PC keeps coming up with same fault after all this time...can we get anything sorted?

Maria67

Hello

• Custom built Gaming PC
  
• July 2011 (not in use until 25/12/2011 due to joint Christmas/birthday present
• Bought off the internet - well known online company
  
• Payed by debit card
  
• Since day one the graphics card has made the PC crash. We have followed all advice from (PC Company) either by anything that needed doing on the PC itself or by them asking us to send the graphics card back to them which has been done every time. They send a new one back out and we always get the same problem and that is the problem. We have asked for a different kind of graphics card, offered advice but been told to do what they want us to do basically. We also asked for the PC to go back to them, which they were happy to do and found problems and thought they have resolved them but when we got the PC back it started all over again. When we reported the latest problem just last week we asked if we could do a like for like swap for another PC because of the continuous problems. The PC Company came back with 'our guarantee is 5 months out of date but were happy if we wanted to send the PC back to them for checking'. The guarantee was for 1 year and a three year parts guarantee.
  
• The PC Company just keep asking us to do the same thing over and over by sending the graphics card back to them, then we get a new one and the problem persists.
  
• I would have liked for them to actually fix the issue so the PC could be used for what it was bought for 'Gaming' but this has been going on for so long that we would be better off with another PC as there is a definite problem there with that set up build for that PC imo. So a like for like for another PC.

*All screenshots have been taken over the length of time and sent to the PC Company at every technical request I have put in.*



I do not understand why we are going round in circles with doing the same thing over and over again with the graphics card. It never solves anything. It works for a few days and then starts crashing.



I do not know if I have any rights for what I've asked for as a 'like for like swap' but as they turned me down it doesn't look like I do so I hope somebody can help give me some advice on this matter.


Many thanks!


Maria

Jakg

Not that it makes a difference - but could you clarify how many times you've had a replacement graphics card sent to you?

unholyangel

Whether you're entitled to a remedy or not will depend on whether its crashing because (for example) the graphics card is incompatible with other components of the pc or whether its because of conflicting software that you installed yourself.

I know they keep replacing the graphics card, but is that where the fault actually is? If they've replaced/repaired the graphics card half a dozen times and its still happening, common sense should dictate the problem is elsewhere.

Maria67

Jakg wrote: »

Not that it makes a difference - but could you clarify how many times you've had a replacement graphics card sent to you?

Hello Jakg It's been changed 5 times and that was including when the whole PC went back to them where they also changed the motherboard and case....the fault report said:

Initial testing completed without any problems. During extended testing A problem was found with the case mounts which would not allow the GPU to be held in place and if knocked caused the GPU to slip and then the PC crashed.

Case and motherboard have been changed and tests carried out again PC has now passed 4 overnight burnin tests and up to 14 hrs of game testing with borderlands 2.

Hardware tests have completed and no further problems have been found.

We're very sorry that your computer had to be returned to us. We hope you have no further problems.

Six days after we got the 'whole' PC back it crashed again.

unholyangel wrote: »

Whether you're entitled to a remedy or not will depend on whether its crashing because (for example) the graphics card is incompatible with other components of the pc or whether its because of conflicting software that you installed yourself.

I know they keep replacing the graphics card, but is that where the fault actually is? If they've replaced/repaired the graphics card half a dozen times and its still happening, common sense should dictate the problem is elsewhere.

Hello unholyangel

I've given a fault report above of when we sent the whole PC back. I am not sure if that is what is happening all the time, I don't know. I did get some online support from a PC tech forum a while back and they said that the PSU was too underpowered for that GPU. I put this to the PC Company but they said quite firmly that it wasn't the case and that it would come up on the screen if that was the case as an error. We never saw anything like that.

artbaron

Either the fault's with another component or they're sending the same graphics card back to you. Take the serial number and check next time (if there is a next time). What are the symptoms when it "crashes"? Does it not switch on, does it blue-screen, give errors, reboot, beep on boot, etc.?

Personally I've bought many PCs online and in my experience the best thing to do if a PC arrives damaged or fails to work is return it for a full refund. I've done this six times now and always got every penny of my money back. If a build doesn't work initially then it can be a hell of a job finding the fault and once they have your money they're not too fussed. Same goes for damage. If one component is visibly damaged chances are that others are too. In future, reject the whole thing, trust me.

StuieUK34

Whats spec of machine ?
might be able to say if its the PSU (and what brand is the PSU)

Maria67

artbaron wrote: »

Either the fault's with another component or they're sending the same graphics card back to you. Take the serial number and check next time (if there is a next time). What are the symptoms when it "crashes"? Does it not switch on, does it blue-screen, give errors, reboot, beep on boot, etc.?

