I have sent a letter to the US consumer protection agency at http://www.cpsc.gov/
We will see if HP actually follows up with this problem, but I wanted others to know that this issue is known to HP and other HP laptop owners that are receiving shocks from their laptop should complain to HP as well as the US Consumer Protection Agency. Possibly together we can get this issue resolved
lawl they got the wrong name for the CPSC, but whatever. Seems effective at getting HP to pay attention, at the very least!
Another thing you can try is file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau
here.
If you are interested in trying to get HP to fix this, then you should go to the store where your parents bought it and have them re-print your receipt, as that could help you from a legal standpoint.
HP sucks, man. When my friend had an overheating HP laptop, she sent it in for repairs 3 times. They replaced the motherboard and other parts every time, and the overheating problem would return after a week or so. She was lucky she had external warranty with BestBuy, where BestBuy would have to give her a gift card for the purchase of another laptop if the one she bought before qualified for 4 repairs. :|
And this is why I hate consumer laptops. If you do decide to buy a new one, I suggest you get a Lenovo ThinkPad, as I was suggesting
here. It should outlast the usefulness of its specs. :<
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Osayidan wrote on 2011-08-12 04:42
Toshiba will also outlast anything it can be useful for (and somehow still be useful).
My 2007 toshiba satellite with 1GB ram, and crappy single core garbage, is currently running windows 7 thin PC and boots faster than my sister's brand new Dell. I have an almost identical laptop on a shelf in my closet that's running a centos web server and it's been online for longer than any nexon server has ever been.
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Yoorah wrote on 2011-08-12 04:59
True, Toshiba's probably ranking #2... I mean, I have a 2004 Toshiba Satellite A20.. which suffered being stuffed into my school backpack along with massive textbooks and 30 minute walking journeys to school. And it wasn't a backpack meant to hold a laptop, so it was getting abused. Although it was one of those "powerful" desktop-replacement models, so I think carrying it made me suffer more so than the laptop ... <_<
But the LCD inverter circuit on it did burn out after about 3 years' use, and it was a fairly common problem. As such, it doesn't get top reliability marks for me. But for a consumer laptop, it's still pretty good. It's like 7-8 years old now and my parents still use it as a "desktop," no hardware problems other than the dead LCD backlight.
The new business-class Toshiba Tecras are really nice and are probably quite reliable,
but sadly the LCD image quality on them is not great.. so I can't recommend it to anyone unless they don't care about that issue.
Lenovo's ThinkPad T series is still the top choice!
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Kyouria wrote on 2011-08-13 02:58
I've decided to use this Pikachu laptop for a while.. I don't see anything else wrong with it. Except I think it may have to do with my Laptop charger! It makes a whistling noise of some kind SOMETIMES when I have it plugged in; the noise stops when I unplug it. I tend to keep it plugged in since the battery runs out so fast.