Personally I've bought many PCs online and in my experience the best thing to do if a PC arrives damaged or fails to work is return it for a full refund. I've done this six times now and always got every penny of my money back. If a build doesn't work initially then it can be a hell of a job finding the fault and once they have your money they're not too fussed. Same goes for damage. If one component is visibly damaged chances are that others are too. In future, reject the whole thing, trust me.

Hello artbaron We did check the serial the first time and they did send another one. Didn't check after that though.
Most crashes it just sticks there, no errors.
Yes, I think too late for us now as it's been too long to get a full refund but that's why I've posted about it here as I may be wrong hopefully.

StuieUK34 wrote: »

Whats spec of machine ?
might be able to say if its the PSU (and what brand is the PSU)

Hello Stuie
Here's the specs:

Case STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i3-2120 Dual Core (3.30GHz, 3MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard ASUS® P8H67-M LX SI (NEW REV 3.0): M-ATX, USB 2.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, 2 x PCI
Memory (RAM) 4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card 1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 460 - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 500GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply 450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS)
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Keyboard & Mouse LOGITECH® K200 USB MEDIA KEYBOARD
Mouse LOGITECH® OPTICAL USB MOUSE
Warranty 3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Jinks

I wonder if it is something as ridiculous as their repair technician(s) not checking the repair history of the PC or referring to the customer communication and just treating it as a new issue each time. If they keep trying the same thing over and over when it doesn't work it kind of sounds that way. Sounds silly, but have you actually tried asking them why they keep trying the same fix over and over even though it's not working? (And if they don't respond, then keep asking them until they do)?

Alternatively, you could send the PC back to them again for repair with a great big note sellotaped to it reading, "THE GRAPHICS CARD OF THIS PC HAS BEEN CHANGED 5 TIMES WITH NO RESOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM, PLEASE TRY AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION THIS TIME"!

Well, that may not be the best idea as it sounds like they are being polite to you and you don't want to annoy them - but at least the message would get through!

mr_fishbulb

So when you say it's the graphics card that makes the machine crash, I'm assuming you mean when the graphics card is under load? I.e. playing a game?

Does it work fine when you're doing normal Windows type stuff, and then crash when you start playing a game?

The geforce page says a 450W PSU is the minimum for that card.

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-460/specifications

Maria67

Jinks wrote: »

I wonder if it is something as ridiculous as their repair technician(s) not checking the repair history of the PC or referring to the customer communication and just treating it as a new issue each time. If they keep trying the same thing over and over when it doesn't work it kind of sounds that way. Sounds silly, but have you actually tried asking them why they keep trying the same fix over and over even though it's not working? (And if they don't respond, then keep asking them until they do)?

Alternatively, you could send the PC back to them again for repair with a great big note sellotaped to it reading, "THE GRAPHICS CARD OF THIS PC HAS BEEN CHANGED 5 TIMES WITH NO RESOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM, PLEASE TRY AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION THIS TIME"!

Well, that may not be the best idea as it sounds like they are being polite to you and you don't want to annoy them - but at least the message would get through!

Hello Jinks
Well in the tech support from the PC Company I am always talking to the same guy over and over again.
I might just have to send the whole thing back again. Lord knows what they will do with it now or probably say they can't find any problems. Same thing happened the last time they had the whole PC and a few days later it did crash for them finally.

mr_fishbulb wrote: »

So when you say it's the graphics card that makes the machine crash, I'm assuming you mean when the graphics card is under load? I.e. playing a game?

Does it work fine when you're doing normal Windows type stuff, and then crash when you start playing a game?

The geforce page says a 450W PSU is the minimum for that card.

Hello mr_fishbulb
The GPU crashes when playing games, just on the internet or just on your desktop. (must clarify 'just on desktop' as my son sits there eating sometimes before doing anything)

So if that's minimum then maybe it is causing the crash as minimum is not good really.

Jinks

Yes, being right on the minimum isn't good because some PSUs are more powerful or better quality than others even if they state the same wattage. I actually had power supply problems with my custom built gaming PC because the PSU wasn't cutting it, though it didn't cause crashing - rather, the PC would just randomly shut itself off or keep rebooting. I've had to replace the PSU a couple of times, though the PC has otherwise been very good.

I guess it's quite possible that the freezing while gaming could occur because the graphics card isn't getting enough power - perhaps someone else can chime in as to whether the PSU might be the issue? I don't suppose you know if your repair guy has already checked into that?